Liberty defense leads way in Bi-District victory over Bridge City
Tiana Patterson of Liberty gets fouled by a Bridge City player at East Chambers High School in bi-district action. Photos by The Vindicator | Jerry Michalsky
The Liberty Lady Panthers are bi-district champs after their 40-22 win over Bridge City on Monday night in Winnie.
WINNIE — All season long, Liberty's defense has guided the way, and it came up big on Monday night in Bi-District play in a 40-22 victory over Bridge City in a Class 4A Region III contest.
The Lady Panthers were tough and scrappy as they held Bridge City to just 12 points in the final three-quarters of play.
Leading 16-14 at the half, the Lady Panthers outscored Bridge City 24-8 in the second half to blow the game open.
Liberty started the second half on an 11-0 run. A Loren Nesbitt score off an assist from Tatelynn Carry made it 22-14, and then a drive and score by Jayci Lackey made it a double-digit advantage at 24-14.
The lead then went to 27-14 as Jaclyn Haley grabbed an offensive rebound and scored while she was fouled for a three-point play.
Bridge City then went on an 8-1 run to pull within 28-22 before an offensive rebound and score by Tiana Patterson made it 30-22.
Liberty then scored the final 10 points of the game with a football pass from Lackey to Breezy Pantalion for a score, and then Pantalion had a steal and score for the game's final points.
"After the opening quarter, I just told the girls to settle down and let our defense dictate the game," said Lady Panthers Head Coach Kearsten Marion. "After that, we started playing our game."
Both teams came out a little nervous in the first half.
Liberty fell behind 6-2 before a drive and score by Pantalion cut the deficit to 6-4.
Bridge City led 10-6 after a quarter of play.
Early in the second quarter, Curry nailed a three-pointer to make it a 10-9 game.
Moments later, Curry was hitting again from downtown, and the Lady Panthers were within 13-12.
Liberty then took their first lead of the game with 1:28 left in the first half as Curry had a nice drive and score to make it a 14-13 game.
Jaclyn Haley connected on a couple of free throws with under a minute remaining and the Lady Panthers led 16-14 at the half.
Carry led Liberty in scoring with 15 points, while Pantalion added 10. Haley finished with 5 points.
The Lady Panthers will play the winner of Palestine and Center.