Liberty girls basketball team finishes third in KingCo
February 3, 2012
NEW — 11:30 a.m. Feb. 3, 2012
The Liberty High School girls basketball team bounced back from two tough losses earlier this week to defeat visiting Mount Si 57-46 Thursday in the Patriots’ final regular-season contest.
Liberty finished third in the KingCo Conference 3A/2A standings with a 10-4 record. The Patriots, 14-6 overall, host Mercer Island at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 in the opening round of the league tournament.
The Patriots, who lost to co-leaders Lake Washington and Juanita earlier in the week, shot to a 17-12 first-quarter lead against Mount Si and never looked back. Liberty held a commanding 27-17 halftime lead on Senior Night.
Appropriately for the Patriots, seniors played a major part in the victory. Senior Aspen Winegar scored a game-high 17 points. Seniors Stephanie Year, Megan Tsutakawa and Morgan Safley contributed nine, seven and three points respectively. Sophomore Sierra Carlson added 16 points.
Skyline girls basketball team clinches tie for division title
February 2, 2012
NEW — 10:30 a.m. Feb. 2, 2012
The Skyline High School girls basketball team clinched at least a tie for the KingCo Conference 4A Crest Division title Wednesday when the Spartans defeated host Eastlake 55-44.
Skyline improved its division-leading record to 10-3. The Spartans can clinch the division title Friday with a victory against winless Bothell. Issaquah, which has two games left, is in second place with an 8-4 record.
Eastlake, third in the division with a 7-5 record, entertained hopes of getting a share of the division crown. However, Skyline put away the Wolves in the fourth quarter with a 21-11 run.
Skyline’s Megan Wiedeman scored a game-high 17 points. Lacey Nicholson added seven points as the Spartans knocked off their two toughest contenders on back-to-back nights. On Jan. 31, Skyline defeated Issaquah 37-32.
Skyline boys basketball team wraps up Crest Division title
February 1, 2012
NEW — 10:15 a.m. Feb. 1, 2012
The Skyline High School boys basketball team wrapped up the KingCo Conference 4A regular season Crest Division title Tuesday when the Spartans defeated visiting Issaquah 46-39.
Skyline, which has two games left to play, boosted its league record to 11-1. The Spartans have a three-game lead on second-place Redmond.
Issaquah, 5-7, remained in a tie with Newport for third place in the Crest Division. Skyline, Issaquah and Newport all advance to next week’s KingCo 4A tournament.
Skyline shot to a 13-9 first quarter lead but Issaquah rallied in the second period to hold a 21-16 halftime advantage. The Spartans outscored Issaquah 16-5 in the third quarter to take the lead for good.
Eagles win latest bout of Crest contenders, 62-48
January 31, 2012
Caleigh McCabe (right), Eastlake High School senior guard, looks for an open teammate under the basket as Issaquah’s Quincey Gibson (left) and Ali Mendezona defend during the second quarter. By Greg Farrar
Like a lot of automobile engines during the winter, the Issaquah High School girls basketball team had problems getting started in its games earlier this season.
Skyline holds off Redmond in Crest thriller
January 31, 2012
When Will Parker stepped to the free-throw line early in the season, something didn’t feel right. The Skyline High School senior point guard couldn’t find the right routine.
But he kept shooting, kept working, and on Jan. 24 with the game on the line, he knocked them down. Parker hit four free throws in the final 22 seconds to help the third-ranked Spartans hold off No. 4 Redmond, 60-56, in a KingCo Conference 4A Crest Division showdown.
“I was shooting bad, like 50 percent,” Parker said. “Point guards can’t shoot like that. I’ve improved. Now I’m going up there with confidence, knocking them down for my team so we can get a win.”
Despite a weeklong layoff due to the snowstorm, Skyline started the game at a frenetic pace and led by seven points after one quarter.
Liberty topples Mercer Island, 59-50
January 31, 2012
Delane Agnew, Liberty High School junior forward, lofts two of her 14 points against Mercer Island over sophomore guard Ari Moscatel during the third quarter. The Patriots won the Jan. 25 contest, 59-50. By Greg Farrar
As Liberty High School Patriots girls basketball coach Randy Leifer looks to wrap up the regular season, he’s sure this year’s past and future success hinges on how deep his bench is.
As the Patriots took on KingCo Conference 3A/2A opponent Mercer Island the evening of Jan. 25, all but two players on the roster scored for the team.
“I think we really have a lot of depth on our team, and we shot the ball well tonight,” Leifer said after the 59-50 victory over the host Islanders. “We didn’t rebound as well as we should have been, though, and we’ll work on that.”
Starting junior forward Delane Agnew had a team-high 14 points for Liberty — eight of which came in the first quarter to give Liberty a hot start in the contest.
Starting sophomore guard Sierra Carlson contributed 12 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Stephanie Yea knocked down two 3-point shots in the first half and ended the game with eight total points.
The score was 29-14 at the half.
While Liberty senior center Aspen Winegar, averaging 13.9 points per game, only came up with four points against the Islanders, she contributed eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks on the night.
Forfeits hurt Patriots against Mount Si
January 31, 2012
Shane Small (top) wrestles Mount Si High School’s Tye Rodne at Bellevue Jan. 28. Small, a 152-pounder from Liberty High School, defeated Rodne, 8-4, but Mount Si overcame the Patriots, 51-21. By Sebastian Moraga
The Liberty High School wrestling team tried but could not overcome Mount Si, losing 54-21 Jan. 28 at Bellevue High School.
Both teams, along with Mercer Island and Sammamish, went to Bellevue to make up KingCo Conference 3A/2A matches the mid-January snowstorm had postponed.
“I don’t think it’s ever helpful,” Patriots assistant coach Wright Noel said of the time away from the mat. “It takes a while to get the kids back in it after they have done nothing for a week. But all the schools have had to deal with the same issues.”
The delay caused the Liberty upperclassmen to not have a Senior Night, he said.
“That’s always tough on our seniors,” he said.
The squad that showed up on Wolverine Way to grapple with Mount Si was not a full-force band of Patriots, as evidenced by the four forfeits that gave the Wildcats 24 points. Liberty forfeited at 285, 195, 113 and 106 pounds.
“And we have a couple of kids injured, so that hurt,” Noel said. “But Mount Si did a good job.”
Patriots overcome Interlake
January 31, 2012
Liberty outscored host Interlake, 16-10, in the fourth quarter Jan. 27 to post a 51-43 KingCo Conference 3A/2A victory. Tynan Gilmore, of Liberty, scored a game-high 26 points. Ben Wessell added 12 points.
On Jan. 28, Liberty lost to host Bellevue, 62-42. Bellevue took control of the game early, shooting to an 18-8 first-quarter lead. Gilmore led all players with 21 points.
On Jan. 24, Liberty had a spirited third quarter, but visiting Mercer Island pulled away in the final quarter to win 53-45.
Mercer Island, a perennial KingCo contender, looked like it might coast to a victory when the Islanders held a 27-16 first-half lead. However, the Patriots stunned Mercer Island in the third quarter by outscoring the Islanders 21-10 to tie the game.
The Islanders overcame Liberty 18-8 in the final period to win the contest.
Liberty’s Jordan West led all players with 15 points. Robbie Thomas added 12 points and BJ Demps 10 for the Patriots.
Issaquah exacts revenge in Eastlake rematch
January 31, 2012
The second time around was much better for the Issaquah High School boys basketball team.
Earlier this season when the Eagles played Eastlake, they could not hit the broad side of a barn much less connect from outside on their 3-point shots. Issaquah went 0-27 from the 3-point range in that game and lost, 68-61.
But on Jan. 27, the Eagles were more on target, hitting 10 of 21 3-point attempts en route to an 83-59 KingCo Conference 4A triumph against the visiting Wolves.
Nick Price led the Eagles with 24 points to share game-high honors with Eastlake’s Brandon Lester.
Liberty basketball teams fall to Lake Washington
January 31, 2012
NEW — 9:55 a.m. Jan. 31, 2012
The Liberty High School girls basketball team’s bid for a regular-season KingCo Conference 3A/2A title took a big hit Monday when the Patriots lost to host Lake Washington 55-46.
With the loss, Liberty dropped out of three-way tie for first place and into second. The Patriots are 9-3 entering tonight’s home game with Juanita. Lake Washington and Juanita are tied for first at 10-2. The Patriots conclude the regular season Feb. 2 at home against Mount Si.
Liberty lost for the second time this season to Lake Washington. The Kangaroos shot to an 18-8 first quarter lead. However, Liberty fought back to lead 36-35 after three quarters. Lake Washington outscored Liberty 20-10 in the final period to win the game.
