Big showing by Wooster not enough
Junior drops in game-high 24 points but Southern bows to Liberty, 54-38, in Class 2A
Liberty girls basketball knew the tough task ahead of them coming into Wednesday night’s 2A West Region I final against Southern.
With all eyes focused on Jenna Liska in the post, coach Barry Green needed others to step up and knock down shots. Defensively, the Lions knew they had to slow down the Bulldogs’ talented junior Ava Wooster.
Green got what he was looking for with Dani Paulsen and Kourtney Goff ’s stepping up offensively and the team’s signature hands-on defense. Liberty captured the regional championship with a 54-38 win, advancing to Friday’s state quarterfinals.
“[Southern] came in representing Anne Arundel County and they did a very good job,” Green said. They’re a very well-coached, very high-energy team.”
Wooster was close to unguardable in the first half. The junior was extremely aggressive and able to get to any spot she wanted. Her play translated to the defensive end where she forced Liska into tough shots and two first-quarter fouls that kept the Lions’ leading scorer on the bench for an extended amount of time.
With Liska garnering extra attention, Green gave the “green light” to his shooters. Even after a miss, he encouraged his girls to keep taking shots.
“We only take two shots,” he said, “inside with Jenna or 3-point shots with our greenlighted 3-point shooters, and they were great.”
Guards Paulsen and Goff thrived beyond the arc. Each finished with 13 points and whenever a triple-teamed Liska hit them for the open 3-pointer, they converted, sparking an 8-0 run that gave the Lions a slight lead at the half.
“The passes were just impeccable,” Paulsen said. “I couldn’t have done it without the good passes.”
Now with the lead, it was time for the Lions to control the game with the mindset that carried them all the way to the regional final: active hands-on defense.
With Goff and Paulsen holding it down offensively, Liska, Haleigh Hodges and Paige McKnight lead a defensive charge that frustrated Wooster and the Bulldogs. Some possessions it was pressure on the ballhandler,
who would look defeated after losing the ball or having it deflected. Other times it was the Lions focusing on Wooster, denying her the opportunity to even catch the ball in the post.
The constant pressure and deflections lead to more than 25 Bulldog turnovers.
Wooster finished with a game-high 24 points, but the Bulldogs failed to get anyone else involved as only three other players registered a point on the night. Late in the third, Liska and McKnight got going offensively, sparking another 8-0 run that allowed the Lions to build separation.