L-E girls win on big fourth

It was a close game for the first half in Liberty-Eylau’s District 15-4A home opener against Pittsburg at the Rader Dome Friday evening.

Then the Lady Leopards hit on all cylinders, outscoring Pittsburg, 51-22, in the second half for an 81-47 win.

L-E knocked down 32 points in the final period.

“We played LibertyEylau basketball in the second half,” said L-E coach Aquanetta Watson. “We stepped on the gas to wear the other team down.

“We started out a little sluggish, but I expected that after a six-day layoff,” Watson added. “Overall our defense was great, forcing many turnovers.”

Nine players scored for L-E (16-9) with Daycoria Meadows leading the way with 23 points. Also scoring in double figures were Skylier Bailey with 15, Eliyah Howard had 12, and Bryana Block 11. Bailey had three 3-point field goals.

L-E trailed, 6-3, in the first three minutes before scoring eight straight points in just over a minute to grab the lead.

Pittsburg came back to take a brief lead, 13-12, before L-E closed out the first quarter with a 16-13 advantage.

The Leopards still led, 23-19, midway in the second period, before L-E soon stretched its lead, 28-19, on a 3-point shot and a breakaway layup by Bailey.

Pittsburg (17-9) cut into L-E’s lead and only trailed at halftime, 30-25.

Malaysia Burns kept the Panthers close with eight points in the second quarter.

Meadows paced L-E with nine points in the first half.

The Leopards started to pull away big time with a 14-2 run with five players scoring at the start of the third quarter for a 44-27 advantage, and still had a big lead, 49-35, entering the final period.

The Leopards outscored Pittsburg, 32-12, in the final eight minutes. Eight players scored with Bailey leading the way with seven.

Tyler Green topped Pittsburg with 18 points.

L-E’s next game is Tuesday at Pleasant Grove.