Liberty handles Jefferson

LIBERTY- In the first three possessions of the game, the Liberty Leopards set the standard for the rest of the night in their contest against the Jefferson Falcons.

In the first minute and a half, Liberty converted all three times up the floor, foreshadowing what the end result would be. They never lost the lead the entire game. When the final horn sounded, Liberty defeated Jefferson, 58-36.

Liberty took control early, winning the tip and rolling from there. They outscored the Falcons 24-14 in the first half. Marcy Dykes led the team in scoring, knocking down six field goals and two free throws for 14 points. Leah Leshnack hit six baskets for 13 points. They are what sparked the fourth-quarter takeover. Liberty outscored Jefferson 15-9, earning most of their points from the Falcon turnovers.

Ron DeJulio, Liberty's coach, knows who his go-to players are and had his team set them up to be successful.

"Leah is probably our best player," DeJulio said. "She's our highest scoring player. She did a great job of giving it up to Marcy. They were taking her (Leshnack) away quite a bit. Her shot wasn't falling but she did a great job of giving assists. Marcy is a very athletic post. It's a mismatch for anyone inside against her."

Defensively, the Leopards switched their zones sporadically from a 2-3 zone to what looked like a box-and-one in order to keep the Falcons on their toes.

"They were getting comfortable with what we were doing early on, then we changed it up" DeJulio said. "It just gets them out of rhythm a little bit. We talked about that at pregame and at halftime. We had to step it up defensively because they have some good shooters and good players inside. We really concentrated on defense during this week to win the game."

Liberty's strategy worked, causing eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, three of which turned into points for the Leopards. Jefferson coach Rod Holmes attributes the loss to too many missed shots.

"We didn't come out and score," Holmes said. "We couldn't put the ball in the basket. That first quarter, we went 3 of 17 from the field. If we don't hit those shots, they stay in their defense."

Left-handed guard, Jessica Becker, stepped up in the second half, earning 8 of her 14 points. Emily Smock backed her up sinking five shots and a free throw for 11 points for the Falcons.

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Liberty handles Jefferson