By Ted Waddell
LIBERTY —February 28, 2003– The Lady Indians of Liberty defeated the Tri-Valley Lady Bears 49-30 Tuesday in a Section IX Class C girls’ basketball quarterfinal game.
With the win, Liberty (18-3) advanced to the semifinals. The Lady Indians, seeded third in the tournament, were scheduled to face second-seeded Millbrook last night at SUNY New Paltz.
Against T-V (9-11), Liberty had a narrow three point lead at the half, 23-20. In the second half, the Lady Bears lost steam as the Lady Indians outscored them 26-10 on the way to a 19-point victory.
“It was a tough game,” Liberty Coach Tom LaGattuta said. “The first half was a dogfight, but in the second half, the girls calmed down, we came out and ran our offense the way we needed to.
“Tri-Valley went to a triangle and two [defense] trying to take us out of rhythm and shut down a couple of our shooters,” he added. “It was a very physical first half, but we made some adjustments in the second half.”
LaGattuta described the atmosphere in the gym as “electrifying,” sparked in large part by the antics of the “Liberty Lunatics”, a cadre of high spirited Liberty High School students with a flair for high jinks up in the bleachers.
“I’m real happy for our fans,” LaGattuta said. “We got the big win and the girls are working hard to get to West Point for the Class C Championships on Saturday.”
LaGattuta’s take on the entire season?
“It’s been a great year and the girls have put in a tremendous effort,” he said. “Liberty basketball is tough defense and good execution on offense.”
Double digit scorers for Liberty were seniors Andrea TerBush and Christine Waryha. Both girls netted 13 points in the contest.
For T-V, junior Amanda Krom scored a team-high 10 points.
In addition to her point total, TerBush was credited with nine steals in the game. Teammates Jamie Hopkins and Chelsea LaGattuta added 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, respectively.
Senior forward Heather Bachmann had 13 rebounds and four blocks for the Lady Bears.