Getting After It
Girls varsity basketball take fourth place in Warrenton tournament
Toni Patterson takes the ball down the court to set up the offense against O’Fallon Christian in their first game of the Warrenton tournament.
January 12, 2019
Varsity girls basketball traveled out to the Warrenton Tournament this week and played against three of eight teams. They finished fourth and had a 1-2 record.
Their first game they won 41-11 against O’Fallon Christian on Monday, Jan. 7.
Mia Vanpamel and Megan Kruse were the two highest scorers of the game and made up 20 of their 41 points. Kruse was also one of the players with the most steals. Melanie Giljum had four steals and Kruse had three, which results in seven of the team’s 13 total steals.
Giljum made her way into the top of the stats a second time with her rebounds. Giljum and Mar’Shay Riggins had 11 rebounds between the two of them and over half of the teams total rebounds.
Toni Patterson and Lamonya Lathon gave up the glory of getting points on the board by passing off to their teammates. They collectively had seven assists against Christian.
Patterson and Lathon dominated on defense throughout the game, leading their team by making sure the court was never quiet. All parts of their defense was on point and Christian couldn’t shake it.
“Our defense was outstanding. We didn’t give up any field goals in the entire first half,” varsity head coach Walterbach said.
Megan Kruse protects the ball from the defender while Liberty sets up a play.
They took the win in stride under their belt and started preparing for their next game against Warrenton.
Showing up at Warrenton on Wednesday, Jan. 9 the girls were suited up and ready to play, but suffered a tough loss against the home team. They fought hard through yelling fans, questionable calls, and their own mistakes. The final score was 39-28.
At halftime the score was 30-11, and as you can tell the girls played their hearts out. They only allowed nine points scored by Warrenton the rest of the game while scoring 17.
“In the second half our defense really created our offense,” Walterbach commented on the change of pace in the game.
Vanpamel was the top scorer for the second game in a row, coming in with 12 points. Giljum doubled her rebounds from the past game, fighting her way to 12 rebounds. Another streak is made by Patterson who lead in assists for her second game in a row.
The final game played by the Eagles was on Thursday, Jan. 10 against Hannibal. Going into the game, Liberty knew the challenge ahead of them.
“Last year we beat them once and they beat us once. We both have identical records,” Walterbach said of Hannibal.
Although Liberty was up at halftime 27-26, Hannibal went on a hot streak in the third quarter. The final score was 54-44, with Hannibal coming out on top. Riggins and Giljum lead both in rebounds and points against Hannibal.
Mia Vanpamel was selected as the all-tournament player from Liberty. After a tough loss, Liberty celebrated their teammate’s achievement, regardless the circumstances.
Recent varsity girls basketball highlight clips from Hudl. Courtesy of Coach Walterbach
http://www.hudl.com/video/2/
