Liberty girls basketball coach Jarrett Carnes didn’t point out to his players that they hadn’t beat Freedom on the Patriots’ court in years, but the Hurricanes stopped the trend with a 41-28 victory on Jan. 8 at Freedom.

“It feels like home,” said Carnes, who played for Freedom, along with assistant Jordan Young, during their high school years. “We used to win on this court in high school. We wanted to do it the past two seasons, but things didn’t fall that way, so I’m happy for the girls.”

The Hurricanes extended their first quarter 13-9 lead by six straight points to start the second quarter, but a nine-point halftime lead was snuffed out when Freedom’s Lex McNeil scored six consecutive points, including a 3-pointer after Allie Sena intercepted a Liberty pass.

“What we talked about at halftime was having a big third quarter, and we knew if we would come out slow or turn the ball over, they would get a couple buckets and be right back in it,” Carnes said. “I was not happy during the timeout, and I let them know that, but I also built them up and said be confident. Be tough. If we have something in transition, take it. If not, relax. Then they started to get together.”

Liberty had two big plays of its own when Abby Thompson scored on a put back, and later, made a quick pass to Emma Pukszyn for two more points. Ava Kopetskie’s free throws put the Hurricanes back to a nine-point lead.

“All the seniors wanted to win this game because we haven’t won here in the past couple years,” said Thompson. “I think it really clicked tonight. We ran the offense well, and we needed that. I love the rivalry. I love the environment no matter how many people were here and no matter how good either team is, it’s always a good game. It’s one of my favorite games we play all year.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, Freedom’s defense made some trouble for Liberty, and Carnes called another timeout.

“Gonzalez was a challenge for us on defense. She’s so small, and she’s so quick, and she can score outside and inside,” said Carnes. “I think their zone, early, was kind of a challenge. They got out of it after we went up a little bit. We live and die by the three sometimes, but if we’re cold, we’re cold, and if we’re hot, we’re hot. To start the game in that zone, we weren’t hitting outside shots, but we were getting paint touches, and that’s something we talked about the last couple days, so I’m proud of them.”

Kopetskie led the Hurricanes with 15 points, and Gonzalez led the Patriots with 14 points.

This Friday, Liberty will host Nazareth, and Freedom will travel to Dieruff.