The sixth-seeded Liberty girls basketball team won its second and most important game against third-seeded Nazareth, 43-35, in a District XI Class 6A quarterfinal on Feb. 23 at Whitehall High School.

“This game today really mattered because it was a tiebreaker. It was really important for us,” said Liberty junior Anijah Davis (7 points). “Coming into the second half, we had to fight harder because we couldn’t let them come back up, staying together, being aggressive, and attacking the basket every time.”

Nazareth won in its first meeting against Liberty during the regular season, and the Hurricanes won in their second meeting.

“This one was good tonight. It feels great, and they’re a well-coached team. They’ve got some hoopers over there, so hats off to them, but we played our butts off tonight,” said Liberty coach Jarrett Carnes. “They weren’t hitting shots from outside that were helping them last time we saw them, and we were gritty and tough tonight. We did not want to lose. That was the difference.”

Nazareth hit three triples in the first half, but were quieted on the outside shot in the second half.

“We know they’re a great shooting team, so we knew they could come back and hit a couple 3s. We had to stay intense the whole time,” said Liberty guard Emma Pukszyn, who made some of the most difficult shots of the game with 10 points. “I think our ability to feed off each other, and if someone else is hitting then they grab me a little bit open more, and everyone’s passing and our movement was how I was able to get some of those shot opportunities.”

Ava Kopetskie’s (16 points) triple after halftime sparked a Hurricane surge in scoring to take a 31-25 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Pukszyn scored off a nice bounce pass from Julia Medaska, and Davis added four consecutive points as the Hurricanes outscored the Blue Eagles, 17-9.

“We wanted to have our girl down on the baseline and not crowd the paint up in the middle. With them sitting in the 1-3-1, it forced the girl in the middle to choose where she was going,” said Coach Carnes. “And then we had open lanes where we’re moving the ball around. We’re taking care of it. We’re slashing, and we’re flashing, and making good passes, and it works out.”

Pukszyn also had four consecutive points in the fourth quarter with two on an underhanded layup.

Teammate Ruby Miller took the ball downcourt for another layup, and Abby Thompson scored on a perfect pass from Pukszyn.

“At practice, we focused on trying to perfect some of our sets and defenses, knowing that now that we’re in playoffs, we have to step up to the challenge,” Pukszyn said.

Liberty will have played second-seeded Easton in a semifinal on Feb. 27, past Press deadlines.