Liberty’s girls basketball team didn’t mind facing Nazareth for the fourth time this season in the District XI Class 6A quarterfinal on Feb. 21 at Easton Area Middle School.

“I’ll be happy to play a different opponent next game because we’ve played them three straight games, but we like to play teams that are good. They’re coached well. They have some good hoopers over there,” said Liberty coach Jarrett Carnes after his Hurricanes defeated the Blue Eagles, 60-41.

After a back-and-forth first half in addition to foul trouble for Liberty guard Anijah Davis and Liberty center Shawna Beatty, teammate Tula Sobrinski broke the Hurricanes’ offense wide open with eight straight points, and Kendall Medina’s 3-pointer put the ‘Canes ahead, 39-29.

“It’s funny because I’ve been preaching that our defense creates offense, but tonight, it was reversed, but you know what? As long as we scored more points at the end of the game, it is what it is. I’m happy, and we get to keep playing,” Coach Carnes said.

Midway through the third quarter, Sobrinski drained a triple for a 3-point lead. Liberty guard Ava Kopetskie took the ball downcourt and made a pass to Sobrinski who drained another triple, and

Sobrinski scored two more points after an interception under Liberty’s basket.

“During the first half, I didn’t perform how I wanted to, so I used that as motivation to come out stronger and create that lead,” said Sobrinski. “Every single one of my baskets was assisted. A lot of my points were from Anijah’s steals. She’s an incredible defensive player, and I was able to get a bucket off that or Ava’s pass, so our team dynamic is really strong.

“We’re a very fast team, so when we press, it creates chaos. That’s one of the main goals of our press, to really throw them off their game, and we were able to do that.”

Ironically, the Hurricane offense sparked its own defense which tightened up after the offensive run.

Davis and Beatty kept their fouls in check while Emma Miller and Chloe Rumelhart provided relief from the bench.

“They get frustrated when they have to come out because of that,” said Carnes, “but at this point, this could be the last game, so why not let the seniors battle it out? We’ll have to trust in them, have faith in them. They stayed disciplined, and they didn’t foul out.”

The Hurricanes outscored the Blue Eagles, 22-7, in the third quarter.

On Feb. 7, Liberty was bumped from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament by Nazareth, so Coach Carnes needed to see an urgency from his Hurricanes, especially in the first half.

“I like to take advantage of my defense being in front of me in the first half, so everything I can do as far as talking and movement, I’ll take advantage of,” he said. “We have a tendency of, when we get tired or when we’re frustrated, we don’t like to talk, and then second half, they’re down there by themselves, so I can’t really do much, and it’s loud.”

Liberty scored the first six points of the game on buckets from Davis, Kopetskie, and Beatty, but Nazareth responded with seven points and kept a slight lead.

Blue Eagle guard Karly Leszcynski opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, but Kopetskie responded with a Hurricane triple.

Davis caught a long pass from Kopetskie and missed the shot but rebounded for a three-point play.

After Lexi Davis’s triple for Nazareth, Davis converted on a steal under Liberty’s basket to end the half.

Said Sobrinski, “Personally, I was not gonna let my playoff run get ended again by the same team. That’s not happening.”

The Hurricanes will have taken on Easton in a district semifinal on Feb. 25 past Press deadlines.