By Don Nelson
The Liberty Bell High School girls’ varsity basketball team earned its first win of the season on Monday (Dec. 28) with a solid all-round game against Class A school Cascade, coming away with a 45-32 victory in the opening round of the Cascade Tournament.
The Lady Lions were scheduled to play Cle Elum, another Class A school, on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 29) for the tournament championship.
Coach Ed Smith said Liberty Bell “competed hard” and improved on all aspects of its game. “They took care of the basketball, ran the offense well, played hard defense and went after balls,” the coach said. Smith said the Lady Lions also had to overcome a height disadvantage against the taller Cascade team.
As she has all season, junior Lauren Fitzmaurice led the Lady Lions’ scoring with 15 points. Lauren Ochoa added 13 points, Katie Labanauskas seven, Carlynn Treise and Exie Romero four each, and Monica Chavey scored two points. Haley Bakke and Nadine Treise played but did not score.
Liberty Bell will play at Bridgeport on Tuesday (Jan. 5).
