The Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team improved its season record to 4-3 after three convincing pre-Christmas wins, first over Manson at home last Thursday (Dec. 15), then on the road at Granite Falls on Monday (Dec. 19), and finally at the Bush School in Seattle on Tuesday (Dec. 20).
The Manson game was the boys’ first North Central Washington 2B League game and placed them atop the conference standings at 1-0 heading into the winter break. Earlier games with Brewster and Lake Roosevelt, both hard-fought, competitive losses, were non-league warmups that count on the overall record, but not in the CW2B standings.
At Granite Falls on Monday, Kyler Mitchell scored a career high 29 points, leading the Mountain Lions to a 67-34 win on the Tigers’ home floor. Liberty Bell jumped out to the first-quarter lead, 22-9 at the break, and never looked back. Liberty Bell essentially matched every Granite Falls basket with two of their own, leading 37-18 at the half, 48-27 after three quarters and by the nearly double-up score at the final buzzer.
Remy Paz was Mitchell’s best friend on the floor, constantly getting the ball inside to the 6 foot, 5-inch junior post, setting him up with close-in chances, most of which found the inside of the rim. The freshman guard was all over the court, rebounding, coming up with defensive steals, leading the transition game and making some pinpoint passes for easy conversions off the fast break. He also contributed 8 points of his own.
Defensively, the Lions were stifling, holding the host Tigers to single-digit point totals in all but the final quarter, when Granite Falls managed 12 points.
Liberty Bell faced the 1A Bush School of Seattle on Tuesday (Dec. 20) and came away with a 69-20 win. The Mountain Lions used a powerful inside game to overcome their hosts.
Next action for the Mountain Lions is a daytime set on New Year’s Eve at Liberty Bell. The 1A Chelan Goats of the Caribou Trail League visit the Methow with a team that, considering early common opponents, looks comparable to the Mountain Lions. The JV tips off at 10 a.m., varsity girls at 11:30 a.m. and the boys’ game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Girls challenge Manson
The Mountain Lion girls are still looking for that first win, although showing improvement in their game with Manson on Thursday. Trailing 21-5 at halftime, the Lions then played the Trojans head-to-head for most of the second half, putting up 23 points of the scoreboard fueled by the 8-point run of senior Ruby McCarthy early in the fourth quarter.
McCarthy led all scorers with 18 points to go with her 10 rebounds for the double-double, and also stole the ball 5 times to cap an all-around effort. “The leadership from McCarthy and Helaina Remsberg made for an exciting fourth quarter,” said Coach Korrie Bourn. “I feel really proud of their consistently positive attitudes and desire to always do their best. They have the ability to push our team to the next level.”
Remsberg has assumed the point guard role and the leadership responsibilities that go along with the assignment. While it wasn’t a big scoring game for her, the feisty freshman was dealing out 5 assists, nabbing 6 rebounds and vocally leading the team on the offensive end. Indeed, there was noticeable increased intensity on the defensive side for the local girls. Remsberg frustrated Manson’s inside players with an aggressive, handsy defensive attack and refused to give in to Manson’s size and physical advantage inside.
While Manson outscored Liberty Bell in that second half by nine points to win 53-28, there were some things that had Bourn smiling. “Yeah, we played a lot tougher tonight,” she said. “We got some shots and the girls were way more aggressive defensively.”
Next up for the Mountain Lion girls is Chelan on New Year’s Eve, a morning 11:30 a.m. tipoff for varsity. The Goat girls are 0-5 on the season and also looking for that illusive first win.
A Liberty Bell traffic advisory: New Year’s Eve morning sees two events at Liberty Bell as the Methow Nordic team is holding its annual Ski Rodeo concurrently with the basketball games. Expect the west parking lot to be pretty full with children and youth focused on the Sean McCabe trails, so drive slowly and carefully. The best bet would be to park out front and enter the school through the main entrance.
