Girls Basketball Tops Kelly in Blowout; Next Game at Liberty this Saturday
To sum up how quickly things got out of hand in Liberty Christian’s playoff contest against Beaumont Kelly on Saturday afternoon, Liberty’s Nicole Kornet scored more points in the first 32 seconds of the game, six, than Beaumont Kelly did in the entire first quarter.
In its quest to add another state championship banner to its rafters, the Lady Warriors crushed Beaumont Kelly 77-24 in the area round of the TAAPS 5A playoffs in Argyle.
The Lady Warriors will play at Liberty against St. Anthony Catholic School from San Antonio in the regional round of the playoffs this Saturday, Feb. 26, at 12 noon.
Kornet opened the game with two consecutive 3-pointers to giving the Lady Warriors a quick 6-0 lead. That proved to be more than Kelly managed in the game’s first eight minutes as Liberty rushed out to a 25-4 lead to start the second quarter. Despite sitting out the fourth quarter, Kornet led all scorers with 21 points.
Nia Jackson and Summer Fife also provided solid performances for Liberty. Jackson netted 16 points, while Fife tallied 15 points in the win. Liberty head coach Ken Burroughs said that Kornet’s play elevated the rest of the team in the victory.
“One thing that she always does is she always steps up in a big game,” Burroughs said. “She’s got a good team with her, and if she plays like that, it’s just going to make everybody go. That’s what I love so much about this team, that it is a team. It’s not just a one person deal.”
The Lady Warriors (35-2) eliminated any hopes of an upset early on, holding Kelly (22-14) under 20 points until the fourth quarter while building an insurmountable lead.
“Sometimes, when you just get scouting reports, you don’t know exactly what you’re up against,” Burroughs said. “But I knew our girls were ready, that’s what my biggest security of it all was that they were ready to play.”
The most frightening moment of the game occurred in the second quarter, when Kelly starting point guard Claire Dykeman collided with a player from Liberty and crashed to the floor. Dykeman, who had torn her anterior cruciate ligament in November of 2009, writhed in pain as her father rushed to the court. Dykeman was carried off the court, and she did not return for the remainder of the game. She was on crutches at the end of the contest, but with a smile on her face as the two teams congratulated following the game’s conclusion.
Liberty’s size and strength was on full display for much of the contest. The Lady Warriors took advantage of its height, capitalizing on many second-chance opportunities.
“We were a lot bigger than they were, so we controlled a lot of the rebounds,” Burroughs said. “That’s something we always stress, is the rebounding edge, and being taller than they were, it made it better for us.”
Ten of the 11 players that played in the game for Liberty scored. Liberty’s big lead allowed Burroughs to use his bench for a majority of the second half. The head coach believes that his team is capable of making an extended playoff run.
“They can accomplish whatever they want to accomplish,” Burroughs said. “We’re talented enough. Sometimes that doesn’t mean everything in the world. You have to prepare to win, and that’s what we need to do.”
Liberty Christian 77, Beaumont Kelly 24
Beaumont Kelly 4 7 6 7 – 24
Liberty Christian 25 20 20 12 – 77
Beaumont Kelly (22-14) — Aston Almond 5, Keaira Arion 13, Mary Catherine Clark 1, Haley Riley 5.
Liberty Christian (35-2) — Courtney Copeland 5, Brittany Holbert 2, Nicole Kornet 21, Summer Fife 15, Brandi Trost 4, Cameron Gannon 2, Nia Jackson 16, Rachel Rainwater 2, Ali Garner 4, Lindsey Lassiter 6.
Thank you to the Denton Record-Chronicle for this story.