GASTON, Ind. —
There was a lot on the line in Tuesday’s rematch between the Liberty Christian Lions and Daleville Broncos girls basketball teams. Win or go home.
Fifteen days ago, the teams hooked up in the regular season at Daleville. The Broncos crushed their opponent 50-20.
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville (9-12) pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the 0-20 host Warriors.
Despite Liberty (3-15) falling in the blowout loss, the first 10 minutes of the game looked far different than the last 22.
The Lions fell behind 12-2 after the first quarter, but a 6-2 run to start the second put them within six points (14-8).
In response, Daleville applied full-court pressure to Liberty, rending the Lions helpless. The Broncos went on a 28-5 run over the next 13 minutes and into the fourth quarter.
“That was the focus going into this week — on-ball pressure,” said Broncos coach Jeff Wichersham. “We knew if we could get pressuring them, we could force some turnovers and get some easy baskets. We took advantage of it.”
He said that despite Wes-Del’s record the Broncos would not be overlooking them come Friday.
“We’re 1-0 right now, Wes-Del’s 0-0,” said Wickersham. “So we’re not looking at the record. We just have to come out and play our game, play good defense, move the ball on offense and see what we can do Friday.”
Friday’s matchup will be the third time the Broncos have faced Wes-Del this season. Daleville won the two previous matchups by a total of 51 points.
Liberty gave the Broncos fits in the first 10 minutes and in the final quarter Tuesday. The Lions outscored the Broncos 11-9 in the final eight minutes.
“I thought we came out in the first half pretty solid,” said Lions coach Mike Carey. “Then we had that stretch in the third quarter where we kind of backed down a little bit, and then they responded like I’ve never seen them play. I honestly saw them do some things I didn’t think they could do.”
He said that the effort the Lions showed Tuesday was the best he’s seen all season from his team.
“Just the effort alone is something I’ve never seen out of these kids,” said Carey. “All season, I’ve never seen that kind of an effort. That’s the part I said I’m extremely proud of. They played their hearts out (and) left everything on the court. As a coach, that’s all you can ever ask kids to do. So I’m extremely proud of them.”
The Broncos got a game-high 15 points from Jordyn Marshel and 10 from Alex Pence. Pence also led Daleville with seven rebounds.
Liberty Christian was led by Briana Ayers with 12 points. Ellie Whitaker pulled down a game-high eight boards.
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Daleville's Jordyn Marshel grabs a rebound against Elwood earlier this season. Marshel scored 15 points in the Broncos 51-24 win over Liberty Christian on Tuesday. Don Knight
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