Early in the fourth quarter Thursday night, the rain and hail began pouring down in San Antonio. The storm was so intense that the Alamodome roof began leaking as the Liberty High School girls basketball team played its 5A state semifinal against San Antonio Wagner.
The game had to be delayed until the storm’s intensity waned, but when the game resumed, Liberty was as intense as ever. Given the chance to put away a tough Wagner team and return to the state championship game, the Redhawks scored seven straight points and ended the drama in a 62-51 win.
Liberty will now play in the 5A state championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday (March 4) in the Alamodome. The Redhawks (28-10) will play Lubbock Cooper (31-6), which defeated Lamar Fulshear 70-52 in the other semifinal.
It will be the fourth time that Liberty has played in the championship game in the last five years. Liberty was state champion in 2020 and the state runner-up in 2019 and 2021. Adding in Memorial High School’s state runner-up finish last year, a team from Frisco ISD has been in the state championship game five straight years.
“I think we take a lot of pride in the fact that our district is so tough and the district next to us is so tough,” Liberty coach Ross Reedy said. “It means that these kids are battle tested and ready to be in these moments.”
Liberty was ready for the moment from the start, grabbing a quick 5-0 lead. Wagner (28-5) battled back to take a one-point lead after the first quarter, but Liberty’s dominance inside was too much for Wagner, which had won 19 straight games. Liberty took a five-point lead at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
“Losing was not an option,” said Liberty junior Keyera Roseby, who had 28 points and nine rebounds. “I knew I had a little player on me, so I had to dominate in the post and take my matchup.”
Roseby and freshman Jacy Abii, who had 19 points and six rebounds, helped the Redhawks pull away for their 15th straight win. Liberty’s other double-figure scorer was Jezelle Jolie Moreno (12 points), a senior who played for the Liberty state champion in 2020 and state runner-up in 2021. Senior post Za’Naiha Hensley grabbed six rebounds and had three assists, and senior point guard Journee Harris had three assists, helping organize an offense that moved the ball to get good shots.
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