ELDERSBURG — Alex Bull said she doesn’t think she’s had a birthday quite like this one.
Bull turned 17 on Wednesday and scored 13 points to help lead Liberty’s girls basketball team to a 64-45 victory over Century in the Class 2A West Region 1 final.
A ladder was positioned on the court underneath the basket as each player took turns cutting the net. The assistant coaches followed suit, and head coach Barry Green cut the final piece. A few players wore pieces of the net around their necks while posing for pictures with the regional title plaque.
“To be able to do this with the seniors last year, starting at the bottom my freshman year and coming all the way to the top to regional champions and winning on my birthday,” Bull said. “Woo, it’s amazing.”
Bull added five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in the win. Lions senior Rachel Thiem led the team in scoring with 15 points and added six rebounds and three assists.
Jordan Nastos contributed 11 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
“We wanted to start hot and that’s exactly what we did,” Thiem said. “After that we just kept playing the best defense we could and worked together. When we executed, we kept the lead.”
Century was forced to play catch-up from the start.
Bull contributed 10 points to help the Lions pick up a 12-3 lead in the first quarter until a 3-pointer from Madison Plitt trimmed the Knights’ deficit to 12-6. The Lions led 16-12 after one and increased that lead to 21-12 early in the second quarter.
A 6-0 scoring run helped the Knights come within three, 21-18, but the Lions stayed ahead. Nastos scored six points for the Lions in the second quarter as they picked up a 32-23 lead at the break.
Plitt hit a 3 and contributed a basket and a free throw for the Knights despite pressure from the Lions. Liberty called a timeout after Plitt’s run with 2:24 left in the third quarter and the Lions responded with a second 6-0 run to garner a 47-33 lead.
The Lions scored 11 straight in the fourth quarter — nine of which were free throws. Plitt fouled out with 2:23 left to play and a pair of free throws from Jess Littlejohn gave the Lions a 62-40 lead. A 3 from Diorio cut the run and Sam Seledee scored to close out the game.
“We fell short of winning counties this year, but gave it a valiant effort,” Green said. “Century was incredible today. They did what they were supposed to do, not only to compete, but to try to win that game. With all the respect, our girls were not to be denied. They felt that they earned it more, not that Century wasn’t deserving but they simply felt that they earned the right and also earned the win.”
Thiem was the first Lions player to cut the net following the victory and is a member of the third Liberty girls basketball team to ever capture a regional title.
“We’re really excited, we want to make history,” Thiem said. “There’s never been a states banner for girls basketball on that wall before and being only the third team on a regional banner, that’s a lot.
"We want to take it all the way.”
The Knights (12-12) defeated Glenelg on Monday to advance after receiving a first-round bye in the 2A West playoffs, like Liberty. They also split their regular-season series with the Lions, and senior Eva Brandt said the team’s communication greatly improved as the season progressed.
“Last year we had a lot of close losses, but this year we turned that experience into wins,” Brandt said.
“I think we had a lot of young people step up this season,” Knights coach Danielle Fieni added. “At the beginning of the year, we struggled a little bit but as time went on we had a lot step up and it really benefited us because we could do a lot more with the basketball. It was different players in different games, but all around we worked much more like a team than we did in the beginning of the season and last season.”
Century (45): Sam Seledee 5, Jess Diorio 8, Caroline Little 2, Madison Plitt 11, Erin Mellendick 5, Eva Brandt 6, Abby Barnes 4, Demma Hall 4.
Liberty (64): Kayla Allen 5, Samantha Hardy 6, Rachel Thiem 15, Jordan Nastos 11, Alex Bull 13, Jess Littlejohn 10, Jenna Liska 4.
Halftime: Liberty, 32-23.