The Liberty Christian Lady Eagles had many players step up on their road to a third consecutive Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association Championship. 

The Lady Eagles (25-6) rolled through the MCSAA Division II tournament to win another title. Liberty Christian opened the tournament with an 82-40 win over Crosspoint Christian in the quarterfinals. The Lady Eagles’ closest game of the tournament was a 56-37 win over Rivers of Life Christian. The Lady Eagles had control of the game throughout and led 51-21 after three quarters. Liberty Christian completed their championship run with a 73-22 win over previously undefeated Berean Christian Academy. 

“They played like we thought they could play and expected them to play,” Liberty Christian head basketball coach Butch Clark said. “I thought we played about as good as we could play in those games and the conference tournament. We went through a bout of tough games at Hermann that I think prepared us for that.” 

Liberty Christian won their third consecutive title despite losing five seniors and four starters from last year’s team. Clark said the Lady Eagles regularly played 10 players in their rotation last season. This season, returning starter Alli Meyer, along with seniors Kylee Ball and Anna Meyer and sophomore Lauren Moss were key contributors to the championship team. Clark also stressed the Lady Eagles’ depth improved in the last couple months of the season. 

The three seniors were members of four straight Metro Athletic Conference championship teams and three MCSAA championship teams.

“I think it’s pretty incredible what they were able to accomplish,” Clark said. To win your conference five straight years. These girls played on four of those teams. To not lose a conference game in 60-some games or whatever it is, that’s crazy. They haven’t lost to a Christian school in three years.” 

Clark thinks the returning seniors were motivated to prove they could win the title without the players the Lady Eagles had the last couple of years. While Alli Meyer was a starter on the squad during the past two MCSAA championship runs, Ball and Anna Meyer did not start the last two years. 

“They wanted to prove that they were good on their own without having the kids that were here last year,” Clark said. “We lost a ton of talent. Those kids could have played for anybody and against anybody. So to come back and do that again, I know that was something that was rewarding for them. And I felt good for them.”

Overall, the Lady Eagles exceeded Clark’s expectations this season. At the beginning of the season, Clark thought with the challenging schedule they faced in the non-conference, they could have lost 12 to 14 games. 

“I had a few people mention well, if you guys would have played a tougher schedule. Well I can say that about every school,” Clark said. “There’s always someone that’s better than you. You just play the schedule that you’re supposed to play and get your team ready. I thought they did a good job of that. And then responding and staying focused.”