Scoring has been a specialty for Liberty Christian senior Lauren Moss. She showed it against Center Place in the seventh-place game of the MCSAA state tournament on Feb. 14. 

Moss shattered a school-record for the girls program with 43 points to lift the Eagles to a 51-21 season-ending win. She came into the contest averaging nearly 18 points per game. 

“I didn’t even know about it until halftime. My coach told me I need to score 18 points or more to beat this record, so I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I didn’t even know that and I’m going to try to get it,’” said Moss, who earned first-team all-state honors. 

Head Coach Kim Meyer noticed her team was feeling down after two tough losses. With five seniors on the roster, Meyer was determined to help them finish the season on a high note — one they would always remember. 

“Our coaches just told us to have fun and since it was our last go around, they said to make it whatever we wanted it to be,” Moss said. “My team was also really supportive of me and helped me break the record.” 

The Eagles improved to a 10-14 overall record with the victory.

“That was a big win for all of them. It was the win of all wins. They were feeding her the ball and they were having fun,” Meyer said. “It was a very beautiful end to our season and to [Moss’] career. That pretty much puts the stamp of all stamps on the career that she’s had.” 

LCA fell to Heritage Classical 47-20 and Daniel Academy 31-30 in the tournament. The Eagles were leading Daniel Academy with five seconds to go, but came up short. 

Meyer said her team was unaware that Daniel Academy played with six girls on the court.

“They obviously clobbered [Moss] and crashed in on her, but we didn’t realize they had six players on the court,” Meyer said. “So, whenever people came and told us right after, it was too late and the officials jetted out of there quickly.” 

Despite the mishap, Meyer said she was pleased with her team’s effort.

“They played 110 percent the entire time. Raelee Bruno took four charges and she has perfected her defense when it comes to her stance and positioning,” the LCA coach said. “All the girls played really, really well and it felt like a really hard loss because we felt like we won so much.” 

Before the season started, Meyer made a pointed effort to help the team not only grow on the court, but off the court as well. Looking back at the season now, she is proud of the Eagles’ growth in both areas. 

Meyer recalled one moment during the tournament as a highlight for the group. After dropping the second game, she remembered her team, specifically Moss, taking the loss hard. 

Headed back home, the Eagles’ were able to realize if they never had lost the second game, or if the refs noticed there were six girls on the court, the school record would have never been broken. Nor would they have had as much fun as they did in their final game together.  

“To make that connection and for them as teenagers to look for it and see it so fast, that even in the bad times God is good, was really cool,” Meyer said.