For the Liberty Christian girls basketball team, the first and second times were a charm.

That’s what worried Coach Butch Clark.

Turns out the third time was just as favorable, as the Eagles claimed their latest in a trio of wins over Maryville Christian this season on Saturday, Feb. 8. The 52-37 triumph meant a second straight Metro Athletic Conference Tournament title for the Eagles.

“I expected we could handle Rivers of Life and Mississippi Valley (during the opening and semifinal rounds), but Maryville was also a third time, and they had played us tougher,” said Clark. “They’re a good team, but we have more depth and weapons, and they just didn’t play well to their credit.”

Still, the victory didn’t come without effort, as the teams were notched at 13-13 after one quarter, and the Eagles had to respond to the entry of Maryville’s key player in the second.

“Their top starter came off the bench and scored 12 of their 13 points in the second quarter,” said Clark. “She lit it up.”

He responded by putting Gracie Foran on her defensively.

“She locked her down the rest of the night,” said Clark. “She’s outstanding when it come to that and has the versatility to play great defense. Kylie Ball rotated in, and they both did a really good job on her the rest of the day.”

An exceptional second quarter saw the Eagles takes a 29-16 lead into halftime on the heels of a balanced scoring effort. Eight different players scored for Liberty Christian.

Adison Roden led the way with 17 points, scoring 16 of those in the first half.

“She scored low in the paint and went out front and hit threes,” said Clark.

Andrea Mueller added 14 points for the Eagles.

Maryville Christian was persistent, clawing its way back to within five after scoring the first six points of the third quarter.

“Last game they doubled down on Andrea, so we moved the offense to make it more difficult,” said Clark. “Adison scored when they doubled Andrea and she got several assists.”

Perimeter shooting by Anna Meyer was a big factor in the third period as well.

“She hit all three of her three-pointers she took, but the two in the third quarter probably blew the game open,” said Clark. “I thought the girls played well. We played good defense and executed some things on offense we wanted to do. It was a good team win for us.”

Liberty Christian enters the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association State Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 13 in Joplin.

“We’re eying Blue Ridge Christian,” said Clark. “We’ve been preparing for almost a year since they beat us. If we can stay healthy, I like our chances this time.”