The Liberty Christian girls basketball team walked into the Joplin High School gym and realized they were a long way from Wright City. The Eagles received the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Christian …
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The Liberty Christian girls basketball team walked into the Joplin High School gym and realized they were a long way from Wright City.
The Eagles received the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association state tournament, and the players realized they had to win at least one game on a court bigger than they had seen all season.
“I think they were a little overwhelmed at first,” Head Coach Matt Voss said after his team’s third-place finish in the tournament.
The Eagles beat Overland Park Christian in the first round, 41-38, on a smaller court that was half the size of the regular high school floor.
“Then we played on the big floor in the semifinals and it was rough,” senior guard Matilyn Voss said. “We showed up at the gym and I thought we were going to die because it was the biggest court I had ever played on”
Heartland-Belton deployed a box-and-1 defense on Voss, who was held scoreless from the field in the first half while picking up three fouls.
She missed most of the second quarter due to foul trouble and Belton led 22-11 at halftime.
Senior guard Kayley Hulverson injured her knee and was taken out in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles couldn’t overcome the deficit in a 40-30 loss.
“I was devastated because I wanted it so bad,” Matilyn Voss said. “I wasn’t handling it very well. But it just put more fire into my last game so we could at least get third place.”
The Eagles faced Overland Park Christian for a second time in the third-place game, and Voss ended her career on a high note.
She scored a game-high 33 points in a 51-24 win.
She connected on four 3-pointers, handed out seven assists and finished with five rebounds and five steals.
She was named to the Class 2 all-state team following the tournament.
“Her performance was just awesome to watch,” Matt Voss said.
Eighth-grade guard Jenna Grow chipped in nine points, Hulverson added six and eighth-grade forward Haley Hoffman finished with three.
The Eagles finished the season with a 16-14 record.
“The season went a lot better than what I thought,” Matilyn Voss said. “Back in November we were just looking for enough people to field a team. To get from that point to third place in state was pretty cool.”
Voss leads way in third-place gameRUNNING OFFENSE — Matilyn Voss looks for open space during a game against Westwood Baptist Feb. 2. Voss helped lead the Eagles to a third place finish in the MCSAA state tournament Feb. 20. Kory Carpenter photo.
