By Kory Carpenter Record Sports Editor It was never going to be an easy season for the Liberty Christian girls basketball team, not with seventh- and eighth-graders asked to contribute on a regular …
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By Kory Carpenter
Record Sports Editor
It was never going to be an easy season for the Liberty Christian girls basketball team, not with seventh- and eighth-graders asked to contribute on a regular basis.
But Head Coach Matt Voss is pleased with his team through 16 games.
The Eagles are 7-9, but have only lost two games by more than two points.
“Overall, it’s been pretty much what I expected,” Voss said. “The younger girls continue to surprise me with their improvements. It’s more noticeable in their younger years.”
Eighth-grader Jenna Grow is second on the team with 6.8 points per game, and Andrea Mueller is fourth with 3.8 points.
Senior point guard Matilyn Voss leads the team with 20.2 points.
“Jenna has been outstanding,” Matt Voss said. “She will be a competitor. Right now, she has become Matilyn’s go-to player.”
Matilyn Voss and Grow have been the main ball-handlers for the Eagles, but that appears to be changing.
The Eagles welcomed senior guard Kaylee Hulverson to the team before last week’s game at Fulton.
Hulverson missed last season after tearing her meniscus two years ago.
“We are excited about her,” Matt Voss said. “She can handle the ball, so it gives Maddy another person to go with the ball.”
Matilyn Voss has faced double-teams most of the season, and has been visibly frustrated at times.
With another capable guard on the floor, Matt Voss hopes some of that pressure will be relieved.
“She gets a little disappointed when she gets double-teamed, but it’s only improving her game,” Matt Voss said of Matilyn. “Tuesday night, she was able to get a couple of nice assists when Hailey and Kaylee were wide open near the hoop.”
With more than a week until its next game, Liberty Christian will add more of a motion offense to its repertoire.
Matt Voss would like to move Matilyn Voss around the court more in an attempt to free up shooters and keep the defense guessing.
And with an extra guard in the rotation, the Eagles would like to full-court press more, as well.
“We have been so worried about running back and getting into our zone,” Voss said. “Now with Kaylee, we should be able to pressure the defense a little more.”
The Eagles will face Community Christian Jan. 5, and will play seven more games before the postseason begins.
“We are a better team than where we started, and that is the goal,” Matt Voss said. “The future looks bright for LCA.”
DECISION TIME — Liberty Christian's Jenna Grow surveys the defense as Matilyn Voss awaits her decision. Grow is second on the team with 6.2 points per game. Kory Carpenter photo.
