LIBERTY – Last Friday night, the Liberty Lady Redhawks hosted the Chester Lady Hambletonians for a non-league basketball match up. Liberty brought the intensity and hustle to earn their 43-31 win. It was still a great game but was one sided in Liberty’s favor. After the win, Liberty’s Coach Levar Hamilton said, “The girls played great, they hustled and never gave up, even during tough transitions. They kept fighting and pushing through for the win. They played for each other and for their Senior nigh,t and it was an excellent game.”

Liberty shot out of the gate with an immediate fast break layup off the jump ball. They followed that with another inside the box layup after a few precise passes. Halfway through the quarter, the Lady Redhawks were up 6-0, and Chester looked like they were strapping in for a long ride. It seemed Chester had little hope of getting past Liberty’s Arianna Wilson down low, who had multiple big blocks in the opening quarter, and then transitioned into outside shooting. As the first quarter ended, Chester started to find their rhythm,m dropping a few shots to end the quarter 13-6 behind Liberty. However, in the second quarter, Liberty took off both defensively and offensively. Adriana Ponce and Belle Gandulla scored around the perimeter. Giselle Payton and Arianna Wilson forced turnovers and made blocks to stop Chester’s momentum. Liberty went into the locker room at halftime up 26-12 and the game in their hands. 

Chester didn’t give up easily, coming out of halftime with drive. They scored first and went on a 7-point run before Liberty was able to answer. Chester was able to close the lead slightly and ended the quarter down 36-26. The final quarter was intense, but the Redhawks controlled the tempo. Chester managed to come within eight points during the final quarter, the closest they had been since early on. Fortunately for Liberty, they were able to take home the 43-31 win over the Hambletonians.