Liberty girls capture first playoff victory in school history

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 | 1:18 a.m.

Members of the Liberty girls basketball team already had a sense of accomplishment Thursday night when they took the court against host Valley in the Sunrise Regional quarterfinals.

Liberty's 60-56 come-from-behind victory was icing on the cake.

Playing in the program's first-ever playoff game in its six-year history, the Patriots rallied from a nine-point deficit with five minutes to play to win and secure a spot in Friday's regional semifinals.

As the clock expired, the girls gathered in front of their bench to savor the moment. There were plenty of hugs and tears of joy as the Patriots memorable run extended another day.

"It took us awhile to get rid of those first-ever playoff game jitters," Liberty coach Chris Zunno said. "We finally realized that this was just another 32-minute game."

But for a school that has struggled in most sports since opening in fall 2003, the rare appearance was cause for celebration.

The student council, led by advisor Amanda Zunno, coach Zunno's wife, printed special shirts and distributed them free to fans who made the 25-mile drive to Valley for the game. Those fans cheered from start to finish, refusing to let a seemingly insurmountable second-half deficit dampen their enthusiasm.

Adding to the excitement is the school's boys' team, which won its playoff game Thursday to advance to the regional finals. The boys will play for the school's first-ever regional title in any sport tomorrow. A win would give them a berth in the state tournament.

"There is a lot of pride at Liberty right now," Amanda Zunno said. "Everyone is really excited."

The girls' team only won one game in 2007, but picked up 11 victories last winter in Zunno's first year. Now, they are one of six teams in Southern Nevada's large-school classification still playing and picked up their 19th win Thursday.

"We proved we are a force to be reckoned with tonight," coach Zunno said. "It's been great to watch this grow. Girls basketball isn't always the most supported sport, but everyone at school always asks when we are playing. Our principal was here tonight instead of watching our boys."

Liberty closed the game with an 18-6 run in the final five minutes. Amanda Delgado's 3-pointer with 37.2 seconds to play gave the Patriots the advantage for good at 57-56. It was the first time they led since the first quarter.

Delgado finished with 13 points, and Jade Washington had a team-high 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining that cut Liberty's deficit to 54-52.

"We showed we had heart," Washington said. "There are no words to describe how exciting this is."

What is equally exciting for Zunno is the youth of his program. He started two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman against Valley. Liberty only has one senior -- reserve guard Carlotta Island, who did not play in the victory but was one of the first off the bench to join the postgame festivities.

"We proved everyone wrong," Island said.

Liberty, which is the host site for the regional semifinals and finals, plays Green Valley High in the semifinals. Green Valley, the tournament's top seed, has beat Liberty three times this year, including 89-57 on Feb. 6.

Just do not expect the Patriots to stop fighting -- especially with their home faithful packing the gym.

"Everyone is supporting us. Everyone is on our bandwagon," Washington said.

Sports Editor Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected].