LIBERTY — After a win at home over Seward and a loss on the road to Monticello, Eldred was back in action for the third time this week on Thursday night as they took on the Liberty RedHawks. The Lady Yellowjackets jumped out to an early lead and continued to build momentum throughout the game as they defeated Liberty 56-17.

Eldred started the game scoring the first 14 points of the game before Liberty netted an And-1 layup near the end of the quarter to close it 14-3. Eldred’s zone defense proved effective as Liberty struggled to mount any offensive attacks.

In the second quarter, Eldred continued to dominate on both ends of the floor. The Lady Yellowjackets added 12 more points to their lead while holding Liberty scoreless in the frame to go up 26-3 at the half.

Sydney Furler netted eight of her game-high 24 points in the first half, but a mix of scoring from Eldred helped build their lead.

After the break, Liberty was able to make some adjustments to score some points, a total of nine in the third quarter. The Eldred defense still managed to force, and capitalize on, turnovers throughout the second half, outscoring Liberty 17-9 in the third quarter as they extended their lead to 43-12.

By the time the game entered the final frame, both teams were able to work on some things, with Liberty deploying a man-to-man defense and Eldred giving a few JV players some valuable varsity minutes to learn.

By the time the game reached its conclusion, Eldred had secured a 56-17 win.

“It was a good win for us, the girls needed a confidence boost,” Eldred Coach June Hallock said. “We played a lot better than our last game, with less turnovers and more made free throws. Our last few games have been a struggle, but now we get to concentrate on our next game.”

Liberty Coach Tim Johnson had some great insights following the loss. “We’re a very young team this year but we’re improving,” he explained. “We’re still trying to figure out our rotations, but I see glimpses of what this team can be. We just have to build, review film and make adjustments.”