Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – Liberty High played shorthanded Saturday in its non-conference showdown with Clear Creek Amana.

Down a pair of starters the Lightning didn’t skip a beat.

Natalie Ramsey scored 18 points and freshman Natalie Schechinger and Madilyn Meyer stepped up with big performances in their first career starts as Class 5A No. 15 Liberty High downed 4A ninth-ranked Clear Creek Amana 64-58 in a meeting of ranked teams in North Liberty.

“We talked about how we have kids that can step up and all we need is the people in our circle and we believed in each other,” Liberty High coach Jamie Brandt said. “Clear Creek Amana is a good team, they have some really good players but it was fun to see some of those other kids step up in big minutes.”

Liberty High played without starting guards Maddie and Ava Casey who were out of town.

Schechinger and Meyer stepped into the lineup and stepped up as Liberty High improved to 3-0 on the season with its second win over a ranked opponent in less than 24 hours.

“Coach told us with two of our main guards gone we all had to step up,” Schechinger said. “We have a deep bench and we were able to do that.”

Schechinger had nine points and eight rebounds while handling a bulk of the ball handling chores for Liberty High on Saturday.

Meyer had a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

Ramsey led three Liberty High players in double figures with 18 points as Kennedy Goodheart added 13 points for the Lightning.

“We had a really good team win, everybody was doing their part,” Ramsey said. “We had a lot of players step up.”

Even without a pair of its normal playmakers in the Casey sisters who average a combined 21.5 points per game through two games Liberty High was as efficient as it was balanced on Saturday.

The Lightning shot 55 percent from the floor including 10-of-16 from 3-point range.

“This just shows they type of team we have and how hard we are willing to work,” Ramsey said. “Everyone on our team puts in the work and we know any one can step up any game.”

Ramsey scored the final five points of the first half on a 3-pointer and pull-up jumper to give the Lightning a 33-26 halftime lead.

Liberty High opened the second half with an 11-2 run and took its largest lead at 44-28 on a Meyer 3-pointer.

Clear Creek Amana (1-3) charged back.

The Clippers scored the next 12 points, closed the quarter on a 14-1 run and trailed just 45-43 entering the fourth quarter.

Clear Creek Amana took its first lead since the second quarter on a Lena Evans 3-pointer less than 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

“A couple of years ago, or maybe even last year I don’t think we would have been able to handle that and hang on for a win,” Brandt said. “We talk a lot about how when other teams go on runs its about how we handle it and I’m just really proud of the way we fought.”

Liberty High had the final run.

The Lightning scored nine straight points to regain the lead, a burst that started with a pair of free throws by Ramsey and was capped by the third 3-pointer of the game by Meyer.

Schechinger had a driving layup during the 9-0 burst that gave the Lightning a 54-46 lead with 4:32 remaining.

“She’s just a competitor,” Brandt said of Schechinger. “I could tell that kid to run through a wall and she would do it. She’s coachable, she’s one of our best defenders as a freshman and she has a good basketball IQ.”

Averie Lower had a game-high 21 points and six rebounds to lead Clear Creek Amana while Evans had 13 points and Brooklyn Lee added 12 for the Clippers.

“We had really good effort at the end, they went on a run but we never doubted ourselves,” Schechinger said. “We kept up our defense and never let up.”

Clear Creek Amana              16  10  17  15  –  58

Liberty High                          13  20  12  19  –  64

Clear Creek Amana (58) – Alex Schrage 0-3 0-0 0, Averie Lower 7-16 3-4 21, Lena Evans 6-13 0-0 13, Kennedy Stratton 2-6 1-2 6, Nakia Tangang 2-2 2-4 6, Brooklyn Lee 4-8 0-0 12, Totals 21-48 6-10 58.

Liberty High (64) – Janessa Mosley 1-4 1-2 4, Natalie Schechinger 3-7 3-4 9, Kennedy Goodheart 5-7 0-0 13, Sydney Van Heukelom 0-0 1-2 1, Morgan Bennett 3-5 0-0 7, Madilyn Meyer 4-6 1-2 12, Natalie Ramsey 6-11 4-4 18, Totals 22-40 10-14 64.

3-point field goals – Clear Creek Amana 10-27 (Schrage 0-3, Lower 4-10, Evans 1-5, Stratton 1-1, Lee 4-8), Liberty High 10-16 (Mosley 1-3, Goodheart 3-4, Bennett 1-1, Meyer 3-4, Ramsey 2-4). Rebounds – Clear Creek Amana 19 (Lower 6), Liberty High 30 (Ramsey 9). Total fouls – Clear Creek Amana 16, Liberty High 13. Turnovers – Clear Creek Amana 14, Liberty High 19. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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