Liberty seniors aim for state hoops play

Four years ago, when Laura Davis, Andrea Collins, Cami Bullock, Shawn Hennessey and Caitlin Jeske began their basketball careers at Liberty High School, the Lancers were a struggling team at the bottom of the Northeast A League.

“When we were younger and there were seniors above us, our team never really got along,” Davis remembered. “There was constant bickering; especially after we were killed by teams, the locker room would be complete chaos.

“There would be fighting. The older girls didn’t like the younger girls, and the younger girls didn’t like the older girls. We couldn’t get anything done.”

What a difference four years can make. Now the Lancers are the champions of the Bi-County B League as the top seed for the district tournament.

Winning didn’t begin overnight for Liberty, though. The changes began three years ago, when Liberty moved from the Class A ranks to the small-school B division, and the move coincided with Christi Henning taking over the Lancer program.

“When I first started, my main goal was for us to be able to improve every year, and we’ve done that each year,” said Henning, whose first team finished third in league, then second last season. “The main thing is I’ve had this core group of kids for three years.

“They do more summer stuff than any B school around. We do anywhere, on average, four to six tournaments a summer and play between 80 and over 100 games a summer.

“That was a big thing. The kids have put in the effort.”

That effort has translated to success on the court, as the Lancers won 14 of their first 15 games in league to clinch the Bi-County title going into the district tournament. The winning attitude not only has been a product of hard work, but also of a close knit camaraderie among the five seniors who helped pick the program back up.

“We’ve played together all four years, and even when we were younger, we played together,” said Bullock, who plays power forward. “We have team chemistry, and we’ve worked hard during the summer.”

“This year is so different and so much fun,” said Collins, who moved to point guard this season after playing the shooting guard role previously. “Our core of five seniors has been playing together since third grade.

“Our communication is so much better than it’s ever been. It’s really fun to go to practice every day.

“We’ve had our hard times, but because we’re all so close, we’ve been able to overcome any adversity. It really is a family for us.”

It literally is a family atmosphere at Liberty.

Collins’ younger sister, Katy, who is a sophomore, is on the team. Hennessey’s sister, freshman Kelly, is on the squad as well.

Throw in Jeske’s two cousins, junior Chelsea Crosby and sophomore Heather Kjack, and it’s almost a Brady Bunch, Liberty-style.

“Caitlin, Cami and I aren’t related, but we’ve all gone to school since kindergarten together, and we’ve played basketball since third grade,” said Hennessey, who plays at the shooting guard spot. “We’re all really close.

“It’s just good to add Kelly on the team and Caitlin, Heather, Andrea, Katy and Chelsea. It’s all fun to play as a family, even though those of us who aren’t related call each other family.”

“The community support is unbelievable,” said Henning. “Everyone is involved. It’s a true family atmosphere starting with our team.

“We have kids who are cousins and sisters. We have grandparents, aunts and uncles – everyone comes to these games.

“It’s successful in more ways than just winning because we’re having a really good time this year.”

With the regular season concluding this week, the Lancers will turn their attentions to the postseason, hoping the four years of work from the seniors will pay off in the ultimate prize.

“I have a goal that we make it to state,” said Jeske, who plays the center position. “I think that’s our biggest goal for all of us.

“We want to do well in districts and regionals, but we understand we can’t be cocky and look past districts and regionals and think because we’re number one in the league we automatically go to state.

“We have to play every game and not overlook any team no matter whether they’re last in the league or first. We have to show up and play our game.”

“I just want to see the team be successful and win our playoff games,” said Davis. “I’d like to see us go to state because the Liberty girls’ team has not gone to state in a very long time and it’s just a dream that we’ve had for a long time. It would be very special, very cool.”

“Hopefully we go on to the state tournament, where we really want to be,” added Collins. “I feel we’ve put in the hard work and we’ve put in the time over the years.

“I know we have the potential to go to state. As long as we keep working together and playing together as we should, it will happen.

“We’re all hoping for the best. All of us seniors know it’s our last chance, and we know that we can do it together.”