After a string of four wins, the Liberty Lions's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell just short of Forest Grove by a score of 67-64. While losing is never fun, Liberty can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 236th in California, while Forest Grove is ranked eighth in Oregon).
Liberty's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Madison Perea, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Shyanne Smith who scored 22 points along with five rebounds and three steals. The contest was Perea's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Lea Salinas beamen was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Liberty now has a losing record at 6-7. As for Forest Grove, the victory for they keeps them at an undefeated 9-0.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Liberty is on the road again on Tuesday and play against Carondelet at 5:00 p.m. on January 2nd. Carondelet will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive. As for Forest Grove, they will head out on the road to face off against Hillsboro at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Hillsboro is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games.
