Heading into a doubleheader against the Bellevue Wolverines were the Liberty Patriots, who had two games remaining on the regular season for both the boys and girls teams.
The girls downed the KingCo leaders 57-39 through an impressive second half performance at home on Jan. 31.
Liberty and Bellevue were in a tight contest heading into halftime, but Liberty made four straight three-pointers and found instant separation with their hot shooting. Liberty made just four shots in the first quarter, and in the third quarter, they missed just three total shots from the floor.
The Wolverines were never able to recover as the Patriots cruised to their 13th win of the season and arguably their best win of their 2025 campaign.
“I could tell from the first quarter, defensively, that our attention to detail and following the game plan, they were locked in,” Head Coach Travis Whitaker said.
In fact, 39 points is tied for the fewest points Bellevue had scored all season — and a team that came into the game against Liberty averaging 56 points was hard pressed to find any momentum on offense.
“They were really good about shooting pull-ups and finishing around the rim. We wanted them to shoot more outside shots and box them out, since they were a lot bigger than us,” senior Ella Whitaker said.
Whitaker helped usher Liberty to a 44-25 lead after the third quarter and added five points of her own in the fourth, giving her a game high of 24 points.
“We were really focusing on confidence in ourselves. Especially after our last game against Mount Si, we really showed that confidence (tonight),” Ella said.
Early on, both sides struggled to score as neither side reached double digits in the first quarter, but Liberty had the slightest advantage at 9-7.
Whitaker had 10 points heading into the halftime break, which equaled half of her team’s total points at the break, with a 20-18 lead.
Bellevue has only allowed three other teams to score 57 or more points and for the Patriots. The final tally might have jumped off the page because of how good defensively the Wolverines are.
“We scored more than I thought we would against them. They switch up defenses so much and have good length, so it’s hard to score in the paint…I figured it would be a slugfest,” Whitaker said.
The Liberty girls sit a game back of the Wolverines and will likely be the number two seed in the 3A KingCo Tournament. Liberty fell to the Wolverines on Jan. 8, but have showed the team they can be on any given night.
“I told them don’t be excited about the outcome. It’s the choices we made that got us to that outcome. They just kept stacking good choices,” Coach Whitaker said.
For the boys, their luck wasn’t as good as the girls. The Liberty boys fell to Bellevue 72-61, and for just the third time since 2022, were swept in a regular season series.
“Bellevue is a very talented and athletic team. The physicality of that game was in favor of that side. I think we struggled offensively all game, but in the second half, we really struggled to have any continuity or semblance of a transition game, which is our strength,” Head Coach Omar Parker said.
Following a 64-38 point defeat on Jan. 7, the Patriots fell at home for just the second time all season.
The loss also was the first time Liberty has lost three games in a row since 2019, but to their opponents’ credit, it was to a hot Issaquah team, the reigning 4A champs — and now Bellevue.
As the schedule winds down, Liberty has just Skyline left on the schedule Feb. 4. Parker is looking at the whole season that has gotten the Patriots to a 14-5 record.
“I’d call that a pretty tough road. There are 14 wins that preceded that on that pretty tough road. If we didn’t have the success that we have had this year, I’d be concerned. But know that it is in us to beat the very best teams around. I’m not super worried,” Parker said.
The Wolverines made the Patriots’ night very difficult. The defense was hyper-aggressive and Liberty could not find a rhythm. But for Parker, the offense is not what he is worried about. In his eyes, 62 points should get his team a win.
“We are scoring enough points. But what I am concerned about at this point is our defensive resolve and toughness on the glass. We have shown that we have that at times, but it’s getting to the end of the season and we need to be consistent,” Parker said.