Girls Basketball: Northshore overcomes slow start, dominates second half in win over Liberty

The Sugar Bowl Prep Classic is back at the Alario Center, with @LadyNorthshore taking the win over @liberty_magnet in the opening round #sbprepclassic pic.twitter.com/x08CadEcVP

— Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic (@sbprepclassic) January 5, 2022

WESTWEGO – It has been a very good season already for Northshore High.

It got a bit better Wednesday afternoon.

The Lady Panthers overcame a slow start and the size of Liberty to run away from the Lady Patriots in the second half in a 45-30 victory in the opening round of the Platinum Girls Bracket of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center. It was the ninth straight win for Northshore.

In the first quarter, the size of Liberty created real problems for Northshore as the Lady Patriots jumped out to a 14-9 lead and took an 18-13 lead by the end of the quarter behind 10 points from Ceira Myers.

The Lady Panthers went zone defensively and changed the game starting in the second quarter, holding the Lady Patriots to just 12 points the rest of the way. By halftime, the game was tied 24-24 as Cherie Spencer had 10 points in the half, including eight in the second quarter for Northshore.

The third quarter was the undoing of Liberty as Northshore forced nine turnovers and outscored the Lady Patriots 17-1 to take a commanding 41-25 lead going to the final quarter and extended the lead to 45-25 before Liberty scored the final five points of the game.

Tierra Sylvas led Northshore (15-3) with 24 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and added three steals. Spencer had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Whitney Hunt led Liberty (9-8) with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Myers finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Lady Patriots were plagued by 24 turnovers.

Northshore advances to meet five-time defending Division I state champion John Curtis Christian in the quarterfinals Thursday at 7 p.m.

FINAL
Northshore 13 11 17 4 — 45
Liberty 18 6 1 5 — 30

Scoring:
Northshore: Tierra Sylvas 24, Cherie Spencer 10, Tiarra Tillison 4, Ryha Butler 4, Kennedy Strange 3

Liberty: Whitney Hunt 15, Ceira Myers 11, Kaysharia Woods 2, Anniah Holliday 2

Rebounds:
Northshore 25, Liberty 33

Turnovers:
Northshore 10, Liberty 24

Area Prep Basketball Results from Wednesday, Jan. 5

Boys
Amite 59, Covington 48
Bogalusa 73, Grace King 61
John Ehret 68, Belle Chasse 52
Pope John Paul II 65, Pearl River 42
St. Paul’s 67, Slidell 55

Girls
Ascension Catholic 60, Lutcher 20
Ben Franklin 47, West Jefferson 46
De La Salle 56, Phoenix 22
East Iberville 47, Varnado 13
Karr 35, Ursuline Academy 28
Lafayette 60, Warren Easton 22
Newman 52, Riverdale 19
Northshore 45, Liberty 30
Pearl River 47, Archbishop Hannan 41
Slidell 52, John F. Kennedy 44
St. Joseph’s Academy 48, Archbishop Chapelle 29