Iowa City Liberty rallies past Keokuk with full-court press, 55-foot heave

NORTH LIBERTY — It’s one of those overused motivational cliches:

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Madeline Casey took a 1-in-100 end-of-the-quarter heave. And she didn’t miss it.

Casey’s 55-footer highlighted a second-half surge, and Iowa City Liberty rallied past Keokuk, 61-50, in a non-conference girls’ basketball game Tuesday night at Liberty High School.

“I’ve never made a shot like that in my life,” said Casey, a freshman. “I threw it up there, and I was really shocked when it went in.”

Others weren’t.

“Knowing her, it didn’t surprise me,” Liberty Coach Jaime Brandt said. “She’s a freshman, but she doesn’t play like it.

“That shot was huge. You saw how the bench reacted. She’s such a great kid. To see her face after it went in, that was pretty funny.”

Liberty (2-1) trailed for the majority of the first three quarters, but a full-court press — and Casey’s bomb — brought the Lightning back. Down 37-28 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Bolts embarked on a 27-6 blitz through the next eight minutes, holding Keokuk (0-2) without a field goal.

“The press turned things around a lot,” said junior Jasmine Barney, a Liberty newcomer after moving from Cedar Falls in the summer. “We picked up the energy, and that got us going.”

“We were lacking a little energy and effort, then we got up and started pressing them,” Brandt said. “She started playing harder, getting to those 50-50 balls.”

Casey scored all eight of her points in a 47-second span to end the third quarter. Her 3-pointer got the Lightning even at 39-39, then she scored on a feed from Barney to put them in front, 41-39.

Keokuk’s Abby Wolter made the second of two free throws with 0:02 left, and that was enough time for Casey to take the inbounds pass, well behind the half-court line and let it fly.

Bingo.

Barney opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to make it 47-40, then the Lightning got the lead to 12 on three occasions.

Brandt employed a rotation of 10, and got contributions from everybody. Barney posted 15 points, six rebounds and six assists. Brynlee Slockett added 10 points, Ava Meyer and Mischa Reiners nine each, Casey eight, Avery Gaudet seven.

Behind Slockett and Reiners, Liberty enjoyed a 22-4 advantage in bench points.

The Lightning were 9 for 19 from 3-point range after starting 0 for 5.

Abby Wolter led Keokuk with 18 points, but missed 12 of 18 free throws. Kayde Martin scored 12 points, and Makayla Altgilbers added eight points, eight rebounds and seven steals.

Keokuk spotted Liberty the first four points, then went on a 16-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 16-6. The Chiefs led 27-23 at halftime.

Iowa City Liberty 61, Keokuk 50

At North Liberty

KEOKUK (50): Natalie Ames 1-4 0-0 3, Makenna Altgilbers 1-3 0-0 3, Makayla Altgilbers 4-6 0-0 8, Abby Wolter 6-16 6-18 18, Kayde Martin 4-11 4-7 12, Abby Belba 2-3 0-0 4, Irelynn Seay 0-1 0-0 0, Camryn Attenberg 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 18-44 12-27 50.

IOWA CITY LIBERTY (61): Avery Gaudet 1-6 4-4 7, Jasmine Barney 5-11 3-4 15, Kennedy Daugherty 0-3 0-0 0, Ava Meyer 2-7 4-4 9, Madeline Casey 3-7 0-1 8, Bella Tafolla 1-2 0-0 3, Brynlee Slockett 3-7 2-2 10, Kinsley Robertson 0-1 0-0 0, Mischa Reiners 4-5 1-2 9. Totals 19-49 14-20 61.

Keokuk 18 9 13 10 — 50

Iowa City Liberty 9 14 21 17 — 61

3-point goals: Keokuk 2-10 (Ames 1-3, Makenna Altgilbers 1-1, Wolter 0-2, Martin 0-3, Seay 0-1), Liberty 9-19 (Gaudet 1-2, Barney 2-3, Daugherty 0-1, Meyer 1-3, Casey 2-5, Tafolla 1-2, Slockett 2-3). Team fouls: Keokuk 16, Liberty 19. Fouled out: Reiners. Rebounds: Keokuk 37 (Makaya Altgilbers 8), Liberty 31 (Barney, Meyer 6). Assists: Keokuk 3 (Wolter 2), Liberty 9 (Barney 6). Steals: Keokuk 9 (Makaya Altgilbers 7), Liberty 5 (Barney 2). Turnovers: Keokuk 16, Liberty 10.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com