Liberty Common girls basketball skipping learning curve

With its program in only its second season of varsity play, the Liberty Common (Fort Collins) girls basketball players aren't aware of any imposed boundaries of how well they are supposed to play.

Win a game, on to the next one, win again. That's just how it works for most programs, right?

Well, the Fort Collins-based Eagles aren't that naïve. Their school's state-best ACT scores prove that much. But the 2013-14 group only knows winning so far, having darted to an 11-0 record and a No. 1 designation in the AP Media Poll despite carrying zero seniors and having only one previous varsity season – a 13-10 season – as a measuring stick.

"Most the games we lost last year, they weren't blowouts," Liberty Common point guard Molly Gillis said. "So winning some of them this year, I think we knew this was possible. I don't think it was a complete shock.

"But definitely, we've come together as a team and made it more our goal that since we're on this roll, we have to keep it up."

The Eagles, who compete in the Class 2A Mile High League, have a cohesive mix of starters and have been buoyed by the addition of 6-foot-1 freshman center Halley Miklos, who is averaging 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Former Windsor assistant and JV coach Troy Ukasick has taken over coaching duties this season, taking the reins from Jesse Morrill, who left the program in good shape when he departed to take an administrative position at another school. So far, Ukasick hasn't experienced a loss in his new head-coaching gig.

"I didn't know we'd start this hot, but I didn't really know what to think with it being my first year here," Ukasick said. "I knew we had a good group of girls coming in because I'd watched them play over the summer. They really improved throughout the summer."

The Eagles, who will move to 3A next season, have their two most crucial positions taken care of with Miklos in the post and Gillis (10.6 scoring average) at the point. Add to the mix athletic power forward Hannah Ellis (11.2) and perimeter threats Kayla Rhoads and Rachel Tralmer on the wings, and it's as solid a starting five as there is in the classification.

"We like to come out and shoot," Ukasick said. "My philosophy is, shoot before you throw it away. We shoot a lot, we run a lot and we press a lot, and the girls are receiving it well. They're just gamers."

The uptempo Eagles, who have gone 4-0 in league play, average 61.5 points a game. That includes twice cracking the 80-point mark twice and having only two close games – a 47-44 win against Highland (Ault) and a 50-41 triumph against Prairie (New Raymer).

The schedule gets a bit more rugged now, starting with Saturday's matchup against Front Range Christian (Littleton) (7-3). Seventh-ranked Heritage Christian (Fort Collins) looms in a crosstown-rival game on Feb. 13. But it's tough to rattle an Eagles squad that understands it essentially gets two years of the current personnel.

"It's really cool to think about," Gillis said. "Our coach said that it's a unique experience that (the juniors) basically get to be seniors twice, which is exciting. You think about teams you play, and you wonder ‘oh, what about that girl?' Well, she's a senior.

"When teams come up against us, they see there are no seniors and think, ‘Well, next year they're going to be this good, too.'"

The charter school, located on the east side of town, is in its third year of operation. The basketball team existed in its first season, but it wasn't yet sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association. Many of the current juniors played for that inaugural squad, which gives them a lot more experience than many classmates across the classification.

Add to that the high level of performance academically, and maybe it's not so much of a surprise that the Eagles have taken off so swiftly. Ukasick sometimes will take a good-natured dig at his players if they fail to perform a play, jokingly asking: "Are you sure you have the highest ACT scores in the state?"

"Every coach we've had has said that, wow, we pick up things fast," Gillis said. "We don't spend weeks trying to figure something out. It usually takes one practice to learn it. We pick things up pretty easily."

The 11-0 record in season No. 2 is a testament to that.