The Liberty Chargers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Monday after their third straight loss. They took a 36-32 hit to the loss column at the hands of Celebration. Liberty lost against Celebration in their previous head to head back in January, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 39-25 score last time.
Liberty's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was India Smith, who scored 5 points along with 7 steals. Smith is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Bryanna Baguette was another key contributor, scoring 6 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Celebration found their leader in underclassman Evelyn Juden , who scored 13 points along with 8 steals and 6 rebounds. That makes it two consecutive games in which Juden has scored at least 25% of Celebration's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Valeria Martinez, who scored 8 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 steals.
Liberty's defeat dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Celebration, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Liberty will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Winter Park at 6:30 p.m. As for Celebration, they will head out on the road to face off against Cypress Creek at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (Cypress Creek is ranked 256th, while Celebration is ranked 246th).
