Last Friday night, there was more on the line for Liberty and Freedom's girls basketball teams than a rivalry win, because at the end of the night, only one team would qualify for district playoffs.

It was the Hurricanes who prevailed on their home court, 56-45, advancing to the district tournament, which begins next week.

Regarding a recent losing streak, Liberty senior, Dominique Oyeniyi, said, "We were kind of thinking about that. Some people were down on us, but we worked hard and talked about those games."

Whether it was the rivalry factor or the district playoff factor, the Hurricanes started the game with a bang, taking a 15-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Patriots, however, scored 15 points of their own in the second quarter to pull within five by halftime.

"At first, we were concerned because usually we get a lead and other teams come back, but we kept our intensity up and kept pushing the ball," said Oyeniyi, who scored four points in the third quarter.

Maddie Capuano and Torie Zerbe hit a three pointer apiece to widen the Hurricanes' lead.

The Patriots tried to shift the momentum at the end of the third quarter when Taylor Garza had back-to-back layups.

Garza later hit a three pointer, along with teammates Brenna Dosedlo, who had two, and Tori McCaslin, but Liberty refused to let their rival shrink the gap by less than seven points.

"We didn't want our season to end early," Oyeniyi said.

The Patriots had one more change to clinch a berth on Monday night against Central, but lost.

Also last Friday, Bethlehem Catholic defeated Easton, 67-16. The Becahi girls will take part in the LVC playoffs this week, which take place after Press deadlines.

The Hawks are the tourney's top seed and were scheduled to face fourth-seed Nazareth on Tuesday at Liberty. If they win, the girls would face the winner of Parkland and Central on Friday in the finals, also at Liberty.