Although Stroudsburg's aggressive play took Liberty by surprise, the Hurricanes fought back and came up with a 44-39 victory over the Mounties on Friday night at the Yasso-Rothrock Christmas City Classic at Liberty High School.

Liberty junior guard and captain, Madison Capuano, put up four quick points, and junior center, Torie Zerbe, scored two more points within the first 35 seconds of the game before Stroudsburg called a timeout. The Mounties came back with 10 straight points, making sure the Hurricanes knew they were for real.

"We lost it, and they went on a run," said Capuano. "We just regrouped and got our nerves out."

Bringing sophomore guard, Reyna DeJesus, off the bench seemed to be the spark the Hurricanes needed, scoring five points and putting Liberty ahead 13-12 by the end of the first quarter.

Liberty junior guard and captain, Kaylin West, said, "Reyna looks to keep us up. When we get tired, she comes off the bench and keeps everything up."

West, who opened the second quarter with two points, was also named player of the game for Liberty.

"It feels pretty good. I won it last year, but personally, I think Taysia [Snead] should have gotten it. She's one of the players who kept us in the game. She picked up the intensity," said West.

Snead's presence on the court in the third quarter converted to seven points for the junior guard, taking the Hurricanes into the fourth quarter with a 28-21 lead.

The Mounties, however, tied the game twice, the second time with approximately 1:30 left in the game. Liberty sophomore center, Kristina Polak, put the Hurricanes ahead by two points and blocked a Stroudsburg shot in the last 20 seconds.

West's foul shots sealed the game for the Hurricanes.

"We didn't expect Stroudsburg to be so physical. Basically, we picked it up in the second half, and it was nice to have a lot of support from a big crowd," West said.