BRENTWOOD, Calif. - On a night where the Heritage seniors were recognized against their cross-town rival, one such senior stole the show as she has throughout her high school career.
“Honestly, I am really proud of this accomplishment as rebounds are kind of underappreciated, and it’s just fun to get rebounds,” remarked Boise State-bound Abby Muse, as she added 1,000 rebounds to the many feats of her high school career and was recognized during an early timeout. “Senior Night was an out of body experience, an emotional experience too. At the same time, it was super cool and very special.”
With Muse’s 14 points and 16 rebounds, and help from fellow seniors such as Paige Ziemann (11 points, two steals) and Payton Bradley (16 points, four three-pointers), the Patriots were able to completely dominate rival Liberty from the outset during the 69-40 victory.
From the opening tip-off, the Patriots led, and the No. 40 girls' team in California, according to MaxPreps, showed no signs of stopping, improving to 6-0 in league play in the process. Heritage's 18-2 first quarter advantage set the tone early as Ziemann, in her first game back after a foot injury that had kept her sidelined for multiple games, had five points, an assist and a steal within the opening two minutes.
One of the few bright spots for the Lions was an 8-0 run to bring them within 11 late in the second quarter. Junior Rylie Manke’s back-to-back three-pointers in the run, accompanied by a Kylee Rodgers layup, had the Lions' visiting crowd energized. Manke finished with 15 points as Liberty’s leading scorer, despite coming off the bench.
Coming out of halftime up by 14, the senior Muse came into the second half energized. Her four points and four rebounds in the opening three minutes of the third quarter padded the Patriot lead. She capped off the 12-4 run with an assist to her freshman sister, Amanda.
“I know the seniors value the rivalry against Liberty, and to get them out there together to finish the game was very special for them,” said Heritage coach Rob Ocon, on being able to get the senior girls on the court together to close out the game. “That group hasn’t been able to get out there together this year based on match-ups, so to get them out there and play well together was very exciting for me as a coach.”
The Patriots improved to 6-0 in the BVAL, 16-4 overall with the win. The Lions, now 2-4 in the BVAL and 8-14 overall, have a BVAL match-up against Deer Valley on Tuesday.
Editor's Note: Heritage improved to 17-4 on Saturday afternoon when the Patriots downed Rocklin, 64-25. Heritage led 30-19 at the half before holding the Thunder to two points in the third quarter and pulling away for the one-sided victory.
