Meridian High School’s girls’ basketball team saw its season conclude on Friday with a trip to VCU’s Stuart C. Siegel Center for the VHSL Class 3 State Finals, the Lady Mustangs’ third time competing for a title in the past four years. Their opponents this time around were the Bulldogs of Liberty Christian Academy, the Lynchburg school founded by the same Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. Liberty came into the game at 26-0 with 24 of those wins by double digits, and defeated Carroll County, the school that Meridian fell to in 2022, in the State Quarterfinals.
The Mustangs would be no pushover, though, with a 22-5 record themselves and only one loss in their past 16 games. Despite being considered major underdogs, they jumped out to a 5-0 lead after Nora Stufft made a layup and Ellie Friesen hit a three, and then a second Friesen three extended the lead to 10-5 moments later. Meridian controlled most of the first quarter, though the Bulldogs tied the game at 14 after a frame and then went ahead with the first basket of the second period, but then Chris Carrico’s defense ramped up the pressure and the Mustangs scored all seven of the remaining points in a fast, low-scoring first half.
Meridian’s 21-16 advantage at the intermission quickly extended to 25-16 after Stufft scored a pair of buckets, and then a third Friesen three gave the Mustangs a double-digit lead at 30-19 midway through the third. Even after Liberty came back with a 7-0 run, the girls were able to regroup and go ahead 33-26 after three, and then 36-26 early in the fourth after Mo Tremblay, the Regional Player of the Year, hit from deep. Meridian was less than eight minutes away from its second State Title in four years, and those who traveled from Falls Church to cheer on the Mustangs were feeling it.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Another spurt from the Bulldogs got them within three before both teams went on a scoring drought for several minutes, and then four more points by way of a pair of free throws and then a layup off a stolen inbounds pass gave Liberty the lead. After a series of trading baskets, the two teams founds themselves tied at 40 with barely a minute remaining when the Bulldogs went back to the foul line and made one of two, and while Meridian had its chances to regain the upper hand, none of them were successful. Liberty continued to execute at the stripe and took a four point lead in the final seconds, and although Tremblay was able to hit a three at the buzzer for the Mustangs, it wasn’t enough as they fell by a final score of 44-43.
Carrico and his girls were understandably a bit disappointed in the result, but also calm and collected as there were still plenty of positives to take away.
“I thought we had them on the ropes,” said the coach. “We had a game plan to make it as difficult as we could, and the girls executed it. For an underdog to go out there and scrap that much, we couldn’t have asked for much more.”
“We just let them throw us off our game a bit too much,” added Tremblay. “We let them speed us up too much, and then they threw the press at us and we weren’t mentally prepared enough.”
Friesen shared similar sentiments. “If we’d just ran the game like we did in the first half, we probably would’ve won,” she commented.
Tremblay had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Mustangs, closing out her high school playing days with a valiant effort. Friesen had 11, and is among three Meridian starters who are set to return for unfinished business next season.
