A five-game losing streak in late January left the Liberty girls basketball team no wiggle room. The Hurricanes had to win their three Lehigh Valley Conference games in February or they could forget about the postseason.

By Friday evening, Liberty's hopes of playing into March remained intact.

Kay West drilled seven of her nine foul shots over the final 1:38 to help the Hurricanes hold off rival Freedom for a 56-45 LVC win at Memorial Gym. The victory gave Liberty (10-11 overall, 7-7 LVC) the .500 league record it needed to qualify for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs.

A week ago, Liberty owned a 4-7 league mark after a loss to Bethlehem Catholic. The Hurricanes rebounded to post a two-point win over Emmaus last Saturday and a three-point win over Easton on Tuesday, setting up Friday's make-or-break game with the Patriots (9-11, 4-9).

West, Nicole Amann, Maddie Capuano, Torie Zerbe, Gabby Pastor and Dominique Oyeniyi all came through at different times to help Liberty fend off several Freedom rallies.

"I definitely wanted to keep playing," said an out-of-breath Amann after a 13-point, four-rebound, three-steal night. "We fought hard these last couple of games. We just had to come out and win it. Who wanted it more? We did."

Up five points at halftime, Liberty took control of the game with a 16-3 run to start the third quarter. Oyeniyi scored all four of her points during that stretch, West had a basket and three assists and Amann added four points. Capuano and Zerbe also hit 3-pointers during the spurt, which left Liberty with an 18-point lead, its largest advantage of the game.

Freedom kept coming, closing within six points with 1:42 to play in the fourth quarter. Sophomore guards West (14 points) and Capuano (nine points) combined to make nine foul shots down the stretch to prevent the Patriots from completing their rally.

Zerbe, another member of Liberty's sophomore class, added eight points off the bench. She made all three shots she attempted, including a layup and 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to halt an early Freedom surge.

"Those sophomores are coming along," first-year Liberty coach Becky Soto said. "We're a young team, but we're graduating five seniors. It's just finding those roles for those younger girls. [Zerbe] did a great job tonight."

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Liberty girls basketball team clinches D11 berth with win over Freedom