Gera Scores Her 1,000th, Auburn Blows Past Liverpool With Stellar 4th Quarter

January 2, 2019

Auburn 71, Liverpool 63

The first game of 2019 was a rare Wednesday matinee. On a day where some school districts were back in session and others not, Liverpool & Auburn made full use of their day off for a 1:00 tip. The game was a shootout from the tip, but Liverpool was able to maintain the upper hand for over 29 minutes of action. However, the time that Auburn led was the most important, as they were able to go on a huge run late and grab a home victory.

Stef Gera dropped 18 for Auburn, including the 1,000th point of her varsity career, in Wednesday's win.

The milestone of the day was handled very quickly. Auburn standout 2019 and SUNY Cortland commit Stef Gera came into the game with 999 career points, and there wasn't a long wait for the home crowd to see her secure quadruple digits. She sank a three from the top just under 90 seconds into the game to reach the coveted mark and get that weight lifted off her shoulders. When play resumed, Liverpool quickly gained the upper hand off the strength of the three. Karly Shifflett (Liverpool 2021), Victoria Morgan (Liverpool 2021), and Laya Ashkar (Liverpool 2019) all hit threes in the first 8 minutes - Shifflett hit two of them - to give Liverpool a 14-9 edge. Then they started to establish Amanda Barnell (Liverpool 2019) in the post, as she scored 7 quick points in the 2nd and helped Liverpool get their largest lead of 9. They were able to maintain a 28-23 edge going into the locker room.

Amanda Barnell was a presence in the blocks for Liverpool and finished with 15 points.

Auburn came out of the locker room strong, scoring the first 4 of the quarter and eventually tying it at 33 on a Jania Freeman layup. Shifflett knocked down another three to respond for Liverpool, and a quick 9-2 spurt gave them a 7 point lead again. Auburn continued to hang around, taking advantage of Liverpool defensive breakdowns for some easy ones along the way, but the hot shooting of the Warriors was able to keep the hosts at bay into the 4th quarter. Liverpool led by as much as 6 early in the 4th on three separate occasions - a pair of Barnell free throws, another Barnell layup, and a Lexi Emmi (Liverpool 2019) basket that gave them a 55-49 edge - but then it was Auburn's time to make their push. Marlee Solomon (Auburn 2020) hit a pair of baseline jumpers to start what would be a monster 4th quarter for her. She scored again to cut it to two, and after Gera tied it at 57, an Emma Nolan basket gave Auburn the lead with 2:37 left. After Solomon scored once again, Shifflett canned her 5th three of the game to cut Liverpool's deficit to 1. But it was Solomon once again, converting twice to start a quick 8-0 spurt to put it out of reach. A Freeman layup gave Auburn a 9 point lead and effectively put it out of reach, even after Shifflett banged home her 6th and final three of the night.

Marlee Solomon made the most of her scoring opportunities, dropping 14 in the 4th quarter and a game high 23 in total. Stef Gera continued her production after scoring her 1,000th early in the game, adding 18 points to the cause, and Jania Freeman chipped in with 10. Karly Shifflett hit 6 of Liverpool's 11 threes and led the way with 18 points for Liverpool. Amanda Barnell contributed 15 for the Warriors, Victoria Morgan added 11, and Laya Ashkar chipped in with 9.

Marlee Solomon dropped a game high 23 points, 14 coming in the 4th for Auburn.

#JeffsNotes

- Mentioned this on Twitter, but worth saying again. Stef Gera, a 5'3" on a good day guard, has been known as a dynamic scorer that can fill it up in a hurry. That can be shown by her career scoring mark - 1,017 points and counting. But the SUNY Cortland commit showed me some encouraging things besides being able to put the ball in the basket. On top of her 18 points, Stef was able to create for others off the dribble and get the ball where it needed to be & when it needed to be there for others to contribute. This improving ability to create for others is an important piece. As a smaller guard, I've thought that her ability to contribute right away would hang on that more than her pure scoring ability, as anyone that knows her game knows she can do that against anyone you put in front of her. I'm becoming more confident that Stef is someone that can step into Cortland's program, and the SUNYAC as a whole, and be able to contribute & make an impact right away.

- Karly Shifflett is one of the better offensive players that you probably don't know about. The 2021 guard is simply fun to watch when she gets it going, and she was certainly hitting in this game. Catch & shoot? Sure. A few feet behind the three point line? Bang. Quick fire off a screen? No problem. Stepback three against good defense? Better offense - barely moved the net. She hit 6 threes and I'm not sure if she attempted 10. That shotmaking ability, when done with consistency, is dangerous in any situation. Karly is someone I've had my eye on for a while now, seeing her scoring prowess with the Syracuse Nets carry over to a couple of my EST events and beyond, and I'm looking forward to seeing her continued development.

Karly Shifflett was feeling it from start to finish for Liverpool, hitting 6 treys & finishing with 18 points.

- The combined field goal percentage between the two teams had to be the highest out of any game I've seen this year. Part good offense, part getting out in transition and getting easy ones, part shotmaking ability, part not the best defensive showing - wherever you want to go with it, Auburn HS needs new nets after Wednesday afternoon.