ABILENE — Consider Mikah Henderson a seasoned vet at this point.
The point guard admitted she had butterflies when Lubbock-Cooper Liberty opened the playoffs Monday. After all, she is a freshman.
Henderson plays like anything but.
The Patriots’ leading scorer, she took the floor with a renewed confidence Thursday against Bridgeport. The team followed, as has been the case all season.
Henderson scored 12 of Liberty’s first 14 points, part of a game-high 27, as the Patriots rolled the Sissies 72-41 in a Class 4A Division II area playoff at Moody Coliseum.
It was a stark 180 from a timid start on the same floor three days earlier.
“That was kind of what we keyed in on,” Liberty coach Morgan Glaspie said, “is if you’ll put foot on the gas and start like we know how, you’ll put the game away. Against Glen Rose in the bi-district round, we didn’t necessarily do that. We kind of played at the speed of other people. But when we play our speed, we’re hard to hang with.”
Glaspie anticipated the fast start, which saw Liberty take a 30-9 lead early in the second quarter. The coach noticed something in shootaround, but Henderson said it began well before.
“Before the game we were telling each other we have to have confidence,” Henderson said. “We’re all saying we need to hang out on the bus and not just be on our phones and be on social media; lock in. I think that really helped.”
That connectivity is part of the not-so-secret sauce. The 12th-ranked Patriots (29-4) welcomed Henderson with open arms. Everyone accepted their role, including the youngster as catalyst.
“This group is special because of how they’ve brought in the younger class,” Glaspie said. “We don’t have animosity. We don’t have jealousy. We have one mindset, and it’s our team. We’re together. … That’s why we’re so good, because it’s not (about) who scores the most. It’s that we win.
“We just have a bunch of girls who have brought her in and loved on her, and that’s what makes us us. It’s not about individuals, it’s about our team.”
A hooper since age 6, Henderson said it’s a passion she hopes to continue through college. That’s still a ways away, but she’s already playing with a purpose. It didn’t take her long, either. Henderson said by the third game she had adjusted to varsity ball.
The rest has been literal history.
“She’s kind of the missing piece,” Glaspie said. “We’ve had a great team, and she makes us just that much better. She’s a calming presence for the rest of our players. She plays a mature game for how young she is. … She kind of just does a lot for us, whether she’s scoring, whether she’s passing, whether she’s defending.”
Third-year Liberty picked up its first playoff win this season after heartbreak in its first appearance last year. The one-point loss to eventual region finalist Brock is far in the rearview mirror, and the team is enjoying every step. The Patriots aren’t ready for the ride to end, either.
“We also try to key in on (how) you’re good enough,” Glaspie said, “and you’ve worked hard enough. And you’ve been through enough the last two years that you deserve to be here. We celebrate, but we also talk about like, let’s take care of business and get to the next round.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Freshman Mikah Henderson was ‘missing piece’ for Lubbock-Cooper Liberty
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
