Liberty junior scores 26 points, including her 1,000th career point, in sectional victory

Liberty junior Morgan Fleming stepped to the free-throw line on Wednesday, took a pair of dribbles and exhaled before releasing a shot.

Swish.

The third-quarter free throw provided the 1,000th point of Fleming’s career. Even better, it came during the most significant win of her high school career, too.

Fleming scored 26 points in Liberty’s 56-33 win against Park Hill in a Missouri Class 5 sectional playoff game, putting Liberty within one game of reaching next week’s state semifinals in Columbia.

Liberty will play Lee’s Summit West at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Liberty North in a quarterfinal.

“I was focused on getting the win, but this makes it a little bit sweeter,” Fleming said. “It’s kind of ironic because free throws haven’t been my strong suit the last three years.”

Fleming didn’t waste any time getting to the milestone. She entered the night 19 points shy of 1,000, but she scored 14 points in the first quarter, when Liberty built a seven-point lead.

McKenzie Hull made three three-pointers in the third quarter and added 15 points for Liberty.

Morgen Smith had 13 in the loss for Park Hill.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Liberty junior scores 26 points, including her 1,000th career point, in sectional victory."