Barclay helps Christian Liberty orchestrate another victory
Christian Liberty Academy junior Vivian Barclay and her triplet sisters Teddi and Natalie are talented musicians who perform as a trio at weddings.
Vivian plays the cello, while her siblings handle the violin and harp.
In addition to being a cellist, Vivian plays basketball for Christian Liberty.
Her defensive play also makes sweet music for the Chargers, who shut down visiting Elgin Academy 52-13 late Friday afternoon.
Barclay matched her team-high average of 7 steals as the Chargers won for the eighth time in nine games this season.
The 5-foot-6 guard also had 6 point and 5 assists, getting back-to-back baskets late in the second quarter to help the Chargers pull ahead 21-6.
Their 8-1 mark is their best start.
“We’ve worked a lot of our defense,” Barclay said “And we’ve improved our shooting by working hard in the summer. It feels awesome to get off to this start.”
The Chargers got off to a good start in the game, too, as a 3-pointer by junior guard Megan Sullivan gave them a 10-3 lead after one quarter.
“We try to get ahead quickly,” Barclay said. “So then we won’t get down on ourselves.”
Everything looked up for the hosts on Friday, as sophomore Jess Moriarty tossed home a career-high 20 points with 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. The 2011 Class 1A 3-point champion had 4 buckets from long range against the Hilltoppers (6-6).
Moriarty’s backcourt partner Sullivan also had a 3-pointer while collecting 7 points along with season-highs of 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
“Megan is really coming on,” said Chargers coach Steve Rowland. “She has really stepped up the last few weeks. She has a lot more basketball IQ this season. She knows where to be on the floor and where to be defensively and I’m really proud of how well she has developed her game.
“When you put her and Jess together it’s really a dynamite combination of guards.”
The Chargers were getting points in the post, too, as sophomore Shelbi Hernandez collected a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Elgin Academy coach Bill Rodriguez felt the Chargers’ ball movement was a big difference.
“They’re one of the better team teams we’ve faced” said the first-year coach. “They rotate the ball a little faster than us, which gave them quicker open looks.
“We didn’t take a lot of bad shots. We just didn’t put them on the backboard the right way. And we missed a lot of layups because we didn’t focus. We’ve got to get a little quicker on defense. And learn to react quicker. We’re a young team and we came out flat.”
Barclay came out with her usual speed and often disrupted the Hilltoppers’ offense.
“Vivian has great anticipation,” Rowland said. “She reacts to the offensive player well. And she has the quickness. Everyone is stepping up for us offensively, but I’m not happy going against man-to-man defense as I would like.”
Barclay was coming off a career-high 9 steals at Mooseheart on Wednesday.
She and the Chargers hardly missed a beat on Friday in Arlington Heights.