The Liberty girls basketball team saved their best for the postseason. After losing to Juanita twice in the regular season, the Patriots topped the Rebels 53-44 in the KingCo 3A tournament at Bellevue College Tuesday night.

Liberty (15-7) will play Mount Si (16-5) in the KingCo title game Thursday at Bellevue College. The Patriots are already in the district tournament, but they can earn a first-round bye with a win Thursday night.

Against Juanita, Liberty built an early lead and led for most of the first half. In the second quarter, the Patriots rattled off an 8-0 run to push their lead to 13. Juanita closed to the gap to nine by the half.

In the third quarter, Liberty led by as many as 15 points with just over two minutes left. The Rebels made 10-0 run to finish the quarter down by five.

The teams battled in a defense-controlled fourth quarter and Liberty held on to win.

Danni Sjolander and Aspen Winegar each scored 15 to lead Liberty. Megan Tsutakawa added six points.