Liberty’s girls basketball team has made several positive changes to their program this season—one of them being the use of SpongeBob characters to heighten team morale.
Senior Cassidy Griffith has improved the team both on and off the court, though she is a new addition this year. Each home game, Griffith draws a character from her favorite cartoon on the team’s white board which normally hosts the team’s game plan.
Griffith’s teammates have seen the correlation between her contagious sense of humor and the team’s overall performance.
“Her humor really lifts up the team, and I think that has actually helped us on the court,” senior captain Grace Moawad said.
Another player whose leadership has significantly impacted the team is Devynn Warns, who was out last year with a torn ACL. She has made an epic return this year as the league’s leading pointer holder with a season total of 439 points—averaging 18.3 points per game.

“I’m just really proud of myself for overcoming my injury,” Warns said. “But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates next to me and my family supporting me along the way.”
But Griffith’s funny animations and Warn’s 3-pointers are only two of the many things responsible for the team’s triumphant season; the new coaching staff has introduced new ideas and tactics to the program.
“We now have a personal weightlifting trainer that we work with three times a week. We also have mandatory practice six times a week,” Warns said.
In addition to their rigorous training schedule, the coaches, including head coach Jamie Prescott, are improving the team mentality by encouraging players to build each other up.
“They have pushed for us to play like a team and a family,” Moawad said.
The coaches have also promoted and supported team leaders.
“Last year there wasn’t as much respect in the role of captain, but it’s definitely fun to have that position this year,” Moawad said.
The overall improvements to the team this year have stimulated the team’s confidence, which is not unfounded.
The team placed 2nd in KingCo and continued in the 2A State Championships after winning their playoff game in Fife. At this point in their season, the team holds an impressive record of 18 wins and 7 losses.
“We had such a good season,” Warns said. “We went in feeling really confident and pumped for postseason.”