A slow first quarter cost the Juanita High School girls basketball team a chance at a big win, 49-46 against Mount Si Wednesday. But the team recovered to defeat Liberty (4-6) in Renton, 46-44, Thursday to maintain their third place in the division.

Against Liberty, the Rebels put on a show during the second quarter, out-scoring their opponents 19-8. That lead sustained the Rebels through the second half, as the Patriots nibbled away at the deficit. Juanita had three players score in double figures: Kate Cryderman (14), Molly Grager (12) and Kimberly Baba (11).

The Rebels lost ground to the team behind them in the division in a rare Thursday game. The Wildcats ran right past Juanita (7-4) during the first quarter, by compiling an 18-9 lead. But the Rebels didn’t back down, holding Mount Si (5-4) to just three second-quarter points. Mount Si would stay just far enough ahead to secure the win and crawl back within a game of the Rebels for third place in 3A KingCo. Kimberly Baba of Juanita led all scorers during the game with 22 points, while teammate Molly Grager had 10 points.

Juanita traveled to Interlake for the final game of the regular season Tuesday (after Reporter deadline).