Liberty girls’ basketball coach Monty Taylor can’t help but beam with pride when talking about senior point guard Jacy Rohr.

He smiled as he enthusiastically recalled a block she had in the Lancers’ season opener against Douglas County on Monday.

“She just sent it into the cheap seats,” he said. “She came from behind, person was lazy, she goes, ‘ WHAM’ and the ball goes ‘ WHOOM’ and for somebody her size that’s a pretty good accomplishment. “

The 5-feet-5-inch Rohr plays like she’s 6’1”, Taylor said.

Rohr has the heart of a competitor and she showed it in a big way Monday. In fact, her block could be the least impressive thing she accomplished during that game.

Rohr went 12 for 20 shooting for 36 points in the Lancers 58-41 win over Douglas County on Monday night. She was 7 for 11 from downtown and hit six 3-pointers in a row. “My whole team just worked the ball up the court and got past their press and we just made shots left and right so it was like a team effort for sure,” she said.

Coach Taylor noted the excitement from the entire team during the game.

‘The bench was just clearing,” Taylor said of when Rohr would make a 3-pointer. “It was just one of those games.”

Rohr’s competitive drive begins at home. During the game, Rohr’s mother texted her sister about what was happening. Kate Rohr, who was a basketball star at Vista Ridge offered her congratulations. “36, that’s crazy. I’ve never done that before,” Kate Rohr said, recalling her sister’s text message.

The sisters are five years apart so they never got to play high school ball together. But they share a bond over the sport.

Kate has been a big inspiration for Jacy ever since she began playing in third grade. As the years at Liberty have gone by for Jacy, she’s compared stats from her high school career to that of her sister’s.

As a senior for the Wolves, Kate hit 1,000 career points. Jacy has been tracking her scoring since her freshman year. Now the four-year varsity starter is just 200 points shy of reaching that same milestone.

After high school, Jacy hopes to continue playing basketball in college, like Kate did.

She began playing junior college in Trinidad before attending Northern New Mexico college. Kate no longer plays basketball competitively, but when she comes home, the sisters will go to the gym and shoot around.

For in-state colleges, Jacy is looking at Colorado State, Csu-pueblo and Lamar Community.

“Colleges need to not look at her size because she can play,” Taylor said. “She should be playing at the next level.”

Before then however, Jacy will finish her Lancer career this year. Liberty is 1-1 on the young season, following up the stellar performance against Douglas County with less-than-great 30-point loss at Rock Canyon in Highlands Ranch.

“(Wednesday) night ... we didn’t play very well. (Jacy) didn’t play her greatest game either. She still had 22 points and she never quit hustling,” Taylor said. “I’m waiting for her to become infectious with the rest of (the team) .”

Consistent play will be key for Taylor’s team to be a competitive force this season. One thing that keeps Jacy consistent is another competition, this one she shares with the team’s shooting guard, who is also named Jacie.

Jacie Bunck led Liberty in points scored last season with 449. Jacyrohr took second on the team with 409. The two came first and second in a number of statistical categories for Liberty a season ago including assists, steals and 3-point shooting percentage.

“We definitely compete,” Jacy Rohr said. “Every game she’ll score more than me and I’m like ‘alright next game I have to score this many to catch up’ and vice versa. We’re just always competing for those points.”

Teams to watch 6A Doherty — The Spartans were one of the final eight teams in the state tournament in 5A a season ago. They graduated their two top scorers in Gabby Beauperthuy and Patyon Sterk but they return a lot of talent.

Pine Creek — The Eagles made it to the Sweet 16 of the 5A state tournament a season ago. Sophomore Leekaya Burke-perryman, who led Pine Creek in points as a freshman a season ago, returns alongside second-leading scorer senior Brynae Stewart. The Eagles are 2-0 on the young season. 5A

Air Academy — The Kadets had an 18-8 record a season ago, were second in league play with a 9-3 and finished with a Sweet 16 appearance in the 5A state tournament last season. The team returns star junior guard Caitlin Kramer who scored 506 points last season with a 19.5 points per game average that ranked third in 5A.

Palmer — A playoff team for a year ago, Palmer returns senior Alyssa Trujillo who scored 433 points for the Terrors last season. 4A

The Classical Academy — TCA is coming off a 22-3 season in which the Titans were undefeated in league play. TCA made it to the Sweet 16 of last season’s 4A state tournament. Though the Titans have graduated many players of that team, they looked sharp in their 66-19 victory over Harrison Tuesday.

Cañon City — Dan Heath’s team has been a force to be reckoned with the past four seasons. Last year Cañon City also went 22-3 and went 10-0 in league play. The seniors who were a part of the team’s winning seasons for the past four years have graduated, but Heath has shown throughout his long tenure his ability to field a competitive team. 3A

The Vanguard School — The Vanguard Coursers finished third in the 3A state tournament a season ago after going 20-5 overall and 12-0 in league play. Two of the team’s top three scorers from last year return as seniors in Juliana Garcia and Hailey Blanchard.

St. Mary’s — The Pirates made the it to the quarterfinals of the 3A state tournament last season. St. Mary’s went 20-5 overall and won 12 league games, their only defeat coming at the hands of the Coursers. Maeve Salveson and Emerson Kutz, both of whom were top 3 in scoring for the Pirates last year, return as juniors.