ARGYLE — Talk to just about anyone associated with the girls basketball program at Liberty Christian and they’ll talk about the close-knit demeanor the team displays.

DMN/Milton Hinnant

Liberty Christian guard Whitney Hand, right, dribbles past Cedar Hill’s Ariel Robertson during a game in the Mansfield Rotary Invitational tournament Dec. 27 at Mansfield High School. The Lady Warriors became the first private school team to win the tournament when they defeated Mansfield Timberview in the final on Saturday.

One player talked about how many teams have internal animosity and quibbles about getting the ball. But the Lady Warriors play as a true team, which is the main reason they sit at 24-2 going into tonight’s clash against Bishop Lynch at 6 p.m.

That was from possibly the last person one might expect to be humble — all-everything guard Whitney Hand, who’s signed to play at Oklahoma next season.

“She’s so humble,” said Liberty’s second-leading scorer, Madison Middle, about her teammate. “She makes all of us better with the way she plays. Most people that are that good don’t hustle or try as hard, and she’s probably one of the hardest workers on the team.”

To say Middle is the team’s second scoring option is nothing to sneeze at. After all, she’s averaging 16.3 points per game.

Hand puts a lot of the area’s top scorers in her shadow. The senior, who’s the 38th-ranked player in the country and the No. 10 guard according to hoopgurlz.com, is averaging 25.8 points per game to go with 13.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.8 steals.

“Coaching that type [of player] — that’s something that might only come along once in a lifetime,” Liberty head coach Ken Burroughs said. “As good as she is, she’s even a better person and teammate. You don’t see that a lot.

“You find people that are that good and they know it. Whitney’s humble. She loves her team and she keeps them involved and is a great leader.”

On the surface, there might not be many ways this year’s Liberty team can top what last season’s did, when it won a state championship. But if this year’s squad goes on to repeat, it will be able to look back and stake a legitimate claim to being one of the best teams in Texas, and not just at the private school level.

That feeling goes back to the brutal nondistrict schedule the Lady Warriors played, capped off by the Mansfield Rotary Invitational championship win on Dec. 29.

Liberty completed a remarkable run through the tournament with a 66-63 double-overtime win over Mansfield Timberview, the state’s No. 3 team at the Class 5A level, led by Hand’s 33 points, 22 rebounds and four steals.

Liberty trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter of that game and cut the lead to seven at the half and two points entering the fourth quarter.

“That just shows that every single player on this team has such great character,” Hand said. “Going into the locker room, heads were down, but we had people that were so encouraging and had each others’ backs. That just showed us how well we play together and how much we love each other. That’s what makes this team special.”

That wasn’t the only impressive win of the tournament. Consider the teams the Lady Warriors beat to reach the tournament final: Cedar Hill (No. 14 in 5A), Fort Worth Dunbar (No. 6 in 4A), Mansfield Summit (No. 11 in 5A) and Canyon (No. 1 in 3A). They became the first private school team to ever win the tournament in its fifth year.

Middle admitted even she was amazed after the run the team made in Mansfield, its third tournament win this season along with the Cowtown Classic and the Arlington Classic.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “I don’t know how we keep doing it. It’s kind of hard to realize who we’re actually beating until you sit back and you’re like, ‘Wow, we just beat a really good team.’”

According to the latest TABC poll, which was released Dec. 17, defending TAPPS 5A champ Liberty Christian is No. 2 in the Large Private School poll behind TAPPS 6A defending champ Bishop Lynch, making tonight’s game a big one considering the next poll comes out Sunday.

“We definitely have something to prove,” Hand said. “I think that’s what this game is all about for both teams. It’s gonna be a fun game. When No. 1 and No. 2 go at it, it’s not going to be bad.”

Burroughs said his team’s showing last week in Mansfield, which included its second victory this season over Dunbar, gives his team a right to call itself one of the top girls basketball teams in Texas.

At least one poll agrees with Burroughs.

The Lady Warriors are ranked No. 4 in the state among all classifications behind Cypress Fairbanks, Bellaire and DeSoto, according to maxpreps.com.

Middle said the team’s recent success becoming more public could both help and hurt the team, but she’s excited to be building a reputation in the girls basketball community.

“I guess people are starting to know,” she said. “At the beginning of the season, people were caught off guard by us because no one knew who we were. I think this tournament [Mansfield] has kind of helped us a bit.

“I think it’ll make it harder and we’ll have to work harder to keep proving ourselves because everyone knows we can play now. Everyone we play will try harder now so we’ll have to try harder too.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .