Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame
Kristal (Tharp) Bechtold
- Induction:
- 2024
- Class:
- 2005
Women’s Basketball: 2002-05
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One of the best long-range shooters in program history, Kristal (Tharp) Bechtold became the second player from the 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 team to join the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame.
Bechtold made an immediate impact during her first collegiate season, earning 2002 Big South Freshman of the Year honors. She finished the season shooting 42.0 percent from the field (76-of-181), including 37.4 percent from three-point range (34-of-91).
The two-time Big South first-team all-conference honoree (2003 and 2005) entered the Hall of Fame ranked third in program history in career three-point field goal percentage (35.8), sixth in three-point field goals made (151) and seventh in three-point field goal attempts (422).
The native of Chillicothe, Ohio helped the Lady Flames to four-straight Big South titles and a 100-26 record during her four-year playing career. Bechtold, along with 2015 Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Katie (Feenstra) Mattera, made Liberty history in 2005 by guiding Liberty to its first two NCAA Tournament wins and an appearance in the Sweet 16.Â
A standout in the classroom as well as on the court, Bechtold was a two-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2004 and 2005) and became the Lady Flames' first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection as a senior in 2005. A member of the NCAA Division I Elite Student-Athlete Advisory Group as a junior and senior, Bechtold would go on to earn her doctoral degree from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009.
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One of the best long-range shooters in program history, Kristal (Tharp) Bechtold became the second player from the 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 team to join the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame.
Bechtold made an immediate impact during her first collegiate season, earning 2002 Big South Freshman of the Year honors. She finished the season shooting 42.0 percent from the field (76-of-181), including 37.4 percent from three-point range (34-of-91).
The two-time Big South first-team all-conference honoree (2003 and 2005) entered the Hall of Fame ranked third in program history in career three-point field goal percentage (35.8), sixth in three-point field goals made (151) and seventh in three-point field goal attempts (422).
The native of Chillicothe, Ohio helped the Lady Flames to four-straight Big South titles and a 100-26 record during her four-year playing career. Bechtold, along with 2015 Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Katie (Feenstra) Mattera, made Liberty history in 2005 by guiding Liberty to its first two NCAA Tournament wins and an appearance in the Sweet 16.Â
A standout in the classroom as well as on the court, Bechtold was a two-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2004 and 2005) and became the Lady Flames' first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection as a senior in 2005. A member of the NCAA Division I Elite Student-Athlete Advisory Group as a junior and senior, Bechtold would go on to earn her doctoral degree from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009.
Friday, June 19
Friday, June 19
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Thursday, June 18
