Liberty and Radford to Meet for 50th Time
3/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Game Day Central
The Game
The Liberty Lady Flames (20-7, 14-0 Big South) will travel across the Commonwealth Friday to open a regular season-closing two-game road swing at Radford (10-16, 9-6 Big South). Tip-off at the newly renovated Dedmon Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
What to Watch
Friday's game will mark the 50th all-time meeting between Liberty and Radford, two teams which have combined to win 20 of the 22 Big South Championship titles. The Lady Flames have won four straight matchups with the Highlanders, taking a 26-23 edge in the head-to-head series.
Liberty will attempt to extend several winning streaks. The Lady Flames have won seven straight road games, 17 straight games overall and 18 straight games against conference opponents.
Meanwhile, Radford sports the second-longest active winning skein among Big South teams. The Highlanders have been victorious in three straight contests and four out of the last five.
A victory by the Lady Flames will enable Liberty to become the first team in Big South women's basketball history to win 15 conference games during a single season.
Megan Frazee is averaging 23.3 ppg and 12.7 rpg during her career versus Radford.
Lady Flames On The Air
All Lady Flames basketball games may be heard LIVE on WWMC 90.9 FM "The Light." Jamie Hall, celebrating his 15th year of broadcasting Lady Flames basketball, will once again be handling the courtside play-by-play duties for most road games. Josh Wood will serve as the commentator for home contests and will provide color analysis on the road.
Scouting Radford
Radford is one of the hottest teams in the Big South Conference, having won three straight games and four of its last five outings to move into a tie for second place with High Point. The Highlanders have gone 7-3 at home this season, and only one visiting Big South team (Winthrop) has come away from the Dedmon Center with a victory.
Taleia Moton is the shortest player on the Radford roster at 5-4, but the sophomore is the Highlanders' leading scorer. Coming off a 27-point outing against UNC Asheville on Monday, Moton is the conference's second-leading scorer at 14.8 ppg.
Kymesha Alston has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2008-09. The 6-0 junior forward is averaging 11.4 ppg and sits second in the Big South with 8.2 rpg. She tallied 13 points and 12 boards versus UNC Asheville in her last contest.
The Highlanders' third double-digit scorer is Johnette Walker, a 5-8 senior guard. In addition to her 10.9 ppg, she also averages 3.0 spg, ranking 12th nationally in the category.
The Coaching Matchup
Liberty Head Coach Carey Green is in his 10th season with the Lady Flames, and has led his team to eight Big South titles. A four-time Big South Coach of the Year, Green owns a 233-75 career record and is the all-time wins leader at Liberty and among Big South women's basketball coaches. His career winning percentage (.756) ranked 10th among active NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches at the season's outset. Green is 19-3 all-time against Radford.
Tajama Ngongba is 10-16 in her first season as a collegiate head coach. An All-American player at George Washington, Ngongba served four seasons as an asisstant coach at her alma mater, prior to taking the reins at Radford during the off-season. She also spent time as an assistant at Commonwealth programs VCU and Richmond. Ngongba is 0-1 all-time versus Liberty.
Liberty-Radford Series Notes
Friday's game will be the 50th meeting in the all-time head-to-head series between Commonwealth foes Liberty and Radford. The Lady Flames have won four consecutive matchups with the Highlanders, taking a 26-23 advantage in the series. Liberty has also triumphed in seven of its last eight contests at the Dedmon Center.
Liberty took the teams' first meeting of the 2008-09 season by an 80-38 margin, Feb. 2 at the Vines Center. The Lady Flames scored 50 points in the paint on the way to posting their largest margin of victory this season. Three Liberty players scored in double figures, paced by Megan Frazee's 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kymesha Alston paced Radford with 16 points and six boards. Taleia Moton was limited to three tallies, on 1-of-14 shooting from the field.
During last season's game at the Dedmon Center, Liberty defeated Radford, 63-50, on Feb. 6. Megan Frazee led the way with 26 points and 18 rebounds, and the Lady Flames outrebounded their hosts, 30-8, during the final 20 minutes.
Megan Frazee has recorded six double-doubles in seven career matchups with the Highlanders. The senior is averaging 23.3 ppg and 12.7 rpg versus Radford.
Masterful in March
Liberty has gone 32-10 during the month of March under Carey Green, with eight of the setbacks coming in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Flames are 8-1 in the regular season, 22-1 in the Big South Championship and 2-8 in the "Big Dance" during the year's third month, under his direction. Last season, Liberty went 4-1 in March. This year, the Lady Flames are off to a 1-0 start during the calendar year's third month.
The Lady Flames are 40-35 all-time in March contests and did not pick up their first victory in the month until the program's 13th season. Liberty's initial March triumph was an 82-69 win over Randolph-Macon on March 3, 1988.
Competing with the Commonwealth
Liberty is 3-2 versus Commonwealth foes during the 2008-09 season. After losing early-season tilts versus VCU and James Madison, the Lady Flames have won three consecutive matchups against in-state opponents, including Saint Paul's, Virginia Tech and Radford.
One More Win = History
Liberty has won its first 14 conference games of the season, tying the Big South record for most conference wins in a single year. A team had won 14 Big South contests on four previous occasions, including Liberty in back-to-back years (2002-03 and 2003-04) and UNC Greensboro twice (1992-93 and 1994-95).
Liberty will set a new conference record with one victory in its final two contests.
Long-Range Bombers
Megan Frazee, ranked ninth on Liberty's career list with 94 triples, has hit 19 of her last 35 from downtown (54.3 percent).
Rachel Hammond, whose 77 career three-pointers are tied for 11th on the list, has connected on 25 of her last 43 three-point attempts (58.1 percent). Hammond made a program-record nine consecutive triples without a miss, between Jan. 24-31.
Hammond made five treys against High Point on Jan. 31, marking the first time a Lady Flame has connected on five three-pointers in a single game since Dec. 15, 2001, when Daina Staugaitiene did so at Hampton.
Accurate Avery
Avery Warley made 11 consecutive field goal attempts, between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. The Big South field goal percentage leader at 62.6 percent, Warley has connected on 26 of her last 30 field goals (86.7 percent).
Winning Streaks
The Lady Flames are currently on an 17-game winning streak, as they have not lost a game since falling at No. 19/20 Vanderbilt on Dec. 22.
The streak is the fourth longest in program history. Here is a look at the Lady Flames' longest winning streaks, eight of which have come with Carey Green as head coach.
1) 28 games (Nov. 21, 1997 - Feb. 28, 1998)
2) 22 games (Dec. 21, 2002 - March 9, 2003)
3) 19 games (Jan. 6, 2004 - March 13, 2004)
4) 17 games (Dec. 29, 2008 - Present)
5) 14 games (Jan. 28, 2006 - March 11, 2006)
6T) 13 games (Jan. 5, 2008 - Feb. 23, 2008)
6T) 13 games (Jan. 24, 2002 - March 2, 2002)
8T) 12 games (Jan. 15, 2005 - Feb. 21, 2005)
8T) 12 games (Jan. 23, 1999 - Feb. 27, 1999)
10) 11 games (Feb. 3, 2000 - March 4, 2000)
20-20 Club
Liberty has made Big South Conference basketball history this season. Not only have the Lady Flames reached the 20-win plateau, but Coach Ritchie McKay's squad owned a 22-10 ledger after Tuesday's Big South Men's Basketball Championship contest.
The university boasts a pair of 20-win basketball teams for only the second time in program history. In 1996-97, the Lady Flames went 22-7, while their male counterparts racked up a 23-9 mark.
The feat had only been accomplished on four previous occasions in Big South annals: by Radford in 1991-92, UNC Greensboro in 1994-95, Liberty in 1996-97 and Winthrop last season. Liberty is the first conference school to make two appearances in the 20/20 club.
Liberty is one of 28 Division I universities which has seen its men's and women's basketball teams both win 20 or more games thus far in the 2008-09 campaign.
Nation's Longest Winning Streaks
Liberty has won 17 games in a row, which is tied for the third-longest current winning streak among NCAA Division I women's basketball games, through Wednesday's action.
Liberty in the National Rankings
During Liberty's winning streak, the Lady Flames have been surging upward in the NCAA national statistical rankings. Liberty now ranks in the top 15 nationally in four statistical categories. The Lady Flames are listed No. 2 in rebounding margin (+12.2), No. 4 in both scoring defense (52.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.341) and No. 13 in field goal percentage (.454).
Liberty and No. 1 Connecticut are the only two teams in the nation which rank in the top 15 of all four of those categories.
On a Record Pace
Liberty is yielding just 51.8 ppg and has held 14 opponents below the 50-point mark. The Lady Flames' stifling defense is among the best in program history. Liberty's all-time record for scoring defense in a season is 54.7 ppg, set in 2001-02.
The Container is Half Full
Liberty connected on 52.2 percent (24-of-46) of its field goal attempts versus Presbyterian on Monday, shooting over 50 percent for the seventh time in the last 10 games. The Lady Flames are 8-0 this year, when making more than half of their field goals. Liberty is now 57-0 in such contests under head coach Carey Green.
Free Throws are Falling
Liberty is the Big South's best free throw shooting team, making 69 percent of its attempts on the season. However, the Lady Flames were in rare form Monday night against Presbyterian. Liberty made its first 14 foul shots of the night and ended the game at 17-of-19 (89.5 percent). The program single-game record for free throw accuracy is 18-of-19 (94.7 percent).
Moriah Frazee shot eight-for-eight from the charity stripe against the Blue Hose and has made 10 straight free throws. Sister Megan Frazee has connected on eight consecutive attempts.
Miss Consistency
Megan Frazee has scored in double figures in each of her last 63 games, dating back to Jan. 27, 2007. It is the longest such streak of her career and is a new program record.
Elena Kisseleva owned the previous Liberty standard, tallying 10 or more points in 62 straight contests, spanning the 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
Miss Consistency, Part 2
Megan Frazee's streak of 63 straight games scoring in double figures is the second-longest active streak in the nation, among Division I women's basketball players. Robyn Fairbanks of Utah Valley State tops the list, as the nation's leading scorer has reached double digits in 77 consecutive outings.
Clamping Down on Defense
The Lady Flames have held 78 consecutive opponents under 50 percent field goal shooting. The last Liberty foe to sink more than half of its field goal attempts was Marist, at the Maryland Terrapin Classic on Dec. 29, 2006.
Liberty is off to a good start defensively in 2008-09. Twenty-one of the Lady Flames' first 27 opponents have shot below 40 percent from the floor. Liberty leads the Big South and ranks No. 4 nationally with a .339 opponents field goal percentage.
Playing with a Lead
Liberty has not trailed often during its last 12 games. The Lady Flames led seven of those contests from wire to wire, and their opponents have held the lead for only 7:39 of the last 480 minutes of action.
Cranking Up the Defense
Liberty has played exceptional defense during its current 17-game winning streak. The Lady Flames have held North Carolina A&T, Virginia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Coastal Carolina, High Point and Radford all to season-low point totals during the stretch. Liberty's 17 foes have scored only 46.6 ppg and have combined to shoot just 31.7 percent from the field.
Less Than a Point Per Minute
Liberty held Presbyterian to 11 first-half points on Monday, marking the seventh time this season, the Lady Flames have limited their opponent to fewer than 20 first-half markers. Liberty has gone on to win all seven contests.
During the Lady Flames' current winning streak, they have outscored their opponents by an average score of 32.5 to 21.3 in the first half.
Live Video Streaming (Big South EDGE)
Live WWMC Radio Broadcast
Live Stats
Game Day Central
The Game
The Liberty Lady Flames (20-7, 14-0 Big South) will travel across the Commonwealth Friday to open a regular season-closing two-game road swing at Radford (10-16, 9-6 Big South). Tip-off at the newly renovated Dedmon Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
What to Watch
Friday's game will mark the 50th all-time meeting between Liberty and Radford, two teams which have combined to win 20 of the 22 Big South Championship titles. The Lady Flames have won four straight matchups with the Highlanders, taking a 26-23 edge in the head-to-head series.
Liberty will attempt to extend several winning streaks. The Lady Flames have won seven straight road games, 17 straight games overall and 18 straight games against conference opponents.
Meanwhile, Radford sports the second-longest active winning skein among Big South teams. The Highlanders have been victorious in three straight contests and four out of the last five.
A victory by the Lady Flames will enable Liberty to become the first team in Big South women's basketball history to win 15 conference games during a single season.
Megan Frazee is averaging 23.3 ppg and 12.7 rpg during her career versus Radford.
Lady Flames On The Air
All Lady Flames basketball games may be heard LIVE on WWMC 90.9 FM "The Light." Jamie Hall, celebrating his 15th year of broadcasting Lady Flames basketball, will once again be handling the courtside play-by-play duties for most road games. Josh Wood will serve as the commentator for home contests and will provide color analysis on the road.
Scouting Radford
Radford is one of the hottest teams in the Big South Conference, having won three straight games and four of its last five outings to move into a tie for second place with High Point. The Highlanders have gone 7-3 at home this season, and only one visiting Big South team (Winthrop) has come away from the Dedmon Center with a victory.
Taleia Moton is the shortest player on the Radford roster at 5-4, but the sophomore is the Highlanders' leading scorer. Coming off a 27-point outing against UNC Asheville on Monday, Moton is the conference's second-leading scorer at 14.8 ppg.
Kymesha Alston has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2008-09. The 6-0 junior forward is averaging 11.4 ppg and sits second in the Big South with 8.2 rpg. She tallied 13 points and 12 boards versus UNC Asheville in her last contest.
The Highlanders' third double-digit scorer is Johnette Walker, a 5-8 senior guard. In addition to her 10.9 ppg, she also averages 3.0 spg, ranking 12th nationally in the category.
The Coaching Matchup
Liberty Head Coach Carey Green is in his 10th season with the Lady Flames, and has led his team to eight Big South titles. A four-time Big South Coach of the Year, Green owns a 233-75 career record and is the all-time wins leader at Liberty and among Big South women's basketball coaches. His career winning percentage (.756) ranked 10th among active NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches at the season's outset. Green is 19-3 all-time against Radford.
Tajama Ngongba is 10-16 in her first season as a collegiate head coach. An All-American player at George Washington, Ngongba served four seasons as an asisstant coach at her alma mater, prior to taking the reins at Radford during the off-season. She also spent time as an assistant at Commonwealth programs VCU and Richmond. Ngongba is 0-1 all-time versus Liberty.
Liberty-Radford Series Notes
Friday's game will be the 50th meeting in the all-time head-to-head series between Commonwealth foes Liberty and Radford. The Lady Flames have won four consecutive matchups with the Highlanders, taking a 26-23 advantage in the series. Liberty has also triumphed in seven of its last eight contests at the Dedmon Center.
Liberty took the teams' first meeting of the 2008-09 season by an 80-38 margin, Feb. 2 at the Vines Center. The Lady Flames scored 50 points in the paint on the way to posting their largest margin of victory this season. Three Liberty players scored in double figures, paced by Megan Frazee's 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kymesha Alston paced Radford with 16 points and six boards. Taleia Moton was limited to three tallies, on 1-of-14 shooting from the field.
During last season's game at the Dedmon Center, Liberty defeated Radford, 63-50, on Feb. 6. Megan Frazee led the way with 26 points and 18 rebounds, and the Lady Flames outrebounded their hosts, 30-8, during the final 20 minutes.
Megan Frazee has recorded six double-doubles in seven career matchups with the Highlanders. The senior is averaging 23.3 ppg and 12.7 rpg versus Radford.
Masterful in March
Liberty has gone 32-10 during the month of March under Carey Green, with eight of the setbacks coming in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Flames are 8-1 in the regular season, 22-1 in the Big South Championship and 2-8 in the "Big Dance" during the year's third month, under his direction. Last season, Liberty went 4-1 in March. This year, the Lady Flames are off to a 1-0 start during the calendar year's third month.
The Lady Flames are 40-35 all-time in March contests and did not pick up their first victory in the month until the program's 13th season. Liberty's initial March triumph was an 82-69 win over Randolph-Macon on March 3, 1988.
Competing with the Commonwealth
Liberty is 3-2 versus Commonwealth foes during the 2008-09 season. After losing early-season tilts versus VCU and James Madison, the Lady Flames have won three consecutive matchups against in-state opponents, including Saint Paul's, Virginia Tech and Radford.
One More Win = History
Liberty has won its first 14 conference games of the season, tying the Big South record for most conference wins in a single year. A team had won 14 Big South contests on four previous occasions, including Liberty in back-to-back years (2002-03 and 2003-04) and UNC Greensboro twice (1992-93 and 1994-95).
Liberty will set a new conference record with one victory in its final two contests.
Long-Range Bombers
Megan Frazee, ranked ninth on Liberty's career list with 94 triples, has hit 19 of her last 35 from downtown (54.3 percent).
Rachel Hammond, whose 77 career three-pointers are tied for 11th on the list, has connected on 25 of her last 43 three-point attempts (58.1 percent). Hammond made a program-record nine consecutive triples without a miss, between Jan. 24-31.
Hammond made five treys against High Point on Jan. 31, marking the first time a Lady Flame has connected on five three-pointers in a single game since Dec. 15, 2001, when Daina Staugaitiene did so at Hampton.
Accurate Avery
Avery Warley made 11 consecutive field goal attempts, between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. The Big South field goal percentage leader at 62.6 percent, Warley has connected on 26 of her last 30 field goals (86.7 percent).
Winning Streaks
The Lady Flames are currently on an 17-game winning streak, as they have not lost a game since falling at No. 19/20 Vanderbilt on Dec. 22.
The streak is the fourth longest in program history. Here is a look at the Lady Flames' longest winning streaks, eight of which have come with Carey Green as head coach.
1) 28 games (Nov. 21, 1997 - Feb. 28, 1998)
2) 22 games (Dec. 21, 2002 - March 9, 2003)
3) 19 games (Jan. 6, 2004 - March 13, 2004)
4) 17 games (Dec. 29, 2008 - Present)
5) 14 games (Jan. 28, 2006 - March 11, 2006)
6T) 13 games (Jan. 5, 2008 - Feb. 23, 2008)
6T) 13 games (Jan. 24, 2002 - March 2, 2002)
8T) 12 games (Jan. 15, 2005 - Feb. 21, 2005)
8T) 12 games (Jan. 23, 1999 - Feb. 27, 1999)
10) 11 games (Feb. 3, 2000 - March 4, 2000)
20-20 Club
Liberty has made Big South Conference basketball history this season. Not only have the Lady Flames reached the 20-win plateau, but Coach Ritchie McKay's squad owned a 22-10 ledger after Tuesday's Big South Men's Basketball Championship contest.
The university boasts a pair of 20-win basketball teams for only the second time in program history. In 1996-97, the Lady Flames went 22-7, while their male counterparts racked up a 23-9 mark.
The feat had only been accomplished on four previous occasions in Big South annals: by Radford in 1991-92, UNC Greensboro in 1994-95, Liberty in 1996-97 and Winthrop last season. Liberty is the first conference school to make two appearances in the 20/20 club.
Liberty is one of 28 Division I universities which has seen its men's and women's basketball teams both win 20 or more games thus far in the 2008-09 campaign.
Nation's Longest Winning Streaks
Liberty has won 17 games in a row, which is tied for the third-longest current winning streak among NCAA Division I women's basketball games, through Wednesday's action.
Liberty in the National Rankings
During Liberty's winning streak, the Lady Flames have been surging upward in the NCAA national statistical rankings. Liberty now ranks in the top 15 nationally in four statistical categories. The Lady Flames are listed No. 2 in rebounding margin (+12.2), No. 4 in both scoring defense (52.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.341) and No. 13 in field goal percentage (.454).
Liberty and No. 1 Connecticut are the only two teams in the nation which rank in the top 15 of all four of those categories.
On a Record Pace
Liberty is yielding just 51.8 ppg and has held 14 opponents below the 50-point mark. The Lady Flames' stifling defense is among the best in program history. Liberty's all-time record for scoring defense in a season is 54.7 ppg, set in 2001-02.
The Container is Half Full
Liberty connected on 52.2 percent (24-of-46) of its field goal attempts versus Presbyterian on Monday, shooting over 50 percent for the seventh time in the last 10 games. The Lady Flames are 8-0 this year, when making more than half of their field goals. Liberty is now 57-0 in such contests under head coach Carey Green.
Free Throws are Falling
Liberty is the Big South's best free throw shooting team, making 69 percent of its attempts on the season. However, the Lady Flames were in rare form Monday night against Presbyterian. Liberty made its first 14 foul shots of the night and ended the game at 17-of-19 (89.5 percent). The program single-game record for free throw accuracy is 18-of-19 (94.7 percent).
Moriah Frazee shot eight-for-eight from the charity stripe against the Blue Hose and has made 10 straight free throws. Sister Megan Frazee has connected on eight consecutive attempts.
Miss Consistency
Megan Frazee has scored in double figures in each of her last 63 games, dating back to Jan. 27, 2007. It is the longest such streak of her career and is a new program record.
Elena Kisseleva owned the previous Liberty standard, tallying 10 or more points in 62 straight contests, spanning the 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
Miss Consistency, Part 2
Megan Frazee's streak of 63 straight games scoring in double figures is the second-longest active streak in the nation, among Division I women's basketball players. Robyn Fairbanks of Utah Valley State tops the list, as the nation's leading scorer has reached double digits in 77 consecutive outings.
Clamping Down on Defense
The Lady Flames have held 78 consecutive opponents under 50 percent field goal shooting. The last Liberty foe to sink more than half of its field goal attempts was Marist, at the Maryland Terrapin Classic on Dec. 29, 2006.
Liberty is off to a good start defensively in 2008-09. Twenty-one of the Lady Flames' first 27 opponents have shot below 40 percent from the floor. Liberty leads the Big South and ranks No. 4 nationally with a .339 opponents field goal percentage.
Playing with a Lead
Liberty has not trailed often during its last 12 games. The Lady Flames led seven of those contests from wire to wire, and their opponents have held the lead for only 7:39 of the last 480 minutes of action.
Cranking Up the Defense
Liberty has played exceptional defense during its current 17-game winning streak. The Lady Flames have held North Carolina A&T, Virginia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Coastal Carolina, High Point and Radford all to season-low point totals during the stretch. Liberty's 17 foes have scored only 46.6 ppg and have combined to shoot just 31.7 percent from the field.
Less Than a Point Per Minute
Liberty held Presbyterian to 11 first-half points on Monday, marking the seventh time this season, the Lady Flames have limited their opponent to fewer than 20 first-half markers. Liberty has gone on to win all seven contests.
During the Lady Flames' current winning streak, they have outscored their opponents by an average score of 32.5 to 21.3 in the first half.
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