Liberty University
16-4, 7-1BSC
Radford
5-14, 4-4BSC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 30 | 33 | 63 |
| Radford | 15 | 30 | 45 |
Lady Flames Grab Share of First Place
2/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Liberty broke open a tight game with an 11-2 run to close the first half of Monday evening's game at Radford. The Lady Flames maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way, claiming a share of first place in the Big South standings with a 63-45 triumph at the Dedmon Center.
Devon Brown led three Liberty players in double figures with 20 points, helping the Lady Flames post their ninth straight victory. Liberty is now 16-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big South, putting the Lady Flames in a tie with Gardner-Webb atop the conference ledger.
Radford, which had won four of its last five home games, shot only 29.4 percent on the evening. The Highlanders fall to 5-14 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
After Radford freshman Da'Naria Erwin-Spencer opened the scoring with a perimeter jumper at 19:10, Liberty scored eight of the next 10 points to take the lead for good. Kylee Beecher's second hoop of the early-going, a layup off an in-bounds play at 15:09, put the Lady Flames in front, 8-4.
Ashley Buckhannon drilled a triple from the left wing on Radford's next possession, but the Highlanders didn't make their next field goal for 8:39. In the meantime, Liberty recorded a 9-1 surge. Another close-range basket by Beecher bolstered the blue-clad Lady Flames' advantage to 17-8, 8:02 before halftime.
Radford cut its gap to 19-13 on a layup by Buckhannon with 4:50 remaining in the stanza, before the Lady Flames closed the half with a flourish.
Liberty went into halftime on an 11-2 run, punctuated by Amber Mays' driving bank shot as time expired. Her hoop enabled the Lady Flames to double up their host in the first half, 30-15.
Liberty shot 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the field during the opening 20 minutes, while limiting Radford to 25 percent (6-of-24). The Lady Flames also owned a 19-11 rebounding advantage.
Both teams were sloppy in the first half, as Liberty committed 16 turnovers and Radford had 13 miscues. However, the Lady Flames converted Radford's turnovers into 16 points, while the Highlanders scored only six points off of Liberty's turnovers.
Beecher led the Lady Flames with a dozen first-half points and six boards. Mays chipped in seven points and four assists, while Brown had five points and a half-high seven caroms.
Buckhannon came off the bench to pace Radford with five points before the break. Four different Highlanders grabbed two rebounds apiece.
Radford chipped away at Liberty's advantage during the opening minutes of the second half, and Denay Wood's three-pointer at 16:19 brought the Highlanders to within 35-24.
Liberty's defense held Radford without a made field goal for a 6:08 stretch of the half, pushing their lead back up to 16 points in the meantime. Brown's free throw with 11:01 left made the score 45-29, in favor of the Lady Flames.
Dymond Morgan tallied five straight points for Liberty, including a runner in the lane with 7:07 remaining which gave Liberty a 51-33 lead.
Radford responded quickly, using a Katherine Brockett triple and a Victoria Hamilton three-point play to initiate a 10-2 burst. Erwin-Spencer's two free throws at the 3:10 mark pulled the Highlanders to within 10, at 53-43.
Liberty then outscored host Radford 10-2 the rest of the way, sinking all six of its foul shots to seal its 27th win in its last 30 meetings with the Highlanders.
The Lady Flames finished the game with a 51.4 percent (21-of-41) field goal percentage, aided by 36 points in the paint. Liberty also got to the free throw line 12 more times than the Highlanders (29-17) and hit 72.4 percent of its attempts.
For the 10th consecutive game, the Lady Flames owned a double-digit advantage on the boards, 36-26. The conference leader in steals, Liberty came up with 15 thefts on Monday and scored 27 points off of Radford's 23 turnovers.
Brown scored 15 of her 20 points after halftime and collected a game-high 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year. Beecher, playing just down the road from her hometown of Roanoke, Va., nearly added her own double-double. The sophomore tallied 13 points and equaled a season high with nine boards.
Mays contributed 10 points and a game-high seven assists, and was one of four Lady Flames to record three steals. Brown, Beecher and Morgan also nabbed a trio of steals apiece.
Erwin-Spencer was the only Highlander to reach double figures, recording 10 points on the evening. Buckhannon added nine points.
Liberty will return home Thursday to play its final non-conference game of the year, versus North Carolina Central. The Lady Flames' first-ever contest against the Lady Eagles will be the first half of a basketball doubleheader at the Vines Center. The Liberty-North Carolina Central tilt will tip at 5 p.m., followed by the Winthrop at Liberty men's basketball game at 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, Radford will attempt to complete a season sweep of Big South-leading Gardner-Webb, Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Dedmon Center. The Highlanders handed the Bulldogs their lone conference setback, 68-53, Jan. 4 at Gardner-Webb's Paul Porter Arena.
