Thursday, February 4
Lynchburg, Va.
5:00 PM
Liberty University
17-4
64
vs
44
North Carolina Central
7-14
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| N.C. Central | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| Liberty | 30 | 34 | 64 |
Lady Flames Winning Streak Reaches 10
2/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Avery Warley's double-double and Danika Dale's career-high 15 points keyed Liberty's 10th consecutive victory, Thursday evening at the Vines Center. The Lady Flames defeated North Carolina Central by a 64-44 count in their final non-conference tilt of the regular season.
Liberty's win in its first-ever meeting with the Lady Eagles boosts its overall record to 17-4. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central falls to 7-14 after dropping its third contest against a Big South Conference foe this season.
Big South Player of the Week Devon Brown hit her first two shot attempts, a driving layup and a three-pointer from the left corner, posting Liberty to a 5-0 advantage during the first two minutes of play.
The Lady Eagles responded, trimming their deficit to 7-6 when Latoya Bennett swished a 17-foot jumper at the 14:53 mark.
The Lady Flames held North Carolina Central without a made field goal for the next 3:32, enabling them to push their advantage back to six points, 14-8. Warley's offensive rebound and putback hoop with 11:35 left in the half gave Liberty its largest advantage of the early-going.
Liberty took its first double-digit lead of the evening 7:04 before halftime, 23-12, when Dale converted an old-fashioned three-point play. The conversion came during a stretch of six consecutive points by the sophomore, which punctuated an 11-2 Lady Flames surge and increased her team's lead to 13, 25-12.
Joanna Miller tossed in four quick points for North Carolina Central, pulling her team back to within single digits, 25-16, at the 4:12 mark.
Liberty's edge fluctuated between 10 and 12 points for the remainder of the half, and the Lady Eagles' Danielle DeBerry made the halftime score 30-20 when she sank a baseline jumper just before the buzzer sounded.
The Lady Flames shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field during the first 20 minutes, including 50 percent (4-of-8) from behind the three-point arc. Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles made 34.8 percent (8-of-23) of their first-half field goal attempts.
Liberty owned a slight, 16-14 rebounding advantage during the opening half. Both teams were successful on the offensive glass, as the Lady Flames grabbed 10 boards and North Carolina Central corralled nine.
Both teams were also a bit sloppy before halftime. The Lady Eagles committed 14 turnovers, while the Lady Flames had 13 opening-half miscues.
Brown led Liberty with eight points before the break. Warley, Dale and LaKendra Washington contributed a half-dozen points each, with Warley leading all players in first-half rebounds with five.
Miller's eight points and four caroms led North Carolina Central statistically. Meanwhile, Bennett accounted for half of the visitors' eight steals.
The Eagles tallied the second half's first four points, closing the gap to 30-24 when Miller made a pair of charity tosses at the 18:36 mark.
Shortly thereafter, Amber Mays highlighted a 6-0 run by the Lady Flames with four points and an assist. Liberty's advantage again reached a dozen points, 38-26, after her two made free throws with 14:54 remaining.
The Lady Eagles shaved their deficit to nine twice on three-pointers during the next four and a half minutes. Shanise Blanks' triple at 10:49 made the score 47-38, Liberty.
However, North Carolina Central made only two field goals the rest of the way, enabling the Lady Flames to record their ninth 20-point win of the season, 64-44.
Liberty finished the game shooting exactly 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor, improving to 9-0 this season and 68-0 under head coach Carey Green when making at least half of its field goals. The Lady Eagles ended up at 37.8 percent, (17-of-45), marking the 10th time in the last 11 games Liberty's opponent has failed to shoot 40 percent from the field.
The Lady Flames did an exceptional job on the glass during the final 20 minutes of play, outrebounding North Carolina Central, 22-7. For the game, Liberty posted a 38-21 rebounding advantage, including 21 offensive boards.
Warley paced all players in both points (16) and rebounds (11), recording her fourth double-double in the last five games. Dale contributed a career-high 15 points, helping the Lady Flames notch a 21-17 edge in bench scoring.
Brown scored in double figures for the 10th game in a row, ending up with 10 points and six caroms. Mays chipped in eight points and a matching number of assists.
Liberty held Miller, the Eagles' leading scorer on the season, five points below her scoring average. She had a team-high 14 points on 5-20 shooting from the field. Bennett, North Carolina Central's only senior, totaled 10 points and led the visitors in both rebounds (6) and steals (4).
Liberty will wrap up its quick two-game homestand Monday, when the Lady Flames host Gardner-Webb in a matchup between the Big South Conference co-leaders and a rematch of the 2009 Big South Championship title game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised live on SportSouth. The contest will also be tape delayed and aired on MASN at midnight.
North Carolina Central will play its second of three straight Big South foes Tuesday at 7 p.m., when the Lady Eagles play at Winthrop.
Liberty's win in its first-ever meeting with the Lady Eagles boosts its overall record to 17-4. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central falls to 7-14 after dropping its third contest against a Big South Conference foe this season.
Big South Player of the Week Devon Brown hit her first two shot attempts, a driving layup and a three-pointer from the left corner, posting Liberty to a 5-0 advantage during the first two minutes of play.
The Lady Eagles responded, trimming their deficit to 7-6 when Latoya Bennett swished a 17-foot jumper at the 14:53 mark.
The Lady Flames held North Carolina Central without a made field goal for the next 3:32, enabling them to push their advantage back to six points, 14-8. Warley's offensive rebound and putback hoop with 11:35 left in the half gave Liberty its largest advantage of the early-going.
Liberty took its first double-digit lead of the evening 7:04 before halftime, 23-12, when Dale converted an old-fashioned three-point play. The conversion came during a stretch of six consecutive points by the sophomore, which punctuated an 11-2 Lady Flames surge and increased her team's lead to 13, 25-12.
Joanna Miller tossed in four quick points for North Carolina Central, pulling her team back to within single digits, 25-16, at the 4:12 mark.
Liberty's edge fluctuated between 10 and 12 points for the remainder of the half, and the Lady Eagles' Danielle DeBerry made the halftime score 30-20 when she sank a baseline jumper just before the buzzer sounded.
The Lady Flames shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field during the first 20 minutes, including 50 percent (4-of-8) from behind the three-point arc. Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles made 34.8 percent (8-of-23) of their first-half field goal attempts.
Liberty owned a slight, 16-14 rebounding advantage during the opening half. Both teams were successful on the offensive glass, as the Lady Flames grabbed 10 boards and North Carolina Central corralled nine.
Both teams were also a bit sloppy before halftime. The Lady Eagles committed 14 turnovers, while the Lady Flames had 13 opening-half miscues.
Brown led Liberty with eight points before the break. Warley, Dale and LaKendra Washington contributed a half-dozen points each, with Warley leading all players in first-half rebounds with five.
Miller's eight points and four caroms led North Carolina Central statistically. Meanwhile, Bennett accounted for half of the visitors' eight steals.
The Eagles tallied the second half's first four points, closing the gap to 30-24 when Miller made a pair of charity tosses at the 18:36 mark.
Shortly thereafter, Amber Mays highlighted a 6-0 run by the Lady Flames with four points and an assist. Liberty's advantage again reached a dozen points, 38-26, after her two made free throws with 14:54 remaining.
The Lady Eagles shaved their deficit to nine twice on three-pointers during the next four and a half minutes. Shanise Blanks' triple at 10:49 made the score 47-38, Liberty.
However, North Carolina Central made only two field goals the rest of the way, enabling the Lady Flames to record their ninth 20-point win of the season, 64-44.
Liberty finished the game shooting exactly 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor, improving to 9-0 this season and 68-0 under head coach Carey Green when making at least half of its field goals. The Lady Eagles ended up at 37.8 percent, (17-of-45), marking the 10th time in the last 11 games Liberty's opponent has failed to shoot 40 percent from the field.
The Lady Flames did an exceptional job on the glass during the final 20 minutes of play, outrebounding North Carolina Central, 22-7. For the game, Liberty posted a 38-21 rebounding advantage, including 21 offensive boards.
Warley paced all players in both points (16) and rebounds (11), recording her fourth double-double in the last five games. Dale contributed a career-high 15 points, helping the Lady Flames notch a 21-17 edge in bench scoring.
Brown scored in double figures for the 10th game in a row, ending up with 10 points and six caroms. Mays chipped in eight points and a matching number of assists.
Liberty held Miller, the Eagles' leading scorer on the season, five points below her scoring average. She had a team-high 14 points on 5-20 shooting from the field. Bennett, North Carolina Central's only senior, totaled 10 points and led the visitors in both rebounds (6) and steals (4).
Liberty will wrap up its quick two-game homestand Monday, when the Lady Flames host Gardner-Webb in a matchup between the Big South Conference co-leaders and a rematch of the 2009 Big South Championship title game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised live on SportSouth. The contest will also be tape delayed and aired on MASN at midnight.
North Carolina Central will play its second of three straight Big South foes Tuesday at 7 p.m., when the Lady Eagles play at Winthrop.
Team Stats
NCCU
LIBERTY
FG%
.378
.500
3FG%
.182
.444
FT%
.667
.615
RB
21
38
TO
21
21
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
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