WBB Game Day Central: NC State
11/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Central Page
Liberty's Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game Time:
7 p.m.
Official Tipoff:
7:05 p.m.
TV Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – TV
ESPN3
Big South Network
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Mike Tilley
Color Commentator: Kelley Deyo
Sideline Reporter: Lyndsay Keith
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – Radio
WQLU 90.9 FM The Light
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Jamie Hall
Color Commentator: Emily Stotmeister
Today's Game
The Liberty women's basketball team (2-0) will host a battle of unbeaten teams Friday at 7 p.m., as 3-0 NC State visits the Vines Center for the first time in program history.
The "Starting Five" - Liberty's Top Storylines
1) Liberty has opened the season with back-to-back wins (Appalachian State and Elon) for the first time since 2009-10. The Lady Flames have won 13 straight home games at the Vines Center, dating back to last season.
2) The Lady Flames are seeking their first win over an ACC opponent since a Dec. 30, 2008 victory at Virginia Tech. On the flip side, NC State is 24-0 all-time against Big South foes, including wins over High Point and Radford earlier this week and a 2-0 all-time mark versus Liberty. Big South teams own two victories over ACC opposition this season, including Gardner-Webb over North Carolina and Coastal Carolina over Clemson.
3) Liberty erased an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Elon on Monday, thanks in large part to holding the Phoenix without a made field goal for a 10:49 stretch of the second half. The Lady Flames have now held 66 straight opponents below 50 percent field goal shooting, dating back to the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
4) Friday's game begins a brutal nine-day stretch of the Lady Flames' schedule, which includes meetings with ACC, Big 10 and Pac-12 opponents, as well as a James Madison squad which won 29 games last season.
5) Senior point guard Sadalia Ellis is averaging 20.5 ppg this season, including a career-high 25 tallies versus Elon on Monday. She posted 16 points and eight assists at NC State a year ago.
Liberty vs. NC State At a Glance
Series History
Series Record: NC State leads, 2-0
Current Streak: NC State has won both previous meetings.
Series Record at Liberty: First meeting
Last Meeting: NC State 67, Liberty 64 (Dec. 17, 2014 at NC State)
Coaching Matchup
Liberty Head Coach: Carey Green
Overall Record (Seasons): 385-128 (17th Season)
Record at Liberty (Seasons): Same
Record vs. NC State: 0-2
NC State Head Coach: Wes Moore
Overall Record (Seasons): 604-192 (27th Season)
Record at NC State (Seasons): 46-23 (Third Season)
Record vs. Liberty: 1-0
Notes and Anecdotes
• Liberty and NC State are squaring off for the second consecutive season, after the Wolfpack recorded a 67-64 victory at Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 17, 2014. Mickayla Sanders' three-pointer with 28.9 seconds remaining tied the score at 64-all, before a Carlee Schuhmacher three-point play at the 5.1-second mark gave NC State the win. Schuhmacher led all players with 17 points, while Sadalia Ellis and Simone Brown tallied 16 points apiece for Liberty.
• NC State is Liberty's second straight opponent who competed in the Postseason WNIT last season. The Wolfpack won two games to advance to the tournament's final 16, finishing the year with an 18-15 record.
• Picked to finish ninth in the ACC preseason poll, NC State is off to a 3-0 start this season, recording home wins over Villanova (70-64), High Point (89-48) and Radford (67-52).
• NC State is 24-0 all-time against Big South opponents, including its victories over High Point and Radford this week and a pair of wins against Liberty.
• NC State Associate Head Coach Nikki (Blassingame) West played at Clemson when Carey Green as an assistant coach for the Tigers.
• The Wolfpack are the eighth straight North Carolina-based opponent Liberty has faced, dating back to last season.
• Like Liberty, NC State will accumulate some frequent flyer miles next week for Thanksgiving. The Wolfpack will travel to Cancun, Mexico for a pair of games at the Cancun Challenge.
On This Date
Liberty is 5-2 all-time when playing on Nov. 20, highlighted by a 75-71 victory at Virginia on Nov. 20, 2006. Led by Megan Frazee's 37 points, the Lady Flames became the first visiting team ever to win at John Paul Jones Arena.
Amazing Ashley
After opening the season with her 34th career double-double (23 points, 11 rebounds) at Appalachian State, Ashley Rininger was named Co-Big South Player of the Week on Tuesday. It is the fifth time Rininger has earned the conference player of the week honor during her career.
Against the ACC
Friday's game is the first of two matchups with ACC opponents Liberty has scheduled this season. The Lady Flames will also travel to Duke on Dec. 17.
Liberty was 0-2 versus the ACC in 2014-15, losing to NC State and North Carolina by a combined nine points.
The Lady Flames are seeking their first win over an ACC opponent since Dec. 30, 2008. That day, the Lady Flames notched a 45-43 victory at Virginia Tech in the championship game of the Hokie Hardwood Classic.
Tar Heel State Tussle
Monday's game is the last of Liberty's three consecutive contests against opponents from North Carolina to open the 2015-16 season.
Liberty also closed the 2014-15 campaign with five straight Tar Heel State matchups. The Lady Flames ended the regular season at Campbell, before facing UNC Asheville, Campbell and High Point at the Big South Championship and North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Flames, who went 11-4 against North Carolina-based foes in 2014-15, are 2-0 against Tar Heel State opponents this season.
Looking For 3-0
Liberty is seeking its first 3-0 start to a season since the 2009-10 Lady Flames opened the year at 5-0.
A Look Back at the Lady Flames' 72-63 Win Over Elon
• After trailing Elon by eight points at halftime of Monday's home opener at the Vines Center, Liberty roared back for a 72-63 victory.
• The Lady Flames held the Phoenix without a made field goal for a 10:49 stretch of the second half, while Sadalia Ellis poured in 15 of her career-high 25 points after the intermission.
• Elon led by a 49-43 count after Lauren Brown's jumper at 5:54 of the third quarter, but did not make another field goal until Shay Burnett canned a layup with 5:05 to play during the final period. In between, Liberty took the lead for good with a 19-3 surge.
• The Lady Flames, who tallied 20 bench points, started the game-changing second-half run with two freshmen (KK Barbour and Molly Reagan) and two sophomores (Leatherwood and Sheana Vega) on the court.
• Ellis' 25 points shattered her previous career best of 18, as the senior point guard was aided by an 11-of-13 performance at the free throw line. She also collected five rebounds and came up with three steals.
• Ashley Rininger scored seven of her 11 points during the second half and collected seven rebounds.
Making Their Point
Liberty has gotten exceptional play from point guards Sadalia Ellis and Candice Leatherwood during the first two games of the 2015-16 season.
• Ellis, who entered the season with career highs of 18 points and five rebounds, is currently averaging 20.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg, to go along with a team-high 4.5 apg and 3.5 spg.
• Leatherwood is averaging 7.0 ppg, just off of her career high of eight points.
• The duo is shooting a combined 26-of-32 at the free throw line for 81.3 percent, including 16-of-21 during the fourth quarter. Ellis and Leatherwood have scored 20 of Liberty's 40 fourth-quarter points through two games.
Winning the Battle of the Boards
Liberty has outrebounded 24 consecutive opponents since losing the battle of the boards to No. 1/1 South Carolina on Dec, 21, 2014.
The Container is Half Full
The Lady Flames are 100-1 under head coach Carey Green when making at least 50 percent of their field goals. Liberty has won the last 27 times it has shot 50 percent or better, since an 83-77 loss to Kentucky in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship (March 20, 2010).
The Container is Half Empty
Liberty has held 66 straight opponents below 50 percent shooting from the field. Purdue was the Lady Flames' most recent foe to make at least half of its field goal attempts, connecting at a 50.0 percent (26-of-52) clip during the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship (March 24, 2013).
