Liberty University
26-6
No. 3 seed High Point
20-12
No. 1 Liberty Defeats No. 3 High Point for 16th Big South Title
3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Tournament MVP Ashley Rininger (16 points, 10 rebounds) helped No. 1 seed Liberty rally from a nine-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 3 seed High Point, 74-64 and capture the Lady Flames' 16th title in 19 seasons during Sunday afternoon's 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Women's Basketball Championship title game at The HTC Center.
Liberty trailed 33-24 with 5:17 remaining in the first half before outscoring the Panthers, 28-9, over the next 11:26, spanning both halves. Both of the Lady Flames' all-tournament team performers were key to that extended surge, which put Liberty ahead to stay.
Rininger scored six of the Lady Flames' first eight points to start the second half, helping lead to her third double-double of the tournament. The redshirt junior post player averaged 15.3 ppg and 11.7 rpg during the Lady Flames' three victories in four days, helping Liberty reclaim the title after being eliminated in the 2014 semifinals.
Rininger was joined on the all-tournament team by redshirt senior guard Emily Frazier, who finished with 13 points and five assists on Sunday. Seven of those points came during the decisive 28-9 surge, helping Liberty win its 14th straight game.
High Point's Stacia Robertson (24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals on Sunday), Campbell's Kiera Gaines and Gardner-Webb's Candace Brown rounded out the all-tournament selections.
Karly Buer (15 points), Jasmine Gardner (9 points, game-high 11 rebounds) and Sadalia Ellis (6 assists, 3 steals) were other key contributors for Liberty (26-6), which will return to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship for the 16th time. The full bracket will be revealed on March 16 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
High Point's season ends at 20-12, despite the best efforts of Big South Player of the Year Robertson, who averaged 21.7 ppg for the tournament. She was joined in double figures on Sunday by Latrice Phelps (17 points) and Kaylah Keys (10 points).
However, the Panthers were limited to 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from the field during the second half, after a fast start to the game, and suffered their third loss to Liberty this season. The Lady Flames are now 9-0 all-time against High Point in the Big South Championship, including 4-0 in the title game.
Gardner scored four points during an early 7-0 Liberty run, including a free throw at 12:43 that posted the Lady Flames to a 17-13 advantage.
Shortly thereafter, Keys' up-and-under layup punctuated a 14-2 surge by the Panthers, putting High Point in front by a 33-24 count, 5:17 before halftime. That marked the largest lead by either team during the first half.
Liberty outscored High Point, 13-3, over the next 3:23, reclaiming the lead at 37-36 after back-to-back three-point plays by Frazier and Buer.
The two teams then headed to halftime deadlocked at 37-37 after a DeAnneisha Jackson free throw. The tie was the 10th of the opening half, and the Panthers' 37 points were most any team has scored against Liberty in the first half since then No. 1/1 South Carolina scored 44 first-half points on Dec. 21.
That was one of 14 foul shots High Point made during the first half among its 19 attempts. Meanwhile, Liberty shot 5-of-7 for 71.4 percent from the line.
Robertson paced all players with 13 first-half points for the Panthers, including a 7-of-9 effort from the charity stripe. Buer scored 10 points in the first half to lead Liberty, while Gardner contributed six points and seven boards.
After Phelps opened the second-half scoring with a mid-range jumper for High Point, Liberty went on a 15-3 run. Rininger scored six of those points before Frazier's three-pointer from right in front of the Lady Flames' bench gave Liberty its first double-digit lead (52-42) with 13:51 remaining.
The Lady Flames' edge eventually reached a dozen points (57-45) on a Buer bank shot with 10:10 on the clock.
Phelps' layup had High Point back within five (60-55) with 6:09 left. But Liberty countered with seven straight points over the next 2:05, essentially sealing the victory and setting off a wild celebration.
Aided by 34 points in the paint, Liberty shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) for the game, including 52 percent (13-of-25) after halftime.
High Point fared well at the free throw line, ending up at 80 percent (24-of-30).
Liberty outrebounded its 21st straight opponent (38-28) and outscored its 12th consecutive foe in bench points (20-9).
Rininger has now posted five double-doubles in her last six games, giving her 13 for the season and 32 for her career.
Gardner finished the tournament with 25 rebounds in 56 minutes played off the bench.
Ellis' six assists give her 134 for the season, the most by a Lady Flame since Sarah Wilkerson distributed 149 assists in 1997-98.
