WBB Game Day Central: Winthrop
1/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Central Page
Liberty's Women's Basketball Game Notes
Game Time:
2 p.m.
Official Tipoff:
2:05 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: Britton Lynn
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – Radio
WQLU 90.9 FM The Light
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Jamie Hall
Today's Game
Liberty (7-8, 4-2 Big South) will attempt to get back on track when it returns home to face Winthrop (2-13, 1-5 Big South), Saturday at 2 p.m. inside the Vines Center. The game will match up the last two Big South champions and the top two teams in this year's Big South preseason poll.
The "Starting Five" - Liberty's Top Storylines
1) Both teams are coming off of losses to Presbyterian, as Liberty lost 60-42 at PC on Jan. 9 and Winthrop dropped a 59-48 home decision to the Blue Hose on Tuesday. The Lady Flames have only lost back-to-back Big South games once (Jan. 30 & Feb. 1, 2014) during Carey Green's 17 years as head coach.
2) Liberty has won 16 straight home games against Big South opponents and 23 consecutive home matchups with Winthrop. Meanwhile, the Eagles have lost seven games in a row and 12 straight contests away from the Winthrop Coliseum.
3) Both teams are short-handed due to injuries. Big South Preseason Player of the Year Ashley Rininger will miss her sixth straight game for the Lady Flames, while first team preseason all-conference pick Schaquilla Nunn is out for the season for Winthrop.
4) Mickayla Sanders is averaging 15.3 ppg during her last three games and 12.0 ppg during five career meetings with Winthrop. She needs 12 points to become one of the top 50 scorers in program history.
5) Jaymee Fisher-Davis has connected on seven of her 12 three-point attempts (58.3 percnt) during the last two games. In the process, she has become the 10th Lady Flame ever to make 100 career triples.
Liberty vs. Winthrop At a Glance
Series History
Series Record: Liberty leads, 47-10.
Current Streak: Liberty won the most recent meeting.
Series Record at Liberty: Liberty leads, 28-1.
Current Streak at Liberty: Liberty has won 23 consecutive meetings.
Last Meeting Overall: Liberty 91, Winthrop 71 (Feb. 24, 2015 at Liberty)
Last Meeting at Liberty: Same
Winthrop's Last Series Victory: Winthrop 63, Liberty 58 (Jan. 20, 2015 at Winthrop)
Winthrop's Last Series Victory at Liberty: Winthrop 55, Liberty 46 (Feb. 24, 1996)
Coaching Matchup
Liberty Head Coach: Carey Green
Overall Record (Seasons): 390-136 (17th Season)
Record at Liberty (Seasons): Same
Record vs. Winthrop: 33-4
Winthrop Head Coach: Kevin Cook
Overall Record (Seasons): 111-103 (Eighth Season)
Record at Winthrop (Seasons): 64-47 (Fourth Season)
Record vs. Liberty: 2-5
Notes and Anecdotes
• Saturday's game will match up the two most recent Big South champions and the top two teams in this year's Big South preseason poll.
• Winthrop has been hit hard by injury, as preseason all-conference post player Schaquilla Nunn is out for the season with a broken foot and starting guard Jimecheia Banks recently suffered a season-ending broken ankle.
• The short-handed Eagles, who dressed only eight players during Tuesday's 59-48 loss to Presbyterian, are just 2-13 overall and 1-5 in Big South play. Winthrop has lost seven straight games overall, 12 consecutive games away from the Winthrop Coliseum and 23 straight visits to the Vines Center.
• 22 of Liberty's 23 consecutive home wins over Winthrop have come by 10 points or more, including a 91-71 triumph last season (Feb. 24, 2015).
• Juniors Erica Williams (15.5 ppg) and Aliyah Kilpatrick (12.5 ppg) combine to score more than half of the Eagles' 53.1 ppg.
• Kilpatrick was a teammate of Liberty's Jaymee Fisher-Davis at Butler High School.
• Like Liberty, Winthrop played a challenging non-conference schedule, including visits to Oklahoma, Duke, South Carolina and Auburn.
On This Date
Liberty is 7-3 all-time on Jan. 16, including 5-0 in Big South games. The Lady Flames have won five straight Jan. 16 contests, including a 77-70 overtime victory at Winthrop on Jan. 16, 2014.
Bouncing Back
The Lady Flames will attempt to bounce back from their 60-42 loss at Presbyterian on Jan. 9. They have only lost back-to-back Big South games once (Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, 2014) during Carey Green's 17 seasons as head coach.
Shaking Things Up
Head Coach Carey Green has used seven different starting lineups during this season's first 15 games. The Lady Flames have matched the number of starting lineups they used during the entire 2014-15 season, and 10 different players have started this year.
A Look Back at the Lady Flames' 60-42 Loss at Presbyterian
• Rebecca Walker's career-high 18 points and a stout defensive effort enabled Presbyterian to defeat Liberty, 60-42, Jan. 9 at the Templeton Center.
• The Blue Hose snapped the Lady Flames' four-game winning streak.
• Liberty fell to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in Big South play after shooting only 27.3 percent (15-of-55) from the field and being limited to eight points in the paint.
• Jaymee Fisher-Davis made a career-best five three-pointers for a season-best 15 points, leading the Lady Flames' attack.
• Presbyterian became the first Big South team to defeat the Lady Flames by double digits since Radford notched a 77-54 win over Liberty at the Dedmon Center on March 3, 2007.
• Despite Liberty's shooting woes, the Lady Flames tied their season high of seven made triples.
• The Lady Flames won the rebounding battle, 44-32, but converted their 17 offensive boards into only five second-chance points.
• Fisher-Davis' five three-pointers were the most by a Lady Flame since Simone Brown connected on five triples against Penn State on Nov. 28, 2014.
