WBB Game Day Central: Presbyterian
3/2/2016 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
Color Commentator: Emily Stotmeister
Today's Game
Liberty (18-10, 15-4 Big South) will welcome Presbyterian (16-12, 12-7 Big South) to the Vines Center for both teams' regular-season finale, Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lady Flames will look to avenge a 60-42 setback at PC on Jan. 9 and claim at least a share of their 16th Big South regular-season championship in 19 years.
The "Starting Five" - Liberty's Top Storylines
1) Riding a three-game winning streak, Liberty is tied with UNC Asheville for first place in the Big South standings. The Lady Flames would win at least a share of the Big South regular-season with a victory on Saturday. Meanwhile, Presbyterian has clinched a Big South Championship first-round bye and enters Saturday's game tied with Radford for fourth place in the conference standings at 12-7.
2) Presbyterian, which dealt Liberty its largest margin of defeat in a Big South game (18 points) since March 3, 2007, will attempt to become just the fourth conference team to sweep the regular-season series from the Lady Flames in Carey Green's 17 seasons.
3) The Blue Hose have lost five straight road games and are just 1-7 at the Vines Center all-time.
4) Liberty will honor five seniors (Katelyn Adams, Sadalia Ellis, Jaymee Fisher-Davis, Catherine Kearney and Ashley Rininger) who have combined for more than 4,000 career points. Conversely, PC has zero seniors and is led in scoring by freshman Taylor Petty.
5) Fisher-Davis scored a team-high 15 points on five triples at PC on Jan. 9. The senior is averaging 10.3 ppg and has hit nine three-pointers during Liberty's current winning streak.
Liberty vs. Presbyterian at a Glance
Series History
Series Record: Liberty leads, 13-3.
Current Streak: Presbyterian won the most recent meeting.
Series Record at Liberty: Liberty leads, 7-1.
Current Streak at Liberty: Liberty has won two consecutive meetings.
Last Meeting Overall: Presbyterian 60, Liberty 42 (Jan. 9, 2016 at PC)
Last Meeting at Liberty: Liberty 59, Presbyterian 42 (Jan. 5, 2015)
Liberty's Last Series Victory: Liberty 63, Presbyterian 41 (Feb. 14, 2015 at PC)
PC's Last Series Victory at Liberty: Presbyterian 51, Liberty 49 (Jan. 3, 2013)
Coaching Matchup
Liberty Head Coach: Carey Green
Overall Record (Seasons): 401-138 (17th Season)
Record at Liberty (Seasons): Same
Record vs. Presbyterian: 13-3
Presbyterian Head Coach: Ronny Fisher
Overall Record (Seasons): 95-143 (Eighth Season)
Record at Presbyterian (Seasons): Same
Record vs. Liberty: 3-12
Notes and Anecdotes
• Rebecca Walker scored a career-high 18 points and Presbyterian held Liberty to 27.3 percent shooting, along with just eight points in the paint, Jan. 9 at the Templeton Center. As a result, the Blue Hose posted a 60-42 victory, handing the Lady Flames their largest margin of defeat in a Big South game since March 3, 2007.
• Presbyterian will look to join Gardner-Webb (2009-10) and High Point (2006-07 and 2013-14) as the only Big South teams to sweep the two-game regular-season series from the Lady Flames in Carey Green's 17 seasons at Liberty.
• Presbyterian has clinched a first-round bye for the Big South Women's Basketball Championship and enters Saturday's game in a tie with Radford for fourth place at 12-7.
• The Blue Hose have lost five straight road games.
• Presbyterian's roster features zero seniors, and the Blue Hose are led in scoring by a pair of freshmen in Taylor Petty (11.4 ppg) and Salina Virola (8.7 ppg).
• The Blue Hose rank No. 1 in the Big South in three-pointers made, as they have connected on a school-record 196 triples this season. PC hit nine three-pointers during its Jan. 9 win over the Lady Flames.
• Eight of the last 12 Liberty-PC matchups have seen both teams held below 60 points.
On This Date
Liberty is 4-1 all-time on March 5. Last season, the Lady Flames recorded a 59-51 victory over UNC Asheville in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Women's Basketball Championship on March 5, 2015.
Chasing a Championship
Liberty enters the final day of the regular season tied with UNC Asheville for first place in the Big South standings at 15-4. If the Lady Flames win on Saturday, they will earn at least a share of their 16th Big South regular-season title in the last 19 years and second in a row.
Finishing Strongly
Liberty is 14-2 in its final game of the regular season under Head Coach Carey Green and has won six regular-season finales in a row.
A Look Back at the Lady Flames' 59-42 Win at Winthrop
• Production from the perimeter (seven three-pointers) and inside the paint (double-doubles by Ashley Rininger and Katelyn Adams) keyed Liberty's 59-42 victory over Winthrop, Tuesday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum.
• Rininger finished with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Adams chipped in 10 points and 10 boards. The duo also combined for five of the Lady Flames' nine blocked shots and helped Liberty win the rebounding battle, 52-35.
• Freshman Arianne Whitaker paced the Eagles with nine points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and four steals, but Winthrop shot just 23.7 percent (14-of-59) from the floor on the night.
• Liberty ended up with a 17-point margin of victory after holding its second straight opponent below the 50-point mark.
• The Lady Flames ended the night at 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from three-point range and a season-high 90.9 percent (10-of-11) at the free throw line.
• In addition to outrebounding its 15th straight opponent, Liberty enjoyed considerable advantages in points in the paint (26-14) and bench points (32-6). The Lady Flames' 32 bench points marked a season high.
• Rininger's double-double, her first since Nov. 20, was her sixth double-double in a row when facing Winthrop. It was her third this season and the 36th of her career.
• Adams recorded her sixth double-double of the year and the 15th of her career.
Salute to Seniors
Prior to tipoff on Saturday, the Lady Flames will honor seniors Katelyn Adams, Sadalia Ellis, Jaymee Fisher-Davis, Catherine Kearney and Ashley Rininger. The Lady Flames have won 115 games during the last five seasons, with the five seniors combining for 4,050 points and 2,682 rebounds.
Winning the Battle of the Boards
Liberty has outrebounded 24 of 28 opponents this season, including 15 in a row. The Lady Flames have climbed to No. 10 nationally for rebounding, through March 1.
The Container is Half Full
The Lady Flames are 105-1 under head coach Carey Green when making at least 50 percent of their field goals, including 5-0 this season. Liberty has won the last 32 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 had held 69 straight opponents below 50 percent shooting from the field before No. 16/15 California shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) against the Lady Flames on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. Most recently, the Lady Flames' last 19 foes have each been held below the 50 percent mark.
Tradition of Excellence
All of the following trends are current through the 2014-15 season unless noted.
• The Lady Flames have clinched their 20th straight winning season in 2015-16. The streak started in 1996-97, the first year the Lady Flames won the Big South Championship title. Liberty was one of only 12 NCAA Division I women's basketball programs which began the 2015-16 campaign with an active streak of 19+ consecutive winning seasons.
• Liberty has posted eight straight 20-win seasons and 17 20-win campaigns in the last 19 years.
• Liberty has notched 17 consecutive seasons with 10+ Big South wins, including 2015-16.
• After earning their 15th Big South regular-season title in 18 years, the 2014-15 Lady Flames claimed their 16th Big South Championship crown in 19 seasons.
Player Trends
#1 Mickayla Sanders
• Hit a three-pointer in 13 straight games between Jan. 2 and Feb. 20, including a pair during the Feb. 20 matchup with Coastal Carolina that made her the 11th Lady Flame with 100+ career three-pointers
#2 Candice Leatherwood
• Has started each of the last three games at point guard, averaging 6.7 ppg and 5.0 rpg while leading Liberty to a 3-0 record. She posted 10 points and six rebounds during Tuesday's victory at Winthrop.
#3 Sadalia Ellis
• Has posted a 14-to-4 assist-to-turnover ratio during Liberty's current three-game winning streak, including a game-high seven assists at Winthrop on Tuesday
#5 Stephanie Patton
• Scored a career-high eight points in just 11 minutes at Winthrop on Tuesday, including two three-pointers within a 17-second span of the second quarter
#10 Jaymee Fisher-Davis
• Made five three-pointers during a team-high 15-point contest at Presbyterian (Jan. 9)
• Averaging 10.3 ppg during Liberty's three-game winning streak, while shooting 41 percent (9-of-22) from three-point range
• 77.2 percent (122 of 158) of her career made field goals have been three-pointers including 26 of her last 28 made field goals. Fisher-Davis ranks seventh in program history with 122 career three-pointers made.
#20 Sheana Vega
• Will celebrate her 20th birthday on Sunday (March 6)
#23 Brooke Alexander
• Averaging 5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg and a team-high 1.2 spg since joining the starting lineup, helping Liberty go 11-2 in those games
• Has recorded a 45-to-28 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 16 games
#30 KK Barbour
• During the last eight games, Barbour has totaled 29 points and 28 rebounds in 78 total minutes played.
#34 Katelyn Adams
• Averaging 9.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg over her last 12 contests, including a season-high 12 points and nine boards in 20 minutes during a Feb. 27 victory over Longwood
• Recorded three straight double-doubles between Feb. 1-9 and has five in her last 11 games, giving Adams a team-high six double-doubles for the season and 15 for her career
• Adams has tallied six or more rebounds in 24 of 28 games in 2015-16, including 12 10+-rebound efforts. She leads the team in rebounding and ranks third in the Big South.
• Has appeared in 126 consecutive games to start her collegiate career, putting her in third place on Liberty's career games played list
#44 Catherine Kearney
• Has hit 39 of her last 45 free throw attempts (86.7 percent), including a streak of 15 in a row that was snapped on Feb. 13 at UNC Asheville
#55 Ashley Rininger
• Needs 11 points to pass Sarah Wilkerson for seventh place on Liberty's career scoring list
• Scored a team-high 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds on Tuesday against Winthrop for her third double-double of the year and the 36th of her career
