Liberty University
18-11, 15-5BSC
Presbyterian
17-12, 13-7BSC
Liberty Falls to Presbyterian on Senior Day, 57-49
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Presbyterian, which has zero seniors on its roster, spoiled Liberty's Senior Day with a 57-49 victory, Saturday afternoon at the Vines Center in both teams' regular-season finale.
The Lady Flames had trimmed a 10-point deficit to three before Presbyterian's Cortney Storey beat the shot clock buzzer with a three-pointer at the 3:45 mark of the fourth quarter. It was part of a 13-point second half by Storey, and Liberty got no closer than four the rest of the way.
Despite double-digit scoring efforts by seniors Catherine Kearney (13 points, nine rebounds), Sadalia Ellis (13 points, seven rebounds) and Ashley Rininger (12 points, eight rebounds), Liberty ends the regular season at 18-11 overall and 15-5 in Big South play. The Lady Flames finished second in the Big South regular-season standings, one game behind UNC Asheville (16-4).
Presbyterian finishes up at 17-12 overall and 13-7 in the Big South after becoming just the fourth team in Head Coach Carey Green's 17 seasons at Liberty to sweep the two-game regular-season series from the Lady Flames.
Storey matched her season high with 15 points, while Allie Wagner chipped in 13 points for the victors, who snapped a five-game road losing streak. The Blue Hose held Liberty to 29.5 percent (18-of-61) field goal shooting while improving to 2-7 all-time at the Vines Center.
Liberty hit three triples during the first 3:06 of Saturday's matinee, including a pair by Ellis, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead. The Lady Flames then missed their final eight field goal attempts of the first quarter. Meanwhile, Presbyterian scored nine straight points for a 12-10 advantage at the end of 10 minutes.
Kearney scored four points early in the second quarter, including a pair of free throws which put Liberty on top, 16-14, at the 7:48 mark. The Lady Flames then suffered an extended offensive drought for the second straight quarter, going the last 5:57 without making a field goal. Presbyterian, which shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line during the period, scored six straight points to close the half with a 28-20 advantage.
PC held the Lady Flames to 21.4 percent (6-of-28) shooting from the field before the intermission and just four points in the paint. Meanwhile, the Blue Hose converted eight Liberty turnovers into 11 points.
Jump shots by Rebecca Walker bookended a 6-0 Presbyterian run which gave the Blue Hose a 10-point advantage (38-28) with 4:46 to play in the third quarter. Liberty then scored six of the period's final seven points, pulling to within 39-34 on two Jaymee Fisher-Davis free throws with just 0.7 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Rininger and Kearney combined to score Liberty's first eight points of the fourth quarter, including Rininger's aforementioned putback which trimmed the deficit to 43-40 with 4:20 remaining. But that's as close as the Lady Flames got, as Presbyterian made 50 percent (6-of-12) of its fourth-quarter field goals and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) of its free throws to hold off Liberty's comeback efforts.
Both teams struggled from beyond the three-point arc, with Liberty shooting 20 percent (5-of-25) and PC making 22.2 percent (4-of-18).
The free throw line played a key role in the outcome, as the Blue Hose made 17 of their 23 attempts for 73.9 percent, while Liberty got to the line only nine times (making eight for 88.9 percent).
The Lady Flames outrebounded their 16th straight opponent (44-30) and converted 21 offensive boards into 21 second-chance points. However, Liberty was held to 22 points in the paint, its fewest since its Jan. 9 loss at Presbyterian.
Ellis hit three triples as part of her 13-point afternoon for the Lady Flames.
Rininger, who reached double digits for the third straight game, passed Sarah Wilkerson for seventh place on Liberty's career scoring list, finishing the day with 1,333 career points.
Fisher-Davis made a pair of three-pointers as part of an eight-point effort, as seniors accounted for 46 of Liberty's 49 points.
Aianna Kelly paced the Blue Hose in both rebounds (7) and assists (4).
As the tournament's No. 2 seed, Liberty will begin its quest for its 17th Big South Women's Basketball Championship title Friday at 6 p.m. with a quarterfinal contest at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C. The complete tournament bracket will be announced later this evening.
