Liberty University
18-7,12-4ASUN
Bellarmine
5-17,5-11ASUN
Liberty Paints 88-59 ASUN Quarterfinal Victory Over Bellarmine
3/11/2021 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
No. 2 seed Liberty used its size advantage to great effect during Thursday evening's ASUN Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinal clash with No. 7 seed Bellarmine at the KSU Convocation Center. The Lady Flames racked up a season-high 62 points in the paint during an 88-59 victory which advances them into the semifinal round for the third consecutive season.
Liberty (18-7) never trailed, shooting a season-high 60.3 percent (38-of-63) from the field. The Lady Flames will square off with No. 3 seed North Florida (14-10) in the semifinals, Friday at 7 p.m. with a berth in Sunday's title game on the line.
Bellarmine's first season at the NCAA Division I level ends with a 5-17 overall record. The Knights shot just 35 percent (21-of-60) and committed 17 turnovers on the evening.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Emily Lytle – 14 points; Bella Smuda – 11 points, 2 blocks; Mya Berkman – 10 points, 7 rebounds; Alyssa Iverson – 8 points, 4 assists; Bridgette Rettstatt – 8 points; Dee Brown – 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists.
Bellarmine Individuals: Tasia Jeffries – 17 points, 3 steals; Breia Torrens – 13 points; Sheniqua Coatney – 10 points, 5 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty tallied a season-high 49 bench points, as 13 of the 15 Lady Flames who appeared in the game scored points. The Lady Flames tallied 17 points off Bellarmine's 17 turnovers. Liberty attempted a season-low 10 three-pointers, making four of them for 40 percent. The Lady Flames outrebounded Bellarmine 35-27. The Knights collected 16 offensive boards but converted them into only seven second-chance points. Liberty equaled a season high with six blocked shots.
Turning Point
Tasia Jeffries' three-pointer at 5:58 of the opening quarter tied things up at 8-8. Liberty then seized control with a 15-2 run. Reserves scored 11 of the Lady Flames' points during the surge, which ended with Liberty owning a 23-10 advantage during the final minute of the first quarter. Bellarmine would get no closer than nine points down the rest of the way.
Game Summary
First Quarter
• The Lady Flames led 23-12 after shooting 64.7 percent (11-of-17) and tallying 20 points in the paint during the first 10 minutes of play.
Second Quarter
• Liberty continued its torrid offensive pace during the second period, adding 22 more points to its total. Lytle and Priscilla Smeenge each hit triples during a 10-1 run which sent the Lady Flames to halftime with a 45-27 lead.
Third Quarter
• Rettstatt scored six points during the third quarter, helping the Lady Flames push their lead past 20 points for the first time. Liberty owned a 23-point (64-41) cushion heading to the final period.
Fourth Quarter
• Liberty saved its highest-scoring quarter of the game for last. The Lady Flames scorched the nets at an 84.6 percent (11-of-13) clip during a 24-point period. Liberty led by as many as 31 points before matching its season high for points scored (88) and margin of victory (29 points).
Notes and Nuggets
• Lytle, who has made the ASUN All-Tournament Team each of the past two years, paced the Lady Flames with 14 points in just 18 minutes played on Thursday. In the process, she became the 15th Lady Flame ever to score 1,100 career points.
• Smuda scored in double figures on Thursday, as she had in both previous meetings with the Knights. In three matchups with Bellarmine this season, Smuda tallied 42 points in 49 minutes played.
• Berkman also reached double digits against Bellarmine for the third straight game, going over the 500-point mark for her career.
• Making her first career start approximately 30 miles away from her high school (Greater Atlanta Christian School), Kennedi Williams dished out a team-high five of Liberty's 19 assists and matched her career high with three steals.
• With their four triples on Thursday, Liberty has now hit 175 this season. That matches the program single-season record set in 2013-14.
• Liberty's 60.3 field goal percentage was its highest since Feb. 9, 2013, when the Lady Flames also knocked down 60.3 percent of their field goal tries at Longwood.
• The Lady Flames are now 127-2 under Carey Green when making at least 50 percent of their field goals, including 3-0 this season.
• Liberty improves to 5-1 all-time in ASUN Championship contests. Thursday marked the Lady Flames' largest margin of victory in an ASUN Championship tilt.
• The Lady Flames are now 5-0 all-time at the KSU Convocation Center, including 3-0 this season.
Up Next
Liberty will square off with North Florida in Friday's second semifinal, tipping off at 7 p.m. No. 1 seed FGCU (24-2) will match up with No. 4 seed Lipscomb (12-9) in the first semifinal at 2 p.m., with both games being played at the KSU Convocation Center. The victors will advance to the championship game, slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the same venue.
North Florida dealt Liberty its first two ASUN losses of the season, winning 85-80 on Feb. 6 and 68-67 on Feb. 7. Both games took place at UNF Arena, and the home team has won all seven previous meetings in the head-to-head series which the Ospreys lead, 4-3.
Liberty and UNF will meet one another in the semifinal round for the second time in three years. The host Lady Flames topped the Ospreys 65-51 at the Vines Center on March 13, 2019, punching their ticket to that year's title game.
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