WBB Game Day: Richmond
11/4/2022 9:56:05 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Links:
Live Video (ESPN+)
Live Audio (LFSN Radio)
Liberty Women’s Basketball Instagram
Liberty Women’s Basketball Twitter
Liberty Women’s Basketball Facebook
Richmond Women’s Basketball Webpage
ASUN Women’s Basketball Webpage
Game Time:
Monday – 3:30 p.m.
TV Coverage:
ESPN+
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Kyle West
Color Analyst: Kelley Deyo
Sideline Reporter: Lawrencia Moten
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – Radio
WQLU 90.9 FM The Light
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Jamie Hall
Liberty’s Top Storylines
• Liberty will tip off its 48th women's basketball season Monday by playing host to in-state foe Richmond.
• Richmond owns a 21-4 advantage in a head-to-head series that dates back to 1980. However, the Lady Flames have won the last two times the Spiders have visited Lynchburg.
• Liberty has won its last four home matchups with Atlantic 10 opponents, improving its all-time mark against A10 foes to 9-16.
• The Lady Flames are coming off a 2021-22 season which saw them go 28-5, tie the program single-season record for victories and win a Postseason WNIT contest for the first time.
• The Lady Flames will tip off their third season at Liberty Arena owning a 28-2 mark at the facility.
• Mya Berkman returns for her fifth and final season following a year where she paced the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 ppg) while ranking No. 3 nationally in field goal percentage (66.3). She and fellow fifth-year senior Dee Brown each made the Preseason All-ASUN squad, while Liberty was picked second in the ASUN preseason poll.
Notes and Anecdotes – Liberty vs. Richmond
• Liberty and Richmond will square off for the 26th time overall but the first time in six years. The Spiders lead 21-4 in a head-to-head series that dates back to 1980.
• The Lady Flames and Spiders have split the last four head-to-head meetings after Richmond won 19 of the teams' first 21 contests.
• The last three times Liberty and Richmond have matched up on one of the teams' home courts, the host squad has come away victorious.
• Liberty is picked to finish second in its final season of ASUN Conference competition, while Richmond is tabbed for an eighth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Both teams feature Latvia natives in the frontcourt, including Liberty's Alise Markova and Richmond's Emilija Krista Grava.
• Liberty (Mya Berkman) and Richmond (Addie Budnik) each return their leading scorer from last season, and both players earned preseason all-conference honors.
• Carey Green's second win as Liberty's head coach was the Lady Flames' second victory over the Spiders in program history. Liberty posted a 94-75 triumph at Richmond on Dec. 4, 1999 on day one of the Wachovia Women's Invitational.
Lady Flames in Season Openers
• Liberty is 23-24 all-time in season openers, including 15-7 at home and 11-12 under Carey Green.
• Liberty is just 4-6 in its last 10 lid-lifters, but the Lady Flames did open the 2021-22 season with an 89-40 home win over Belmont Abbey.
• The Lady Flames will attempt to win their season opener in back-to-back years for the first time since 2004-05 through 2007-08, when they did so four consecutive seasons.
• This is the first time Liberty has tipped off back-to-back seasons at home since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 campaigns.
• Liberty is 0-2 when opening a season against Richmond. The Spiders prevailed in the 1980-81 (at Richmond) and 1981-82 (at Liberty) openers versus the Lady Flames.
Liberty vs. A10
• Liberty is 9-16 all-time against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents, including 4-2 in Lynchburg and 9-13 under Carey Green.
• The Lady Flames have not faced an A10 foe since Dec. 22, 2018, when they topped Duquesne 55-51 at the St. Pete Shootout in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• The last time an A10 squad visited Lynchburg, Liberty defeated Saint Joseph's 76-75 in OT, Nov. 22, 2014 at the Vines Center.
• Liberty has won four straight home meetings with A10 opponents since a 65-45 setback to Richmond, Nov. 22, 2004.
