WBB Game Day: Gonzaga

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (2-2) will play its first of three games at the Betty Chancellor Classic on Friday afternoon, facing Gonzaga (4-1) for the first time.
The Lady Flames are squaring off with a West Coast Conference foe for the first time in program history and are playing their second of nine games this season against a 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifier.
Liberty has gone 6-2 in regular-season tournaments since the start of the 2021-22 season, including 2-0 showings at the 2021 Navy Classic, 2021 South Padre Island Classic and 2022 Husky Classic.
Beginning his 25th season at Liberty, Head Coach Carey Green made history during a 68-46 season-opening win over Frostburg State, becoming the winningest coach in Liberty Athletics history (all sports). Green is going for career win No. 550 on Friday.
Preseason All-CUSA selection Emma Hess leads the Lady Flames in scoring through four games with 13.0 ppg. She has knocked down a team-high 10 triples at a 43.5 percent clip. Hess, who has tallied 102 career three-pointers, needs three more to move into 10th place on Liberty's all-time list.

Notes and Anecdotes

Gonzaga is the third first-time opponent Liberty has faced this season (also Stephen F. Austin and Texas). The Lady Flames are slated to meet nine first-time foes in 2023-24, also including CUSA opponents FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and UTEP.
Friday will mark Liberty's first-ever meeting with a West Coast Conference opponent.
Both teams' head coaches rank among the nation's best in terms of career winning percentage. Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier entered the season ranked No. 5 in Division I at .798 and Liberty's Carey Green was listed No. 20 at .716.
Friday's matinee will be the Lady Flames' third of seven games in Texas this season. Liberty only played in the Lone Star State eight times during its first 48 seasons of women's basketball.
Gonzaga is coming off a 28-5 season which culminated in its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. This will be the second of Liberty's nine meetings with a 2023 NCAA qualifier this season, following its loss at Texas on Nov. 12.
The Lady Flames have lost back-to-back games after starting the year 0-2. Liberty is looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since Nov. 23-27, 2022 (James Madison, East Carolina and Minnesota).

Tournament Time

The Betty Chancellor Classic is the only regular-season tournament on Liberty's 2023-24 schedule.
The Lady Flames have gone 6-2 during regular-season tournaments since the start of the 2021-22 season, highlighted by 2-0 showings at the 2021 Navy Classic, 2021 South Padre Island Classic and 2022 Husky Classic.
This is Liberty's first regular-season tournament featuring three games in three days since Nov. 23-25, 2007. The Lady Flames defeated McNeese State, Houston and host Xavier to win the National City Xavier Invitational championship.
Liberty's last time facing multiple Power Five foes in the same tournament (Ohio State and Cal) was the 2015 South Point Thanksgiving Tournament in Las Vegas.

Schedule