Friday, December 29
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5-9,0-0CUSA
69
vs
49
Randolph
6-3,2-3ODAC
1
2
3
4
F
Randolph
8
4
17
20
49
Liberty
20
17
20
12
69
Brooke Moore tallied 8 points on Friday.
Liberty Tops Crosstown Foe Randolph, 69-49
12/29/2023 9:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Facing crosstown foe Randolph for the first time in 41 years, Liberty used a significant size advantage to produce a 69-49 victory, Friday at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames improve to 5-9 with their second consecutive win, coming nine days after their last outing due to the Christmas holiday. Bella Smuda continued her impressive month of December, leading all players in points (18) and rebounds (10) for her sixth double-double of the year. Liberty's three centers (also Emily Howard and Caroline Shiery) totaled 30 points and 22 rebounds on the evening.
Randolph, which classified the matchup as an exhibition game, remains at 7-3. The WildCats were outrebounded by a 54-28 margin.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3-9 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 8 points; Brooke Moore – 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks; Emily Howard – 6 points, 7 rebounds; Caroline Shiery – 6 points, 5 rebounds.
Randolph Individuals: Kylie Stark – 11 points, 6 rebounds; 4 assists, 3 steals; Caiyah Smith – 10 point; Cameron O'Neil – 9 point, 4 rebounds, 3-9 3FG; Jessica Jennings – 8 points, 5 assists.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, with more than half of its field goal attempts (31) coming from three-point range. The Lady Flames connected on eight of those shots for 25.8 percent. Randolph struggled from the field (18-of-61 for 29.5 percent) and three-point range (9-of-27 for 33.3 percent) but made all four of its free throw attempts. Liberty hit a season-low 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the line. The Lady Flames dominated the points in the paint category (34-12) and recorded all five of the game's blocked shots. Liberty outscored the Wildcats in bench points, 32-9, producing their most points in that category since Nov. 12 at Texas.
Turning Point
Caiyah Smith's three-pointer with 2:59 to play in a low-scoring first quarter had Randolph within six at 11-5.
Liberty then tallied nine of the quarter's final 12 points, eight of which came from Emma Hess in a span of 1:08. As a result, the Lady Flames' advantage reached 20-8 by the end of the period. Randolph never got back within single digits the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Liberty will close out non-conference play Sunday at 2 p.m. when Tennessee (6-5) visits Lynchburg for the first time.
The Lady Flames improve to 5-9 with their second consecutive win, coming nine days after their last outing due to the Christmas holiday. Bella Smuda continued her impressive month of December, leading all players in points (18) and rebounds (10) for her sixth double-double of the year. Liberty's three centers (also Emily Howard and Caroline Shiery) totaled 30 points and 22 rebounds on the evening.
Randolph, which classified the matchup as an exhibition game, remains at 7-3. The WildCats were outrebounded by a 54-28 margin.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3-9 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 8 points; Brooke Moore – 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks; Emily Howard – 6 points, 7 rebounds; Caroline Shiery – 6 points, 5 rebounds.
Randolph Individuals: Kylie Stark – 11 points, 6 rebounds; 4 assists, 3 steals; Caiyah Smith – 10 point; Cameron O'Neil – 9 point, 4 rebounds, 3-9 3FG; Jessica Jennings – 8 points, 5 assists.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, with more than half of its field goal attempts (31) coming from three-point range. The Lady Flames connected on eight of those shots for 25.8 percent. Randolph struggled from the field (18-of-61 for 29.5 percent) and three-point range (9-of-27 for 33.3 percent) but made all four of its free throw attempts. Liberty hit a season-low 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the line. The Lady Flames dominated the points in the paint category (34-12) and recorded all five of the game's blocked shots. Liberty outscored the Wildcats in bench points, 32-9, producing their most points in that category since Nov. 12 at Texas.
Turning Point
Caiyah Smith's three-pointer with 2:59 to play in a low-scoring first quarter had Randolph within six at 11-5.
Liberty then tallied nine of the quarter's final 12 points, eight of which came from Emma Hess in a span of 1:08. As a result, the Lady Flames' advantage reached 20-8 by the end of the period. Randolph never got back within single digits the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Both teams started slowly at the offensive end, with Liberty leading just 6-2 midway through the opening period.
- Bella Smuda scored the Lady Flames' first eight points of the game and Emma Hess tallied their last eight points of the first quarter, staking the home team to the aforementioned 20-8 advantage.
- Liberty outscored the WildCats 17-4 during the second period, limiting Randolph to 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from the field.
- Meanwhile, Ella Wigal knocked down two of the Lady Flames' three triples during the stanza, helping Liberty's lead reach 25 points (37-12) by the intermission.
- Led by Smuda (9 points, 5 rebounds), Liberty outscored Randolph 20-17 during the third period.
- The WildCats made three triples during the stanza and trailed 57-29 heading to the final 10 minutes.
- Randolph knocked down four three-pointers during a 16-4 run to begin the final stanza, pulling to within 16 on two occasions.
- But Liberty withstood the Wildcats' late surge to post their second 20-point win of the season. The Lady Flames' 69 points were more than Randolph had allowed in a contest this season.
Notes and Nuggets
- Smuda's double-double, which came in only 19 minutes of playing time, was her second in a row and her fourth in the last six outings.
- Smuda moved into 25th place on Liberty's career scoring list with 834 career points.
- Hess bounced back from a four-point contest against Grand Canyon on Dec. 20 to score in double figures for the 10th time this season.
- Howard matched her career high of seven rebounds in 13 minutes.
- Playing just eight minutes, Shiery set new career highs for points (6) and rebounds (5).
- Liberty improved to 8-2 all-time against Randolph, located less than 10 miles north of Liberty Arena. The Lady Flames have won six straight meetings in a head-to-head series that most recently took place on Feb. 18, 1982, when the schools were known as Liberty Baptist College and Randolph-Macon Woman's College.
- The Lady Flames are now 4-2 at home this season and 46-5 all-time at Liberty Arena.
Liberty will close out non-conference play Sunday at 2 p.m. when Tennessee (6-5) visits Lynchburg for the first time.
Team Stats
Rand
Lib
FG%
.295
.443
3FG%
.333
.258
FT%
1.000
.467
RB
28
54
TO
12
17
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
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