WBB Game Day: Eastern Kentucky
2/24/2023 7:19:38 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Links:
Live Video (ESPN3)
Live Audio (LFSN Radio)
Liberty Women’s Basketball Instagram
Liberty Women’s Basketball Twitter
Liberty Women’s Basketball Facebook
Eastern Kentucky Women’s Basketball Webpage
ASUN Women’s Basketball Webpage
Game Time:
Saturday – 7 p.m.
TV Coverage:
ESPN3
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Kyle West
Color Analyst: Kelley Deyo
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – Radio
WQLU 90.9 FM The Light
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Jamie Hall
Liberty’s Top Storylines
• Liberty (20-7, 14-2 ASUN) will host Eastern Kentucky (17-12, 10-6 ASUN) Saturday evening for the Lady Flames' regular-season home finale.
• The Lady Flames are 2-0 all-time against the Colonels, with both matchups taking place last season. Liberty posted a 77-57 home win over EKU in the 2022 ASUN quarterfinals.
• Liberty has won 12 straight games overall and 11 consecutive home contests, wrapping up a top-two seed for the ASUN Championship and its 22nd 20-win season in the last 27 years.
• Mya Berkman leads the Lady Flames in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg), while pacing the nation in field goal percentage (69.7). She scored a team-high 14 points in just 15 minutes played during Thursday's 77-50 victory over Bellarmine. Berkman will turn 23 years old on Saturday.
• Fellow center Bella Smuda tallied finished with nine points, five rebounds and a season high-equaling three blocked shots on Thursday. In the process, she became the eighth Lady Flame ever to block 100 career shots.
Notes and Anecdotes – Liberty vs. Eastern Kentucky
• Liberty will close out its regular-season home schedule against Eastern Kentucky, the last ASUN team it has yet to face this year.
• The contest will match up two of the ASUN's hottest teams, as Liberty has won 12 straight games and EKU has won four in a row.
• If the Lady Flames are victorious on Saturday, they will have their longest winning streak since a run of 14 in a row during the 2014-15 season (Jan. 24-March 8, 2015).
• Two days after holding the ASUN's third-leading scorer (Bellarmine's Gracie Merkle) to six points, the Lady Flames will face the conference's leading scorer (Antwainette Walker - 20.9 ppg). She has scored in double figures in 27 straight contests.
• EKU forces an average of 19.0 turnovers per game, which is more than Liberty has committed in the last two contests combined (18). This is the first time in 20 years (since Jan. 15 & 18, 2003) that the Lady Flames have recorded 10 turnovers or fewer in back-to-back games.
• Liberty is averaging 5.8 blocks per ASUN contest, pulling its season average up to 5.1. The Lady Flames rank No. 16 nationally in the category and have not averaged this many blocks for a full season since 2002-03 (5.2 blocks/game).
Summarizing the Streak
• Six of the 12 victories during Liberty's current winning streak have come by 10 points or fewer, with two requiring overtime.
• Kennedi Williams has played exceptionally well, averaging 8.5 ppg and a team-high 1.5 spg while posting a 56-to-9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Liberty has shot well from the field (48.8 percent), three-point range (37.2 percent) and the foul line (79.2 percent) while blocking 6.2 shots per outing.
Home Sweet Home
• The Lady Flames have won 11 consecutive contests at Liberty Arena, improving to 11-1 at home this season and 39-3 all-time at the facility.
• Eastern Kentucky lost its only previous visit to Liberty Arena.
Cookin' vs. the Colonels
• Dee Brown filled the stat sheet during two wins over Eastern Kentucky last season. She averaged 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 4.5 apg while shooting 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) from three-point range.
• Jordan Bailey totaled 24 points and seven boards while connecting on 4-of-10 (40 percent) of her three-point tries during 35 total minutes against EKU a year ago.
• As a team, Liberty connected on 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) attempts from long range versus EKU in 2021-22.
Featured in Main Photo: #1 Kennedi Williams
