Liberty to Tip Off WNIT Appearance at Bowling Green on Thursday
3/13/2023 3:26:14 PM | Women's Basketball
Liberty will travel to Bowling Green on Thursday for a Postseason WNIT first-round matchup. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Stroh Center as the Lady Flames begin their second consecutive WNIT appearance and fourth overall.
The Liberty-Bowling Green victor will advance to a second-round matchup between the winner of Niagara at Green Bay, a contest which is also scheduled for Thursday evening. Bowling Green and Green Bay are the two teams with the most wins among the 64-team field this season, 27.
Both Liberty (24-8, 16-2 ASUN) and Bowling Green (27-6, 14-4 MAC) were seeded No. 2 in their respective conference tournaments and lost to the No. 1 seed in the championship game on Saturday. The Lady Flames fell 84-60 at No. 1 seed FGCU in the ASUN final, while the Falcons lost 73-58 to No. 1 seed Toledo in the MAC title tilt in Cleveland.
Liberty is 1-0 all-time versus Bowling Green, notching a 76-72 victory over the Falcons at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md., Nov. 28, 2021. That game marked Carey Green’s 500th career coaching victory, and Mya Berkman led the way with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Liberty will be making its fourth Postseason WNIT appearance (also 2011, 2016 and 2022). Last season, the Lady Flames hosted a Postseason WNIT game for the first time, and it resulted in Liberty’s first-ever victory in the tournament, a 50-44 triumph over Campbell on March 16, 2022 at Liberty Arena. The Lady Flames then lost 71-45 at Vanderbilt in the second round, five days later. Liberty is 1-3 all-time in the Postseason WNIT, including 0-3 on the road.
The only ASUN member in this season’s field, Liberty faced a pair of Postseason WNIT qualifiers this year (Richmond and Washington). The Lady Flames lost their season opener to Richmond, 69-48, Nov. 7 at Liberty Arena. Liberty later recorded its first-ever Pac-12 victory at Washington, 66-54 on Dec. 18.
Liberty is one of four members of next season’s Conference USA taking part in the Postseason WNIT, along with Louisiana Tech, UTEP and Western Kentucky.
All 63 Postseason WNIT contests will take place at campus sites, culminating with the championship game on April 1 at 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
