Liberty University
Kennesaw State
Hot Start Sends Liberty Past Kennesaw State in ASUN Quarterfinals, 91-70
3/5/2023 7:25:36 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Carey Green Postgame Presser
Dee Brown and Mya Berkman Postgame Presser
Liberty’s Dee Brown hit four triples during the first quarter of Sunday afternoon’s ASUN Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal contest, helping the No. 2 seed Lady Flames race out to a 26-8 lead over No. 7 seed Kennesaw State. Liberty never slowed down, posting a Liberty Arena scoring record for the second straight home game in a 91-70 victory.
With its 15th consecutive victory, Liberty (23-7) advances to the ASUN Championship semifinal round for the fifth time in as many seasons as a conference member. The Lady Flames will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside Liberty Arena.
Brown finished with a career-high five triples and led five Lady Flames in double figures with 18 points. Liberty’s 10 triples on the day give them a program single-season record 198 for the season.
Kennedi Williams’ nine assists tied her career high and set a new Liberty Arena single-game record. The Lady Flames tallied 26 assists on 36 made field goals for their most helpers since a 26-assist evening on opening night of Liberty Arena (Dec. 1, 2020 vs. Norfolk State).
Despite a brilliant 24-point effort from Prencis Harden, Kennesaw State’s season ends at 15-16. The Owls fall to 0-11 all-time against the Lady Flames, including 0-2 in the ASUN Championship.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brown – 18 points, 3 assists, 5-6 3FG; Mya Berkman – 14 points, 11 rebounds; Pien Steenbergen – 12 points, 2-3 3FG; Jordan Bailey – 11 points; Bella Smuda – 11 points; Kennedi Williams – 7 points, 9 assists.
Kennesaw State Individuals: Harden – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-10 FT; Amani Johnson – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; Stacie Jones – 10 points, 5 rebounds; Jah’Che Whitfield – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from both the field (36-of-68 for 52.9 percent) and three-point range (10-of-22 for 45.5 percent). Meanwhile, Kennesaw State finished at 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor and 25 percent (3-of-12) from long range. KSU got to the foul line eight more times than Liberty, hitting 17-of-20 attempts for 85 percent. The Lady Flames enjoyed a 37-9 advantage in bench points. Liberty outrebounded the Owls, 41-32. Both teams took good care of the ball, totaling 18 turnovers (10 for Liberty and eight for KSU).
Turning Point
Liberty broke free from an early 4-4 deadlock by outscoring Kennesaw State, 22-4, over the remainder of the opening period.
All four of Brown’s early three-pointers came during that surge, including one just before the final buzzer which sent Liberty to the quarter break owning an 18-point lead at 26-8.
The Lady Flames’ advantage remained in double figures the rest of the way.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) during the first 10 minutes, as compared with just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) for the visiting Owls.
Second Quarter
- After a slow offensive start to the game, Kennesaw State shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) and knocked down two triples during a 23-point second quarter.
- The Owls got within 11 points twice before Liberty pushed its lead back to 17 (48-31) at the half.
Third Quarter
- Kennesaw State cut its deficit to 13 (50-37) with 8:06 to play in the third quarter on an old-fashioned three-point play by Harden.
- Liberty then broke the game open with a 19-4 surge over the next 6:21. Bella Smuda tallied the final five points, including a fast break layup at the 1:45 mark which gave the Lady Flames their largest lead of the day at 69-41. KSU tallied the stanza’s final six points to make it 69-47 through three.
Fourth Quarter
- Amani Johnson scored the final six points of her outstanding career during a 23-point fourth quarter for Kennesaw State.
- However, the Owls could only cut one point off Liberty’s lead as reserves accounted for 14 of the Lady Flames’ 22 fourth-quarter tallies. Liberty’s final 21-point margin of victory was its largest in 11 all-time meetings with the Owls.
Notes and Nuggets
- Brown, who made the 2022 ASUN All-Tournament Team, made a strong opening statement in an effort to repeat that honor. She finished just one point shy of her career high.
- Berkman’s double-double was her 11th of the season and the 18th of her career, putting her into sole possession of eighth place on Liberty’s career double-doubles chart.
- Williams’ nine assists eclipsed the previous Liberty Arena record of eight, set three times by Williams herself and once by KSU’s Johnson during Saturday’s first-round matchup with Jacksonville State.
- Steenbergen set a career high with her dozen points, while Bailey’s 11 points were her most since she had 11 at North Florida on Jan. 12.
- With 11 points on Sunday, Smuda has now scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Liberty’s 91 points broke the team single-game record of 90 the Lady Flames set in their final regular-season home contest against Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 25.
- Liberty also scored 91 points in its other ASUN Championship matchup with KSU, a 91-86 quarterfinal victory over the Owls in the final women’s basketball game at the Vines Center (March 7, 2020).
- The previous single-season program record for three-pointers made was 190, set in 2020-21.
- The Lady Flames have advanced to the semifinal round of their conference tournament for six straight years and 26 times in the last 27 seasons.
- Liberty has won 13 straight home games and 15 consecutive contests overall. That is the Lady Flames’ longest winning streak since an 18-game streak spanning Dec. 29, 2008-March 6, 2009. It is the fifth winning streak of 15+ games in program history.
- Liberty is now 60-3 in NCAA Division I conference tournament games when favored by seed, including 7-0 in the ASUN.
- The Lady Flames improved to 148-3 under Carey Green when hitting at least 50 percent of their field goals, including 12-0 this season.
- While Liberty and Kennesaw State’s women’s basketball teams were squaring off on Sunday, the two schools’ men’s basketball squads were facing off in the ASUN title game in Kennesaw. The Owls got the upper hand in that one, 67-66.
Featured in Main Photo: #12 Dee Brown
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