Wednesday, January 10
Jacksonville, Ala.
7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT
Liberty University
5-12,0-2CUSA
63
at
78
Jacksonville State
6-8,1-1CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
8
17
21
17
63
Jacksonville St.
22
15
13
28
78
Jax State Holds Off Furious Liberty Rally, Defeats Lady Flames 78-63
1/10/2024 10:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -Â Liberty overcame a 20-point first-half deficit, coming all the way back to tie it at 50-50 early in the fourth quarter. However, the host Jacksonville State Gamecocks outscored the Lady Flames 28-13 the rest of the way to pull away for a 78-63 victory on Wednesday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Liberty's record falls to 5-12 overall including 0-2 in Conference USA play with its third straight loss despite getting a career-best night from Bella Smuda (26 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks). Three-point shooting proved to be a main factor, with Jax State outscoring the Lady Flames 36-3 from beyond the arc.
The Gamecocks improve to 6-8 on the season, leveling their CUSA record at 1-1, largely due to the efforts of Jaz Spencer (career highs in both points, 22, and assists, six). Bre'Anna Rhodes checked in with 18 points while Madison McCoy scored 10 and added eight rebounds. Â
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Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Emma Hess – 4 points, 5 assists; Asia Boone, 6 points, 3 steals
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Jacksonville State Individuals: Asia Barclay – 8 points, 6 rebounds; Rachel Johnson – 7 points, 7 rebounds
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Key Team Stats: Liberty (27-for-74, 36.5 percent) scored two more field goals than Jax State (25-for-59, 42.4 percent). However, the Gamecocks hit 46.2 percent of their three-point attempts (12-for-26) while Liberty made just one of 18 from beyond the arc (5.6 percent). The guests shot just 50 percent from the foul line (8-for-16), compared to 69.6 percent for the hosts (16-for-23). Liberty outrebounded the Gamecocks 45-42, including 16-8 on the offensive glass. The Lady Flames outscored Jax State 40-20 in the paint, but the Gamecocks' 36-3 advantage from three-point range more than counteracted that deficit.
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Turning Point
Jax State led 28-8 after a Samiya Steele three-pointer with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter. However, Liberty chipped away and was able to draw even at 50-50 on Elisabeth Aegisdottir's free throw just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter which capped an extended 42-22 run that spanned parts of three quarters.
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Spencer then scored eight out of the next nine points of the game, as her three made it 59-50 with 5:49 remaining. Liberty got no closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Gamecocks pulled away for the double-digit victory.
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Game Summary
First Quarter
Fourth Quarter
The Lady Flames will return home Saturday for their first-ever matchup with Louisiana Tech (7-10, 1-1 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Liberty Arena.
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Liberty's record falls to 5-12 overall including 0-2 in Conference USA play with its third straight loss despite getting a career-best night from Bella Smuda (26 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks). Three-point shooting proved to be a main factor, with Jax State outscoring the Lady Flames 36-3 from beyond the arc.
The Gamecocks improve to 6-8 on the season, leveling their CUSA record at 1-1, largely due to the efforts of Jaz Spencer (career highs in both points, 22, and assists, six). Bre'Anna Rhodes checked in with 18 points while Madison McCoy scored 10 and added eight rebounds. Â
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Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Emma Hess – 4 points, 5 assists; Asia Boone, 6 points, 3 steals
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Jacksonville State Individuals: Asia Barclay – 8 points, 6 rebounds; Rachel Johnson – 7 points, 7 rebounds
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Key Team Stats: Liberty (27-for-74, 36.5 percent) scored two more field goals than Jax State (25-for-59, 42.4 percent). However, the Gamecocks hit 46.2 percent of their three-point attempts (12-for-26) while Liberty made just one of 18 from beyond the arc (5.6 percent). The guests shot just 50 percent from the foul line (8-for-16), compared to 69.6 percent for the hosts (16-for-23). Liberty outrebounded the Gamecocks 45-42, including 16-8 on the offensive glass. The Lady Flames outscored Jax State 40-20 in the paint, but the Gamecocks' 36-3 advantage from three-point range more than counteracted that deficit.
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Turning Point
Jax State led 28-8 after a Samiya Steele three-pointer with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter. However, Liberty chipped away and was able to draw even at 50-50 on Elisabeth Aegisdottir's free throw just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter which capped an extended 42-22 run that spanned parts of three quarters.
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Spencer then scored eight out of the next nine points of the game, as her three made it 59-50 with 5:49 remaining. Liberty got no closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Gamecocks pulled away for the double-digit victory.
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Game Summary
First Quarter
- The Gamecocks hit 5-of-6 from the field to start the game, including a pair of three-pointers. As a result, the home team led 15-2 less than four minutes in.
- Jacksonville State led by as many as 16 (22-6) on its way to a 22-8 advantage through 10 minutes of play.
- Bre'Anna Rhodes tallied nine first-quarter points for the Gamecocks on 4-of-4 from the field, while Liberty shot just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) as a team.Â
- Jacksonville State scored the first six points of the second quarter, extending its lead to 20 (28-8) on Samiya Steele's triple at the 7:12 mark.
- Bella Smuda then helped Liberty battle back into the contest, posting eight points and six rebounds during the period. The Lady Flames outscored the Gamecocks by a 17-15 count to pull within 37-25 at the intermission.
- Three-point shooting was the telling statistic of the opening half, as Jax State connected on 7-of-12 attempts for 58.3 percent while Liberty was 0-of-9.
- The hosts scored the first basket of the third quarter, as Rhodes' jumper in the paint pushed their lead to 39-25.
- Liberty's trio of Smuda (six points), Jordan Hodges (six points) and Jordan Bailey (four) combined for 14 out of the Lady Flames' 21 third-quarter points, as the visitors trimmed the deficit to just four, 50-46, at the end of three periods.
- The two teams combined for just one made three-pointer in the third, with Jax State going 1-for-6 and Liberty shooting 0-for-3 from downtown. The Lady Flames had their best-shooting quarter of the game, connecting on 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the field.
Fourth Quarter
- After Liberty tied the score at 50-all early in the fourth, Jax State ended the game on a 28-13 run in order to clinch the conference victory.
- The host Gamecocks salted the game away with 10 made free throws in the fourth quarter (on 16 attempts), while Liberty shot 2-for-8 from the free-throw stripe during the final 10 minutes. Spencer scored 17 of her career-high 26 points in the final stanza.
- Smuda set new career highs in both points (26) and rebounds (17), with both totals being the most by a Lady Flame this season.
- Prior to tonight, the last Liberty player with 12 or more offensive rebounds was Avery Warley, who tied a program record with 14 offensive boards on March 10, 2012 versus Charleston Southern in the Big South Women's Basketball Championship semifinal. Â
- Smuda has now recorded eight double-doubles this season and 10 for her career.
- With her three blocks tonight, Smuda is now tied with Ashley Rininger for fourth all-time at Liberty with 156 career blocks.
- The last time a Liberty player had 20 or more points and 15 or more rebounds was Feb. 25, 2023 against Eastern Kentucky, when Mya Berkman totaled 20 points and 18 rebounds.
- Hess tied her career high with five assists, as she has dished out five helpers three times in her career, with the last before tonight being Nov. 10, 2023 at Stephen F. Austin.
- Boone recorded three steals, the third time in the last five games in which the freshman has registered three or more steals.
- The series is now tied at 2-2 between Liberty and Jax State all-time in women's basketball, with the home team winning all four meetings.
- Jax State is 5-1 at home this season, while Liberty is 1-5 on the road.
- Liberty was attempting to earn their first win when trailing by 20 or more points since Nov. 30, 2013, when the Lady Flames trailed Savannah State 44-23 and came back to win 89-79.
The Lady Flames will return home Saturday for their first-ever matchup with Louisiana Tech (7-10, 1-1 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Liberty Arena.
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Team Stats
Lib
JSU
FG%
.365
.424
3FG%
.056
.462
FT%
.500
.696
RB
45
42
TO
7
11
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
13
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballC
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