Saturday, January 13
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6-12,1-2CUSA
66
vs
59
Louisiana Tech
7-11,1-2CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana Tech
18
21
10
10
59
Liberty
8
20
19
19
66
Emma Hess
Hess Leads 2nd-Half Comeback for Liberty’s 1st-Ever CUSA Win
1/13/2024 4:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Trailing Louisiana Tech by 11 at halftime of Saturday afternoon's contest at Liberty Arena, the host Lady Flames turned to Emma Hess. She scored all of her team-high 14 points after halftime, leading Liberty to a 66-59 comeback win, its first-ever Conference USA triumph.
Liberty improves to 6-12 overall and 1-2 in CUSA play, snapping a three-game losing skid. The Lady Flames, who got another big game from Bella Smuda (13 points, 15 rebounds), outscored the Lady Techsters by a 38-20 count after halftime.
Louisiana Tech is now 7-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play after dropping its second game in four days. The visitors shot 30.4 percent (7-of-23) and committed 11 turnovers during the second half of their first meeting with the Lady Flames.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 12 points, 2-4 3FG; Brooke Moore – 5 points, 5 rebounds; Jordan Hodges – 4 points, 6 assists.
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Salma Bates – 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2-5 3FG; Jianna Morris – 13 points, 8-11 FT; Anja Bukvic – 11 points; Silvia Nativi – 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field to LA Tech's 41.2 percent (21-of-51). After shooting just 1-of-18 from three-point range during Wednesday's loss at Jacksonville State, the Lady Flames were 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) on Saturday, with all four makes coming after the intermission. Liberty was 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from the foul line, while the Lady Techsters made 12-of-15 for 80 percent. The Lady Flames finished with slight edges in rebounds (30-27), points off turnovers (17-16), points in the paint (26-24) and bench points (17-16).
Turning Point
Trailing 49-47 after three quarters, Liberty took the lead for good with a 9-0 run to begin the fourth quarter.
A layup by Emma Hess with 6:28 to play capped off the pivotal surge with the Lady Flames now leading 56-49.
The Lady Techsters, who went 5:11 without a made field goal to start the fourth quarter, shot just 3-of-12 (25 percent) over the final period.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will play a pair of CUSA road games next week, beginning with their first-ever visit to FIU on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Fla.
Liberty improves to 6-12 overall and 1-2 in CUSA play, snapping a three-game losing skid. The Lady Flames, who got another big game from Bella Smuda (13 points, 15 rebounds), outscored the Lady Techsters by a 38-20 count after halftime.
Louisiana Tech is now 7-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play after dropping its second game in four days. The visitors shot 30.4 percent (7-of-23) and committed 11 turnovers during the second half of their first meeting with the Lady Flames.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 12 points, 2-4 3FG; Brooke Moore – 5 points, 5 rebounds; Jordan Hodges – 4 points, 6 assists.
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Salma Bates – 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2-5 3FG; Jianna Morris – 13 points, 8-11 FT; Anja Bukvic – 11 points; Silvia Nativi – 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field to LA Tech's 41.2 percent (21-of-51). After shooting just 1-of-18 from three-point range during Wednesday's loss at Jacksonville State, the Lady Flames were 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) on Saturday, with all four makes coming after the intermission. Liberty was 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from the foul line, while the Lady Techsters made 12-of-15 for 80 percent. The Lady Flames finished with slight edges in rebounds (30-27), points off turnovers (17-16), points in the paint (26-24) and bench points (17-16).
Turning Point
Trailing 49-47 after three quarters, Liberty took the lead for good with a 9-0 run to begin the fourth quarter.
A layup by Emma Hess with 6:28 to play capped off the pivotal surge with the Lady Flames now leading 56-49.
The Lady Techsters, who went 5:11 without a made field goal to start the fourth quarter, shot just 3-of-12 (25 percent) over the final period.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Louisiana Tech closed the opening quarter with a 14-0 run, taking an 18-8 lead.
- Liberty was held scoreless for the last 5:48 of the first period, missing its final eight field goal attempts.
- Liberty got its offense going during the second 10 minutes, shooting 77.8 percent (7-of-9) during a 20-point session.
- However, the Lady Techsters responded with 21 tallies of their own, pushing their advantage to 11 points (39-28) at the intermission.
- Liberty burst out of the locker room with a 10-0 run and eventually tied the score at 47-all on Asia Boone's fast break layup at the 48-second mark. Anna Larr Roberson's hoop at the other end regained the lead for Louisiana Tech, 49-47, heading to the fourth.
- After being held scoreless during the first half, Emma Hess matched the Lady Techsters' point output by herself in the third period with 10 points.
- Smuda helped Liberty close out its inaugural CUSA victory by recording five points and seven boards during the final quarter. Her layup off a nice feed from Hess gave Liberty a 62-56 cushion with just 45 seconds remaining.
Notes and Nuggets
- Hess scored in double figures for the fourth straight home game and the 13th time overall this season, matching her total of double-digit scoring efforts from her first two years combined.
- Smuda posted her third straight double-double, ninth this season and 11th of her career. She became the 18th Lady Flame ever to eclipse the 600-rebound mark and took over sole possession of fourth on Liberty's career blocked shots list with 159 rejections.
- Boone tallied nine of her 12 points after halftime for the eighth double-digit performance of her freshman year.
- Liberty is now 5-4 at home this season, improving to 47-7 all-time at Liberty Arena and 25-2 in conference games at the facility.
- Saturday marked the Lady Flames' first win over a CUSA opponent since Nov. 10, 2017, when they opened the 2017-18 season with a 63-55 triumph at Old Dominion.
- It took Liberty three tries to secure its first CUSA victory after the Lady Flames needed four attempts to post their first win in both the Big South (1991-92) and ASUN (2018-19) Conferences.
- The Lady Flames improved to 149-5 under Carey Green when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including 1-1 this season.
The Lady Flames will play a pair of CUSA road games next week, beginning with their first-ever visit to FIU on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Fla.
Team Stats
LATech
Lib
FG%
.412
.521
3FG%
.417
.267
FT%
.800
.667
RB
27
30
TO
15
13
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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