Thursday, January 18
Miami, Fla.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6-13,1-3CUSA
59
at
70
FIU
13-5,4-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
15
8
21
15
59
FIU
14
21
16
19
70
Asia Boone matched her career high of 18 points on Thursday.
Big 2nd Quarter Propels FIU Past Liberty, 70-59
1/18/2024 10:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MIAMI, Fla. – CUSA-leading FIU outscored Liberty 21-8 during the second quarter of Thursday evening's matchup, giving the Panthers a lead they did not relinquish. FIU went on to post a 70-59 victory over the Lady Flames at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, remaining unbeaten in conference play.
Liberty falls to 6-13 overall and 1-3 in CUSA action despite an impressive performance by reigning CUSA Freshman of the Week Asia Boone (18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals). The Lady Flames were victimized by 22 turnovers and FIU's 18 offensive boards.
FIU moves to 13-5 and continues its best-ever CUSA start at 4-0 with its seventh consecutive victory. The Panthers enjoyed significant advantages in rebounds (44-34), points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (20-7), fast break points (17-4) and bench points (35-6).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-9 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Bella Smuda – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks.
FIU Individuals: Mya Kone – 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals; Tanajah Hayes – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Kaliah Henderson – 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals.
Key Team Stats: Neither team shot the ball particularly well. Liberty finished at 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from three-point range, while FIU was 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor and 20 percent (4-of-20) from beyond the arc. The two teams combined for 49 free throw attempts, with Liberty shooting 65 percent (13-of-20) and the Panthers hitting 69 percent (20-of-29). FIU scored 19 points off Liberty's 22 miscues.
Turning Point
Liberty started off well, taking a 15-9 lead on Boone's old-fashioned three-point play with 3:35 to play in the opening quarter.
But the Lady Flames did not score again for nearly eight minutes. FIU reeled off an 11-0 run during that time, getting points from six different players.
Sariana Rodriguez Camacho's putback 6:07 before halftime capped off the surge with the home team now leading 20-15. Liberty never regained the lead.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will remain on the road on Saturday, flying to Huntsville, Texas for their first-ever matchup with Sam Houston (5-10, 0-3 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Liberty falls to 6-13 overall and 1-3 in CUSA action despite an impressive performance by reigning CUSA Freshman of the Week Asia Boone (18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals). The Lady Flames were victimized by 22 turnovers and FIU's 18 offensive boards.
FIU moves to 13-5 and continues its best-ever CUSA start at 4-0 with its seventh consecutive victory. The Panthers enjoyed significant advantages in rebounds (44-34), points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (20-7), fast break points (17-4) and bench points (35-6).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-9 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Bella Smuda – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks.
FIU Individuals: Mya Kone – 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals; Tanajah Hayes – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Kaliah Henderson – 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals.
Key Team Stats: Neither team shot the ball particularly well. Liberty finished at 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from three-point range, while FIU was 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor and 20 percent (4-of-20) from beyond the arc. The two teams combined for 49 free throw attempts, with Liberty shooting 65 percent (13-of-20) and the Panthers hitting 69 percent (20-of-29). FIU scored 19 points off Liberty's 22 miscues.
Turning Point
Liberty started off well, taking a 15-9 lead on Boone's old-fashioned three-point play with 3:35 to play in the opening quarter.
But the Lady Flames did not score again for nearly eight minutes. FIU reeled off an 11-0 run during that time, getting points from six different players.
Sariana Rodriguez Camacho's putback 6:07 before halftime capped off the surge with the home team now leading 20-15. Liberty never regained the lead.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty emerged from a back-and-forth first quarter with a 15-14 edge, aided by two Emma Hess triples.
- FIU scored seven points off the Lady Flames' seven turnovers during the opening stanza.
- FIU tallied the first six points of the second quarter, taking a 20-15 advantage at the tail end of the aforementioned 11-0 overall run.
- The Panthers outscored the Lady Flames 21-8 for the period, holding Liberty to 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from the field and forcing five turnovers. FIU took a 35-23 halftime lead as a result.
- Boone exploded for an 11-point third quarter, helping the Lady Flames outscore the Panthers 21-16 and trim their deficit to seven (51-44) heading to the fourth.
- Liberty used a late 11-2 run to pull within five (62-57) on a corner triple by Jordan Hodges with just over a minute left.
- But FIU made all eight of its free throw attempts during the final minute to close out a victory in its first-ever meeting with the Lady Flames.
- Boone's 18 points matched the five-time CUSA Freshman of the Week's career high, with 13 of them coming after halftime. She also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and led all players with four steals.
- Hess's 15-point evening included three triples, giving the junior 131 for her career. That ties her with Jaymee Fisher-Davis for eighth place in program history.
- Smuda's game-high four blocked shots give her 49 for the season, just one shy of her career high with 12 regular-season contests remaining. She also scored her 900th career point during the second half.
- Liberty has now lost six consecutive road games.
- Thursday marked the 200th game Carey Green has coached in the month of January during his 25-year career with the Lady Flames. He is now 167-33 during the month.
- Liberty's three CUSA losses are their most conference setbacks in a season since 2020-21, when the Lady Flames finished 12-4 in the ASUN.
The Lady Flames will remain on the road on Saturday, flying to Huntsville, Texas for their first-ever matchup with Sam Houston (5-10, 0-3 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Team Stats
Lib
FIU
FG%
.370
.383
3FG%
.261
.200
FT%
.650
.690
RB
34
44
TO
22
18
STL
8
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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