Saturday, January 6
Lynchburg, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5-11,0-1CUSA
66
vs
68
Western Kentucky
10-6,1-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Western Ky.
15
13
20
20
68
Liberty
23
18
8
17
66
Jordan Bailey posted her first career double-double on Saturday.
WKU Comes From Behind in 2nd Half to Top Liberty 68-66 in CUSA Opener
1/6/2024 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The two teams picked to tie for second place in the CUSA women's basketball standings went right down to the wire in the conference opener, Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. In the end, visiting WKU was able to erase a 13-point halftime deficit and post a 68-66 victory, spoiling Liberty's conference debut.
Liberty falls to 5-11 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA despite getting double-doubles from post players Bella Smuda (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Jordan Bailey (10 points, 11 rebounds) and a career-high 14 points from Jordan Hodges. The Lady Flames' 24 turnovers, 15 of which came after halftime, proved too much to overcome.
Last year's CUSA runner-up, WKU is now 10-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play after winning for the fourth time in its last five outings. The Lady Toppers posted their first-ever win over Liberty due in large part to the backcourt duo of Alexis Mead (20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Acacia Hayes (19 points, 4-9 3FG).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 10 points, 4 rebounds; Asia Boone – 9 points; Brooke Moore – 3 points, 8 rebounds.
Other WKU Individuals: Teresa Faustino – 8 points; Karris Allen – 8 points, 4 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty (45.3 percent, 24-of-53) shot better from the field than WKU (39.1 percent, 25-of-64). But the Lady Toppers (37 percent, 10-of-27) were more successful from beyond the arc than the Lady Flames (31.6 percent, 6-of-19). Both teams struggled from the foul line, with Liberty shooting 66.7 percent (12-of-18) to WKU's 57.1 percent (8-of-14). Liberty outrebounded WKU 44-31 and scored 32 points in the paint to the Lady Toppers' 22. WKU turned Liberty's 24 turnovers into 19 points and defeated Liberty in bench points, 16-9.
Turning Point
Liberty owned a 49-38 advantage after Ella Wigal swished a three-pointer with 5:51 to play in the third quarter. But that would prove to be the Lady Flames' last made field goal for 9:08, stretching into the fourth period.
WKU outscored Liberty 17-1 over that time span, forcing 10 Lady Flames turnovers.
Karris Allen's hook shot on the Lady Toppers' opening possession of the fourth quarter gave WKU its first lead of the day (50-49). She later capped off the extended surge with a pair of free throws at the 7:04 mark, extending the visitors' lead to 55-50. Liberty never regained the advantage.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Notes and Nuggets
Liberty will play its first-ever CUSA road game on Wednesday, traveling to Jacksonville State (5-8, 0-1 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum for a clash between the former ASUN Conference foes who will both be in search of their inaugural CUSA triumph.
Liberty falls to 5-11 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA despite getting double-doubles from post players Bella Smuda (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Jordan Bailey (10 points, 11 rebounds) and a career-high 14 points from Jordan Hodges. The Lady Flames' 24 turnovers, 15 of which came after halftime, proved too much to overcome.
Last year's CUSA runner-up, WKU is now 10-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play after winning for the fourth time in its last five outings. The Lady Toppers posted their first-ever win over Liberty due in large part to the backcourt duo of Alexis Mead (20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Acacia Hayes (19 points, 4-9 3FG).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Emma Hess – 10 points, 4 rebounds; Asia Boone – 9 points; Brooke Moore – 3 points, 8 rebounds.
Other WKU Individuals: Teresa Faustino – 8 points; Karris Allen – 8 points, 4 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty (45.3 percent, 24-of-53) shot better from the field than WKU (39.1 percent, 25-of-64). But the Lady Toppers (37 percent, 10-of-27) were more successful from beyond the arc than the Lady Flames (31.6 percent, 6-of-19). Both teams struggled from the foul line, with Liberty shooting 66.7 percent (12-of-18) to WKU's 57.1 percent (8-of-14). Liberty outrebounded WKU 44-31 and scored 32 points in the paint to the Lady Toppers' 22. WKU turned Liberty's 24 turnovers into 19 points and defeated Liberty in bench points, 16-9.
Turning Point
Liberty owned a 49-38 advantage after Ella Wigal swished a three-pointer with 5:51 to play in the third quarter. But that would prove to be the Lady Flames' last made field goal for 9:08, stretching into the fourth period.
WKU outscored Liberty 17-1 over that time span, forcing 10 Lady Flames turnovers.
Karris Allen's hook shot on the Lady Toppers' opening possession of the fourth quarter gave WKU its first lead of the day (50-49). She later capped off the extended surge with a pair of free throws at the 7:04 mark, extending the visitors' lead to 55-50. Liberty never regained the advantage.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Aided by Jordan Bailey's fast start (6 points, 5 rebounds), Liberty jumped out to a 17-3 lead during the game's first 5:48.
- WKU battled back to within eight (23-15) by the end of the quarter, with Acacia Hayes tallying seven of her team's final 12 points in the stanza.
- The Lady Toppers cut the deficit to six on three occasions in the second quarter. Liberty then opened some breathing room with a 9-0 run. Asia Boone's triple 1:43 before halftime extended the hosts' advantage to 41-26, their largest of the afternoon.
- Liberty led 41-28 at the intermission after shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) and scoring 20 points in the paint during the first 20 minutes.
- The Lady Toppers closed out the third quarter with a 10-0 run and trailed by a single point (49-48) heading to the final period. WKU outscored Liberty 20-8 for the stanza.
- The Lady Flames finished the third with more turnovers (10) than shot attempts (8).
- Emma Hess tipped in a missed free throw attempt with 3:48 left, trimming Liberty's deficit to 60-59.
- However, Alexis Mead countered with a jumper from the paint on WKU's next trip, helping keep the Lady Flames at bay. Mead finished with six points in the final period, including two clutch free throws with 8.9 seconds left and her team leading by two that pretty much sealed the victory.
Notes and Nuggets
- Smuda's double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) was her seventh of the season and the ninth of her career.
- Bailey's first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) was highlighted by a career-best rebounding effort.
- Moore also set a new career high for boards (8) off the bench.
- Hodges' 14 points set a new career high, and the junior point guard also posted her eighth game this season with five or more assists (5).
- The Lady Flames, who lost at Liberty Arena for the second time in seven days, fall to 24-2 in conference play at the facility and 46-7 overall.
- Liberty is now 2-1 all-time against WKU in a series which had not been played for 20 years prior to Saturday. The last time these two teams met (Jan. 8, 2004 at the Vines Center), current assistant Katie (Feenstra) Mattera went off for 34 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in a 77-71 Liberty victory.
- The Lady Flames are 1-4 in games decided by 10 points or fewer this season after going 8-4 in such contests a year ago.
Liberty will play its first-ever CUSA road game on Wednesday, traveling to Jacksonville State (5-8, 0-1 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum for a clash between the former ASUN Conference foes who will both be in search of their inaugural CUSA triumph.
Team Stats
WestKy
Lib
FG%
.391
.453
3FG%
.370
.316
FT%
.571
.667
RB
31
44
TO
12
24
STL
13
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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