Sunday, November 24
Towson, Md.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3-2,0-0CUSA
64
at
57
Towson
0-6,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
18
13
14
19
64
Towson
12
7
13
25
57
Emma Hess scored a team-high 15 points on Sunday at Towson.
Liberty Uses Late 9-0 Run to Secure 64-57 Win at Towson
11/24/2024 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TOWSON, Md. – With the score tied at 55 and less than two minutes remaining, Liberty reeled off nine straight points to pull out a gritty 64-57 victory over Towson, Sunday afternoon at TU Arena.
The Lady Flames (3-2) shot 9-of-12 from the foul line and held the host Tigers to 0-of-4 from the field with a turnover during the decisive stretch. The trio of Emma Hess (15 points), Asia Boone (14 points, six rebounds, 4-9 3FG) and Bella Smuda (12 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks) led the way for Liberty's first road win of the season and first victory over Towson in 30 years.
Towson falls to 0-6 to begin the season despite a furious rally which erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Tigers got a game-high 17 points and six boards from India Johnston but could not overcome their 25.9 percent (15-of-58) field goal shooting during their first home game of 2024-25.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Claudia Acin – 6 points, 3-4 3FG in 9 minutes; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists.
Other Towson Individuals: Shariah Baynes – 12 points, 3 steals; Aminata Diakite – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot a season-low 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor and went 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from beyond the arc. But the Lady Flames fared well at the foul line, finishing 17-of-21 for 81 percent. Towson was also productive at the charity stripe, knocking down 23-of-31 for 74.2 percent. Liberty finished with a 42-37 rebounding edge and outscored the Tigers inside the paint, 22-10. Towson came up with 11 steals and converted Liberty's 22 turnovers into 16 points. Liberty recorded all six of the contest's blocked shots.
Turning Point
After trailing by 13 entering the final period, Towson battled all the way back to even the score at 55 apiece when Diakite knocked down two free throws with 1:57 to play.
However, those proved to be the Tigers' final points until Johnston banked in a shot with only three seconds remaining.
In between, all five Liberty starters made free throws as the Lady Flames went 9-of-12 from the line to take control.
Towson had grabbed 12 offensive boards to that point in the game, but Liberty kept the Tigers off the offensive glass for the final 1:56. Aegisdottir and Smuda each tracked down a pair of rebounds over that span.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will wrap up their three-game road swing on Wednesday, traveling to Grand Canyon (2-2) for the first time. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Eastern inside the Global Credit Union Arena at GCU, and the contest will air on ESPN+.
The Lady Flames (3-2) shot 9-of-12 from the foul line and held the host Tigers to 0-of-4 from the field with a turnover during the decisive stretch. The trio of Emma Hess (15 points), Asia Boone (14 points, six rebounds, 4-9 3FG) and Bella Smuda (12 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks) led the way for Liberty's first road win of the season and first victory over Towson in 30 years.
Towson falls to 0-6 to begin the season despite a furious rally which erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Tigers got a game-high 17 points and six boards from India Johnston but could not overcome their 25.9 percent (15-of-58) field goal shooting during their first home game of 2024-25.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Claudia Acin – 6 points, 3-4 3FG in 9 minutes; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists.
Other Towson Individuals: Shariah Baynes – 12 points, 3 steals; Aminata Diakite – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot a season-low 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor and went 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from beyond the arc. But the Lady Flames fared well at the foul line, finishing 17-of-21 for 81 percent. Towson was also productive at the charity stripe, knocking down 23-of-31 for 74.2 percent. Liberty finished with a 42-37 rebounding edge and outscored the Tigers inside the paint, 22-10. Towson came up with 11 steals and converted Liberty's 22 turnovers into 16 points. Liberty recorded all six of the contest's blocked shots.
Turning Point
After trailing by 13 entering the final period, Towson battled all the way back to even the score at 55 apiece when Diakite knocked down two free throws with 1:57 to play.
However, those proved to be the Tigers' final points until Johnston banked in a shot with only three seconds remaining.
In between, all five Liberty starters made free throws as the Lady Flames went 9-of-12 from the line to take control.
Towson had grabbed 12 offensive boards to that point in the game, but Liberty kept the Tigers off the offensive glass for the final 1:56. Aegisdottir and Smuda each tracked down a pair of rebounds over that span.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Coming off a season-high 93-point scoring outburst at Tennessee on Nov. 16, Liberty raced out to a 14-2 advantage over the first 5:03 on Sunday. The Lady Flames hit four three-pointers during the game-opening run, including three by Boone.
- Liberty led 18-12 through 10 minutes of play.
- Hess tallied seven second-quarter points, including a layup at the 2:06 mark which staked Liberty to its largest lead (31-16).
- The Lady Flames were on top 31-19 at halftime after limiting the Tigers to seven points during the second period on 6.7 percent (1-of-15) shooting.
- Towson outscored Liberty by a 13-4 count over the first 5:50 of the second half, aided by a pair of three-pointers. Semaya Turner split a pair of free throws with 4:10 showing on the third-quarter clock, trimming her team's deficit to 35-32.
- Liberty then closed out the period on a 10-0 run, pushing its advantage back to 13 (45-32) heading to the final period.
- The fourth quarter was the highest-scoring period of the game, with Towson tallying 25 points to Liberty's 19.
- Both teams spent a good portion of the final 10 minutes at the foul line, with the Tigers going 14-of-19 and Liberty countering at 13-of-16.
- Johnston tallied 12 points during the final stanza for Towson, while Claudia Acin had six for the Lady Flames and accounted for all three of her team's made field goals in the period.
- Hess's game-high 15 points put the senior over 900 for her career. After shooting zero free throws during the season's first four contests, Hess hit 6-of-7 on Sunday.
- Boone's 14-point afternoon included season highs for three-pointers (4) and rebounds (6).
- Smuda's double-double (12 points, game-high 10 rebounds) was her second of the season and the 22nd of her career.
- Smuda matched a season high with her four rejections, giving her 202 for her career. Smuda joins assistant coach Katie (Feenstra) Mattera and Mattera's sister Meribeth (Feenstra) Anderson as the only Lady Flames ever to block 200 shots.
- Liberty ended Towson's four-game winning streak in the teams' head-to-head series, which included the Tigers' 73-70 victory at Liberty Arena on Dec. 4, 2023. The Lady Flames defeated the Tigers for the first time since March 4, 1994 (71-59 at the Vines Center), when both teams were members of the Big South Conference.
- Seven of 11 all-time meetings between Liberty and Towson have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
- Sunday marked the Lady Flames' first close game of the season after their first four tilts had been decided by an average of 19.8 points.
The Lady Flames will wrap up their three-game road swing on Wednesday, traveling to Grand Canyon (2-2) for the first time. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Eastern inside the Global Credit Union Arena at GCU, and the contest will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Lib
Towson
FG%
.357
.259
3FG%
.318
.211
FT%
.810
.742
RB
42
37
TO
22
17
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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