Monday, November 4
Xenia, Ohio
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
1-0,0-0CUSA
77
vs
58
Valparaiso
0-1,0-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Valparaiso
15
14
22
7
58
Liberty
16
22
18
21
77
Emma Hess scored a game-high 20 points, knocking down six triples.
Hometown Hess Leads Liberty to 77-58 Season-Opening Win Over Valparaiso
11/4/2024 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
XENIA, Ohio – Playing next door to her high school on Monday, Liberty senior Emma Hess put on a show for her local fans with a game-high 20 points. Her effort sparked the Lady Flames to a 77-58 victory over Valparaiso in both teams' 2024-25 season opener, the first contest of the inaugural Total Athlete Tip-Off at the John Wooden Family Fieldhouse.
Tabbed the event's Player of the Game following the final buzzer, Hess knocked down six of Liberty's (1-0) 13 triples on the afternoon. The Lady Flames tipped off their 50th season of women's basketball by shooting 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field and 65 percent (13-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Conversely, Valparaiso (0-1) hit just 33.3 percent (14-of-42) of its field goals while falling to 1-2 all-time against the Lady Flames. The Beacons hit 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) from the foul line but were outrebounded 35-21.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-7 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 18 points, 8 assists, 3-5 3FG; Bella Smuda – 12 points, 6 rebounds; Asia Boone – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 5 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists.
Valparaiso Individuals: Leah Earnest – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 10-12 FT; Katie Beyer – 14 points, 3-6 3FG; Layla Gold – 11 points; Nevaeh Jackson – 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points and more than doubled up Valparaiso in points in the paint (30-14). The Lady Flames dished out 22 assists on 29 made field goals and blocked six shots. Valparaiso outscored Liberty in bench points (19-13) and forced 18 Liberty turnovers.
Turning Point
Liberty led a tightly-contested first half by seven points before Bella Smuda's putback sent the Lady Flames into the intermission with a nine-point advantage (38-29).
Smuda then scored six more points during a 10-2 burst to open the second half. Emma Hess's transition layup with 7:35 to play in the third quarter closed the surge with Liberty owning a 48-31 lead. The Lady Flames never trailed again.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will now prepare to welcome No. 11 Duke (1-0) to Liberty Arena for Thursday's 2024-25 home opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.
Tabbed the event's Player of the Game following the final buzzer, Hess knocked down six of Liberty's (1-0) 13 triples on the afternoon. The Lady Flames tipped off their 50th season of women's basketball by shooting 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field and 65 percent (13-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Conversely, Valparaiso (0-1) hit just 33.3 percent (14-of-42) of its field goals while falling to 1-2 all-time against the Lady Flames. The Beacons hit 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) from the foul line but were outrebounded 35-21.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-7 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 18 points, 8 assists, 3-5 3FG; Bella Smuda – 12 points, 6 rebounds; Asia Boone – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 5 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists.
Valparaiso Individuals: Leah Earnest – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 10-12 FT; Katie Beyer – 14 points, 3-6 3FG; Layla Gold – 11 points; Nevaeh Jackson – 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points and more than doubled up Valparaiso in points in the paint (30-14). The Lady Flames dished out 22 assists on 29 made field goals and blocked six shots. Valparaiso outscored Liberty in bench points (19-13) and forced 18 Liberty turnovers.
Turning Point
Liberty led a tightly-contested first half by seven points before Bella Smuda's putback sent the Lady Flames into the intermission with a nine-point advantage (38-29).
Smuda then scored six more points during a 10-2 burst to open the second half. Emma Hess's transition layup with 7:35 to play in the third quarter closed the surge with Liberty owning a 48-31 lead. The Lady Flames never trailed again.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- The first 10 minutes of the season included three ties and five lead changes before Liberty emerged with a 16-15 advantage.
- Both teams knocked down four triples during the stanza, with Hess and Boone shooting a combined 4-of-4 for the Lady Flames.
- The Beacons took what turned out to be their final lead of the matinee when Earnest made two free throws at 5:41 to make it 22-21.
- However, Liberty made four three-pointers between then and halftime, extending to a 38-29 cushion at the break.
- After the Lady Flames built their aforementioned 17-point lead (48-31), Valparaiso tallied 18 of the game's next 24 points. Earnest's putback had the Beacons back within 54-49 with just under a minute to play in the session.
- Valparaiso still trailed by only five (56-51) at the end of a quarter where it scored 22 points on 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
- The Lady Flames sealed their victory with a 16-2 run which tripled the lead from seven (61-54) to 21 (77-56). Hodges contributed nine points to the extended surge during her 11-point fourth period.
- Valparaiso misfired on 11 of its 12 field goal attempts, managing only seven points during the contest's final 10 minutes.
- Hess, who graduated from Legacy Christian Academy in 2021, notched her eighth career 20-point game and matched her career high of five assists before a large contingent of friends and family.
- After hitting a Liberty single-season record 76 triples last season, Hess opened her senior year with six of them. In the process, she catapulted from fifth place to second on the Lady Flames' career triples list with 174.
- Hodges tallied 13 of her 18 points after halftime and equaled her career high of three triples.
- Ten of Smuda's 12 points came during the second half as she reached double figures for the 16th consecutive game dating back to last season. That is the longest streak by a Lady Flame since Devon Brown scored 10+ points in 21 straight outings spanning the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
- Smuda leapfrogged Emily Lytle and Kristal Tharp on Liberty's all-time scoring list, moving into 14th place with 1,163 career tallies.
- Making just the third start of her career, Aegisdottir established new career highs for rebounds (game-high 12) and assists (5).
- Anna Badosa scored her first two points as a Lady Flame after scoring 746 points during her four years at Franklin Pierce.
- Brooke Moore (three points) and Pien Steenbergen (two points) both got into the scoring column during their return from injury. Moore missed last season's final 15 games, while Steenbergen sat out the entire 2023-24 campaign.
- Coming off a 2023-24 season where it nailed a program-record 230 three-pointers, Liberty's 13 triples on Monday fell just one shy of the Lady Flames' single-game record.
- The Lady Flames are now 155-5 under Carey Green when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Green began his 26th season at Liberty on Monday.
- Liberty improves to 25-25 in its 50 season openers all-time after winning back-to-back lid-lifters for the first time since a run of four years in a row (2004-05 through 2007-08).
- Nov. 4 is the earliest in the calendar year Liberty has ever tipped off a women's basketball season, surpassing the previous earliest date (Nov. 5, 2019 at Norfolk State). That contest marked the last time the Lady Flames had won a season opener away from home prior to Monday.
The Lady Flames will now prepare to welcome No. 11 Duke (1-0) to Liberty Arena for Thursday's 2024-25 home opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
VALPO
Lib
FG%
.333
.537
3FG%
.280
.650
FT%
.719
.667
RB
21
35
TO
14
18
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
F
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