WBB Game Day: Western Kentucky

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (7-4, 0-0 CUSA) will tip off its second season of CUSA play on Thursday, traveling to Western Kentucky (9-3, 0-0 CUSA).
The Lady Flames (second place) and WKU (fourth) were two of the top teams in the CUSA preseason poll and combined for a 16-7 non-conference record.
Liberty won two of three meetings with the Lady Toppers in 2023-24, including the regular-season finale in Bowling Green and a thriller in the CUSA quarterfinals.
Bella Smuda closed out regular season play by earning All-Tournament Team honors at the Cherokee Invitational, where Liberty topped Arkansas and lost the title game to Toledo. Smuda averaged 15.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg vs. WKU last season, shooting 79.2 percent.
Emma Hess scored a game-high 22 points during Liberty's 84-77 triumph at E.A. Diddle Arena a year ago. She is 57 points away from 1,000 for her career.
Asia Boone's shot clock buzzer-beating triple with 19.9 seconds remaining helped Liberty survive WKU in the CUSA quarterfinals last season. The sophomore leads the Lady Flames with 23 triples in 2024-25.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty (second place) and WKU (fourth) were projected to be two of CUSA's top contenders this season, and they went a combined 16-7 in non-conference play.
The Lady Flames will tip off their 2024-25 CUSA regular-season slate the same place they closed out the 2023-24 regular season with an 84-77 triumph in Bowling Green.
The two teams will not meet again until the final game of the regular season (March 8 in Lynchburg), going 65 days between matchups.
WKU is 5-0 at E.A. Diddle Arena this season. Meanwhile, Liberty has won both of its contests at the facility (Dec. 30, 2002 and March 9, 2024).
The Lady Flames and Lady Toppers have both been frequent participants in the NCAA Tournament, with WKU appearing 20 times and Liberty 17. Both squads most recently advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, where each was eliminated in a first-round matchup at Tennessee (WKU by Oregon State and Liberty by the host Lady Vols).
Turnovers will be a statistic to watch on Thursday. WKU ranks No. 31 nationally for turnovers forced per game (21.7), while Liberty sits No. 253 (of 353) in turnovers committed per contest (18.2). Last season, Liberty totaled 24 turnovers in its loss to WKU and averaged 18 per game in its wins.

CUSA Checkup

Liberty is beginning its second season of CUSA play on Thursday. The Lady Flames reached the conference championship game during their inaugural year of CUSA membership (2023-24).
The Lady Flames went 13-6 (11-5 regular season, 2-1 tournament) against CUSA foes in 2023-24, improving to 19-12 all-time against members of the conference (at the time of meeting).
Liberty was picked second behind defending champion Middle Tennessee in this year's CUSA preseason poll.
The Lady Flames are opening conference play on the road for the ninth time in 11 seasons, dating back to their tenure in the Big South Conference.
Liberty will meet WKU in its conference opener for the second straight season. The Lady Toppers spoiled the Lady Flames' first-ever CUSA contest on Jan. 6, 2024, rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit to record a 68-66 victory at Liberty Arena. It took the Lady Flames three tries to post their first CUSA victory (Jan. 13, 2024 vs. Louisiana Tech).
Kennesaw State joins CUSA this season. The Lady Flames have faced the Owls more often than any other conference member, going 11-0 during the time the teams overlapped in the ASUN Conference (2018-19 through 2022-23).

Schedule