Saturday, December 7
Lynchburg, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5-3,0-0CUSA
56
vs
51
North Carolina A&T
2-5,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
N.C. A&T
14
9
19
9
51
Liberty
15
12
16
13
56
Asia Boone scored a team-high 14 points during Saturday's victory.
14-0 Run Keys Liberty’s 56-51 Victory Over N.C. A&T
12/7/2024 6:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Trailing North Carolina A&T by eight points midway through the second quarter on Saturday, Liberty responded with a 14-0 run. That pivotal surge put the Lady Flames on top for good in a hard-fought 56-51 victory over the CAA preseason favorite Aggies inside Liberty Arena.
One week after scoring a Liberty Arena-record 106 points against Christopher Newport, Liberty (5-3) won a much different type of game. The Lady Flames' defense forced 20 turnovers and held North Carolina A&T to 34 percent (17-of-50) from the field.
The Aggies fall to 2-5 despite double-digit efforts from Jordyn Dorsey (15 points) and Chaniya Clark (13 points, 7 rebounds). North Carolina A&T had won its last three meetings with Liberty, including a 56-47 triumph in Greensboro a year ago.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 14 points; Bella Smuda – 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 5 points, 9 rebounds; Emma Hess – 5 points, 6 assists.
North Carolina A&T Individuals: Dorsey – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; Clark – 113 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals; Maleia Bracone – 9 points, 7 rebounds; Paris Locke – 6 points, 6 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty did not shoot particularly well in the win, finishing at 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor, 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) at the line. For the first time this season, Liberty won a game in which it was outrebounded, as the Aggies finished with a 37-36 edge on the glass. The Lady Flames committed a season-low 14 turnovers and scored 14 points off North Carolina A&T's 20 miscues. All 10 Liberty players who saw playing time scored points as the Lady Flames tallied 17 bench points to the Aggies' four.
Turning Point
Clark scored the last seven points of North Carolina A&T's 9-0 surge to open the second quarter. Her banked-in shot from the perimeter gave the Aggies their largest lead of the day (23-15), 6:08 before halftime.
Boone countered with 10 consecutive Liberty points, kick-starting the aforementioned 14-0 run that lasted into the early stages of the third quarter.
Smuda's turnaround jumper on the Lady Flames' opening possession of the second half closed the extended surge with Liberty now leading, 29-23.
The Aggies cut the deficit to a single point three times but could never reclaim the advantage.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will wrap up their three-game homestand Wednesday at 7 p.m., welcoming crosstown foe Randolph (6-3, 1-2 ODAC) to Liberty Arena for the second year in a row. The contest will be televised on ESPN+.
One week after scoring a Liberty Arena-record 106 points against Christopher Newport, Liberty (5-3) won a much different type of game. The Lady Flames' defense forced 20 turnovers and held North Carolina A&T to 34 percent (17-of-50) from the field.
The Aggies fall to 2-5 despite double-digit efforts from Jordyn Dorsey (15 points) and Chaniya Clark (13 points, 7 rebounds). North Carolina A&T had won its last three meetings with Liberty, including a 56-47 triumph in Greensboro a year ago.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 14 points; Bella Smuda – 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 5 points, 9 rebounds; Emma Hess – 5 points, 6 assists.
North Carolina A&T Individuals: Dorsey – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; Clark – 113 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals; Maleia Bracone – 9 points, 7 rebounds; Paris Locke – 6 points, 6 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty did not shoot particularly well in the win, finishing at 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor, 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) at the line. For the first time this season, Liberty won a game in which it was outrebounded, as the Aggies finished with a 37-36 edge on the glass. The Lady Flames committed a season-low 14 turnovers and scored 14 points off North Carolina A&T's 20 miscues. All 10 Liberty players who saw playing time scored points as the Lady Flames tallied 17 bench points to the Aggies' four.
Turning Point
Clark scored the last seven points of North Carolina A&T's 9-0 surge to open the second quarter. Her banked-in shot from the perimeter gave the Aggies their largest lead of the day (23-15), 6:08 before halftime.
Boone countered with 10 consecutive Liberty points, kick-starting the aforementioned 14-0 run that lasted into the early stages of the third quarter.
Smuda's turnaround jumper on the Lady Flames' opening possession of the second half closed the extended surge with Liberty now leading, 29-23.
The Aggies cut the deficit to a single point three times but could never reclaim the advantage.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- North Carolina A&T shot 60 percent (6-of-10) during the first 10 minutes. However, it was Liberty which emerged with a 15-14 advantage, aided by five Aggie turnovers and five Pien Steenbergen points.
- The Aggies scored the second quarter's first nine points and Liberty tallied the period's final 12 points to take a 27-23 halftime lead.
- Two players accounted for nearly all of the second-quarter scoring, as Boone tossed in 10 of Liberty's 12 points and Clark notched seven of the Aggies' nine tallies.
- Dorsey helped North Carolina A&T pull within one point (43-42) at the end of the third quarter with 11 points during the stanza. The Aggies got to the free throw line 11 times in the third, making nine of them.
- Liberty held the Aggies to nine points during the final period on 2-of-12 from the field. However, one of those makes came from Bracone on the right wing with 45.1 ticks remaining, making it a 53-51 game.
- Jordan Hodges answered with a game-sealing corner triple at the 29-second mark from right in front of the Liberty bench.
- Boone's team-high 14 points marked her 20th career game scoring in double figures, five of which have come this season.
- Smuda (10 points) reached double digits for the sixth time in eight games this season.
- Hess's six assists, including one on Hodges' clutch triple in the final minute, set a new career high.
- Hodges reached the 500-career point milestone on Saturday and also joined Liberty's career top 20 three-point shooters chart. The senior point guard's late triple was the 77th of her career, tying Hodges with Emily Frazier and Irene Sloof for 20th place on the list.
- Liberty improved to 8-6 all-time against the Aggies. However, Saturday marked the Lady Flames' first victory over North Carolina A&T since Jan. 5, 2010.
- This marked the fifth straight Liberty-North Carolina A&T clash decided by single digits.
- The Lady Flames are now 2-0 versus CAA opponents this year, also including their 64-57 triumph at Towson on Nov. 24.
- The Lady Flames are 55-9 all-time at Liberty Arena, including 3-1 this season.
The Lady Flames will wrap up their three-game homestand Wednesday at 7 p.m., welcoming crosstown foe Randolph (6-3, 1-2 ODAC) to Liberty Arena for the second year in a row. The contest will be televised on ESPN+.
Team Stats
NCA&T
Lib
FG%
.340
.379
3FG%
.214
.217
FT%
.700
.583
RB
37
36
TO
20
14
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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