Thursday, February 1
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
9-13,4-3CUSA
69
vs
53
New Mexico State
9-11,3-4CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
New Mexico St.
16
11
13
13
53
Liberty
22
11
20
16
69
Bella Smuda (left) and Jordan Hodges (right) combined for 42 points on Thursday.
Hodges, Smuda Lead Liberty Past New Mexico State, 69-53
2/1/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The duo of Jordan Hodges (career-high 20 points) and Bella Smuda (game-high 22 points, game-high 13 rebounds) led Liberty to a 69-53 victory over New Mexico State, Thursday at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames (9-13, 4-3 CUSA) never trailed on the way to their third straight victory and fourth win in their last five outings. Liberty has moved into a tie with WKU for third place in the CUSA standings thanks in large part to another night of strong rebounding (+16 rebound margin) and stout defense (the Aggies shot just 35.8 percent).
New Mexico State falls to 9-11 on the season and 3-4 in its first year of CUSA competition despite 11-point outings from Molly Kaiser and Ene Adams.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Smuda – 22 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 6-6 FT; Hodges – 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3-5 3FG; Asia Boone – 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4-6 3FG; Ella Wigal – 6 points, 4 rebounds.
New Mexico State Individuals: Kaiser – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4-4 FT; Adams – 11 points, 5-7 FT; Sylena Peterson – 8 points, 3 steals; Fanta Gassama – 7 point, 6 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (44.8 percent on 26-of-58), three-point range (42.1 percent on 8-of-19) and the foul line (100 percent on 9-of-9). The Lady Flames controlled the rebounds (42-26), points in the paint (28-18) and second-chance points (13-6) categories, while recording all four of the game's blocked shots.
Turning Point
Liberty set the tone during an explosive 22-point first quarter, getting eight points apiece from Hodges and Boone.
The Lady Flames led 22-16 after the first 10 minutes, and New Mexico State was not able to catch up the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will close out their three-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m., playing host to UTEP (8-12, 3-4 CUSA) for the first time in program history.
The Lady Flames (9-13, 4-3 CUSA) never trailed on the way to their third straight victory and fourth win in their last five outings. Liberty has moved into a tie with WKU for third place in the CUSA standings thanks in large part to another night of strong rebounding (+16 rebound margin) and stout defense (the Aggies shot just 35.8 percent).
New Mexico State falls to 9-11 on the season and 3-4 in its first year of CUSA competition despite 11-point outings from Molly Kaiser and Ene Adams.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Smuda – 22 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 6-6 FT; Hodges – 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3-5 3FG; Asia Boone – 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4-6 3FG; Ella Wigal – 6 points, 4 rebounds.
New Mexico State Individuals: Kaiser – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4-4 FT; Adams – 11 points, 5-7 FT; Sylena Peterson – 8 points, 3 steals; Fanta Gassama – 7 point, 6 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (44.8 percent on 26-of-58), three-point range (42.1 percent on 8-of-19) and the foul line (100 percent on 9-of-9). The Lady Flames controlled the rebounds (42-26), points in the paint (28-18) and second-chance points (13-6) categories, while recording all four of the game's blocked shots.
Turning Point
Liberty set the tone during an explosive 22-point first quarter, getting eight points apiece from Hodges and Boone.
The Lady Flames led 22-16 after the first 10 minutes, and New Mexico State was not able to catch up the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Sylena Peterson scored seven points to keep the visiting Aggies close during the Lady Flames' big opening quarter.
- Liberty kept its six-point advantage (33-27) at halftime, following a second period where the two teams scored 11 points apiece.
- Hodges tallied 11 first-half points for the Lady Flames for the second game in a row.
- After being held scoreless for 4:07 to start the second half, the Lady Flames outscored the Aggies 20-9 the rest of the way.
- Hodges and Boone combined for 13 third-quarter points, helping Liberty take a 53-40 cushion into the final period.
- Smuda took over down the stretch, tallying 12 of Liberty's 16 fourth-quarter points. The Aggies got no closer than nine points down during the final stanza.
Notes and Nuggets
- For Smuda, it marked her 11th double-double and fourth 20-point game of the season as she climbed within 53 points of 1,000 for her career.
- Smuda came up with a career-high three steals and matched her career best of four assists. She also blocked a game-high three shots, overtaking Avery Warley for third on Liberty's all-time list with 167 career rejections.
- Hodges' 20 points shattered her previous career high of 14. She matched her career high of three triples made and posted her 11th game of 5+ assists this season.
- Smuda and Hodges became the first Liberty pair to score 20 points in the same game since Nov. 27, 2022, when Mya Berkman and Kennedi Williams did so against Minnesota.
- Boone equaled her career high of four three-pointers while scoring in double digits for the 10th time in her young career.
- Liberty made eight triples as a team despite three-point leader Emma Hess being held without one. Claudia Acin connected from beyond the arc for the first time as a Lady Flame.
- The Lady Flames have strung together three wins in a row for the first time this season.
- Liberty has won 10 consecutive February contests dating back to 2021-22 and are 159-24 during the month under Carey Green.
- The Lady Flames moved to 7-4 at Liberty Arena this season and 27-2 in conference games at the facility.
The Lady Flames will close out their three-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m., playing host to UTEP (8-12, 3-4 CUSA) for the first time in program history.
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Team Stats
NMSU
Lib
FG%
.358
.448
3FG%
.333
.421
FT%
.706
1.000
RB
26
42
TO
13
17
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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