Thursday, February 29
Las Cruces, N.M.
8:00 PM ET/6:00 PM MT
Liberty University
14-14,9-4CUSA
60
at
56
New Mexico State
11-16,5-9CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
13
10
17
20
60
New Mexico St.
14
15
14
13
56
Emma Hess
Hess’s Huge 2nd Half Leads to 60-56 Win at New Mexico State
2/29/2024 11:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Liberty's Emma Hess scored 24 of her 26 points after halftime, leading the Lady Flames to a come-from-behind 60-56 win over New Mexico State, Thursday evening at the Pan American Center.
Liberty's fourth straight win and eighth victory in its last nine outings improves its record to 14-14 overall and 9-4 in CUSA play, moving the Lady Flames into a second-place tie with FIU. The Lady Flames, who also got 16 points and eight rebounds from Bella Smuda, completed a season sweep of fellow CUSA newcomer New Mexico State.
New Mexico State dropped its third straight contest, all of which have been by 10 points or fewer. The Aggies are now 11-16 overall and 5-9 in conference play. New Mexico State led 29-23 at the half but shot just 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) at the foul line following the intermission.
Hess, who was held scoreless during Liberty's 69-53 home win over New Mexico State on Feb. 1, recorded the highest-scoring half by a Lady Flame since Nov. 20, 2006. That day, fellow Legacy Christian Academy graduate Megan Frazee went off for 31 second-half points in a 75-71 win at Virginia.
Hess connected on three triples during Thursday's victory, enabling the junior guard to tie the Liberty single-season record of 64. She now co-holds the mark with Cynthia Thomson (1989-90) and Emily Lytle (2018-19).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 3FG, 7-7 FT; Smuda – 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-10 FG; Asia Boone – 8 points; Jordan Hodges – 2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers.
New Mexico State Individuals: Molly Kaiser – 20 points, 3-5 3FG; Ene Adams – 12 points, 7 rebounds; Fanta Gassama – 6 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists; Tylie Jones – 7 points, 3-5 FT.
Key Team Stats: Free throw shooting was key, as Liberty shot 81.8 percent (9-of-11) to the Aggies' 50 percent (10-of-20). The Lady Flames connected at a 44.2 percent clip (23-of-52) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three-point range, slightly better than New Mexico State's 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from long distance. Liberty finished with a 30-29 rebounding edge and a 32-24 advantage in points in the paint. The teams committed just nine turnovers apiece, only three of which for each squad came after halftime. New Mexico State tallied nine bench points to Liberty's five.
Turning Point
In a game where the lead changed hands five times, Liberty went ahead for good during the final period.
Adams opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a putback hoop for the Aggies, putting them in front by five (45-40).
Hess then notched the first eight markers of Liberty's 10-0 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers.
Elisabeth Aegisdottir's back door layup at the 5:23 mark capped off the pivotal surge with the Lady Flames now leading 50-45.
New Mexico State got no closer than three points down for the remainder of the game.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will wrap up their western swing on Saturday, traveling to UTEP (11-16, 6-8 CUSA) for the first time. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern at the Don Haskins Center as Liberty seeks to complete a season sweep of the Miners. The Lady Flames topped UTEP 87-68 at Liberty Arena on Feb. 3.
Liberty's fourth straight win and eighth victory in its last nine outings improves its record to 14-14 overall and 9-4 in CUSA play, moving the Lady Flames into a second-place tie with FIU. The Lady Flames, who also got 16 points and eight rebounds from Bella Smuda, completed a season sweep of fellow CUSA newcomer New Mexico State.
New Mexico State dropped its third straight contest, all of which have been by 10 points or fewer. The Aggies are now 11-16 overall and 5-9 in conference play. New Mexico State led 29-23 at the half but shot just 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) at the foul line following the intermission.
Hess, who was held scoreless during Liberty's 69-53 home win over New Mexico State on Feb. 1, recorded the highest-scoring half by a Lady Flame since Nov. 20, 2006. That day, fellow Legacy Christian Academy graduate Megan Frazee went off for 31 second-half points in a 75-71 win at Virginia.
Hess connected on three triples during Thursday's victory, enabling the junior guard to tie the Liberty single-season record of 64. She now co-holds the mark with Cynthia Thomson (1989-90) and Emily Lytle (2018-19).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 3FG, 7-7 FT; Smuda – 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-10 FG; Asia Boone – 8 points; Jordan Hodges – 2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers.
New Mexico State Individuals: Molly Kaiser – 20 points, 3-5 3FG; Ene Adams – 12 points, 7 rebounds; Fanta Gassama – 6 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists; Tylie Jones – 7 points, 3-5 FT.
Key Team Stats: Free throw shooting was key, as Liberty shot 81.8 percent (9-of-11) to the Aggies' 50 percent (10-of-20). The Lady Flames connected at a 44.2 percent clip (23-of-52) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three-point range, slightly better than New Mexico State's 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from long distance. Liberty finished with a 30-29 rebounding edge and a 32-24 advantage in points in the paint. The teams committed just nine turnovers apiece, only three of which for each squad came after halftime. New Mexico State tallied nine bench points to Liberty's five.
Turning Point
In a game where the lead changed hands five times, Liberty went ahead for good during the final period.
Adams opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a putback hoop for the Aggies, putting them in front by five (45-40).
Hess then notched the first eight markers of Liberty's 10-0 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers.
Elisabeth Aegisdottir's back door layup at the 5:23 mark capped off the pivotal surge with the Lady Flames now leading 50-45.
New Mexico State got no closer than three points down for the remainder of the game.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- New Mexico State scored the final six points of a back-and-forth first quarter to emerge with a 14-13 advantage.
- Five different Aggies found the scoring column, helping counteract Asia Boone's seven-point period for the Lady Flames.
- New Mexico State opened the second period with seven consecutive points, closing out an overall 13-0 surge. The first of Molly Kaiser's two triples during the stanza swished through the net at the 6:52 mark, putting the home team in front, 21-13.
- The Aggies remained on top for the rest of the half, taking a 29-23 advantage at the intermission. Kaiser tallied nearly as many second-quarter points (8) as Liberty did as a team (10).
- Bella Smuda (eight points) and Emma Hess (eight points) combined to score 16 of Liberty's 17 points during the third quarter, including the first seven of an 8-0 run which briefly put the Lady Flames in front.
- Emily Howard split a pair of free throws with 43 seconds remaining in the stanza to briefly put Liberty in front, 40-38. The Aggies answered with a rare five-point possession, consisting of a Jaila Harding triple and two Tylie Jones free throws. As a result, the home team led 43-40 through three.
- Liberty saved its highest-scoring quarter (20 points) for last, with Hess tallying 16 of them.
- Hess scored the Lady Flames' final eight points, punctuated by a game-sealing layup at the 28.4-second mark.
- Hess has now recorded five 20-point games this season, three of which have come in Liberty's trio of CUSA road wins. Hess has totaled 85 points (28.3 ppg average) in those three contests, headlined by a career-high 30 at Sam Houston on Jan. 20.
- This was the second time Hess has scored 20 points in a half during her career. She went off for 22 second-half tallies during a win at Lipscomb on Jan. 28, 2023.
- Hess's 16 fourth-quarter points fell one shy of the Liberty record for most in a period. Ashtyn Baker tallied 17 third-quarter points versus NJIT on Feb. 15, 2020.
- Hess set career highs for free throws made (7) and attempted (7).
- Smuda scored in double figures for the ninth game in a row, with Liberty winning eight of those contests. She became the 12th Lady Flame to eclipse the 700-rebound mark for her career, ending the game at 704.
- Hodges' game-high six assists marked her 14th contest this season with 5+ helpers. She has recorded 46 assists and only 10 turnovers during Liberty's 8-1 run over the last nine outings.
- Liberty got its record back to .500 for the first time since the Lady Flames started the season 2-2.
- The Lady Flames have won three of their last four road games, improving to 4-7 on the road in 2023-24.
- Liberty bookended a 6-1 February with wins over New Mexico State. The Lady Flames are now 164-25 all-time in February tilts under Carey Green.
- Thursday's outing was Liberty's first-ever visit to the state of New Mexico.
The Lady Flames will wrap up their western swing on Saturday, traveling to UTEP (11-16, 6-8 CUSA) for the first time. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern at the Don Haskins Center as Liberty seeks to complete a season sweep of the Miners. The Lady Flames topped UTEP 87-68 at Liberty Arena on Feb. 3.
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Team Stats
Lib
NMSU
FG%
.442
.396
3FG%
.357
.308
FT%
.818
.500
RB
30
29
TO
9
9
STL
3
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
3
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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