Thursday, February 8
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT
Liberty University
10-14,5-4CUSA
55
at
81
Middle Tennessee
18-4,8-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
17
12
9
17
55
Middle Tenn.
17
19
22
23
81
Emma Hess
Hot-Shooting Middle Tennessee Defeats Liberty, 81-55
2/8/2024 10:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Led by 20-point games from Anastasiia Boldyreva and Savannah Wheeler, hot-shooting Middle Tennessee posted an 81-55 victory over Liberty during the first-ever meeting between the CUSA foes, Thursday evening at the Murphy Center.
Liberty (10-14, 5-4 CUSA) sees its season-best four-game winning streak halted despite another strong performance by reigning CUSA Player of the Week Bella Smuda (18 points, 7 rebounds). The Lady Flames got off to a fast start, leading 22-17 early in the second quarter before the Lady Raiders took control.
Middle Tennessee improves to 18-4 overall and remains unbeaten in CUSA play at 8-0 with its eighth straight win. The defending conference champion shot well from the field (56.5 percent on 26-of-46), three-point range (47.4 percent on 9-of-19) and the foul line (83.3 percent on 20-of-24).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Jordan Bailey – 9 points, 3-3 3FG; Emma Hess – 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2-4 3FG.
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Boldyreva – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 8-10 FG; Wheeler – 20 points, 6 assists, 3 steals; Courtney Whitson – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4-10 3FG; Jalynn Gregory – 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6-6 FT; Ta'Mia Scott – 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor but was effective from beyond the arc (42.1 percent on 8-of-19). Middle Tennessee owned a slight 31-29 rebounding advantage despite the Lady Flames' 14 offensive boards. The Lady Raiders more than doubled up Liberty in points in the paint (28-12) and took full advantage of Liberty's 10 turnovers, converting them into 19 points. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee committed only eight turnovers of its own with just two coming after halftime.
Turning Point
A Jordan Hodges triple and an Emma Hess mid-range jumper put Liberty on top by a 22-17 count less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Savannah Wheeler then stepped up for the home team. She tallied 12 points during the Lady Raiders' 19-7 surge to close out the half and matched Liberty's team scoring output for the period.
Middle Tennessee took a 36-29 lead and momentum into the locker room, setting the stage for a dominant second-half performance.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will wrap up their road swing on Saturday, making their first-ever visit to Louisiana Tech (8-15, 2-6 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern inside the Thomas Assembly Center as Liberty seeks a season sweep of the Lady Techsters. The Lady Flames erased an 11-point halftime deficit to post a 66-59 win over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 13 at Liberty Arena for their inaugural CUSA triumph.
Liberty (10-14, 5-4 CUSA) sees its season-best four-game winning streak halted despite another strong performance by reigning CUSA Player of the Week Bella Smuda (18 points, 7 rebounds). The Lady Flames got off to a fast start, leading 22-17 early in the second quarter before the Lady Raiders took control.
Middle Tennessee improves to 18-4 overall and remains unbeaten in CUSA play at 8-0 with its eighth straight win. The defending conference champion shot well from the field (56.5 percent on 26-of-46), three-point range (47.4 percent on 9-of-19) and the foul line (83.3 percent on 20-of-24).
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Jordan Bailey – 9 points, 3-3 3FG; Emma Hess – 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2-4 3FG.
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Boldyreva – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 8-10 FG; Wheeler – 20 points, 6 assists, 3 steals; Courtney Whitson – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4-10 3FG; Jalynn Gregory – 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6-6 FT; Ta'Mia Scott – 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor but was effective from beyond the arc (42.1 percent on 8-of-19). Middle Tennessee owned a slight 31-29 rebounding advantage despite the Lady Flames' 14 offensive boards. The Lady Raiders more than doubled up Liberty in points in the paint (28-12) and took full advantage of Liberty's 10 turnovers, converting them into 19 points. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee committed only eight turnovers of its own with just two coming after halftime.
Turning Point
A Jordan Hodges triple and an Emma Hess mid-range jumper put Liberty on top by a 22-17 count less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Savannah Wheeler then stepped up for the home team. She tallied 12 points during the Lady Raiders' 19-7 surge to close out the half and matched Liberty's team scoring output for the period.
Middle Tennessee took a 36-29 lead and momentum into the locker room, setting the stage for a dominant second-half performance.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty and Middle Tennessee emerged from a back-and-forth first quarter deadlocked at 17-17.
- Standout post players Boldyreva (9 points for the host Lady Raiders) and Smuda (8 points for the Lady Flames) led the way for their respective teams early on.
- The Lady Raiders built a seven-point halftime lead (36-29) after shooting 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field during the first 20 minutes.
- Smuda kept Liberty close with 12 first-half points.
- After sitting out the entire second quarter due to foul trouble, Boldyreva returned to tally nine points during the third for the Lady Raiders.
- Liberty was limited to nine points for the stanza on 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) from the field and trailed by 20 (58-38) heading to the fourth quarter.
- Whitson scored 11 of her 14 points during the fourth quarter for Middle Tennessee, helping the Lady Raiders record their highest-scoring stanza of the night (23 points) and close out a 26-point victory.
- Smuda scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and led the Lady Flames in scoring for the fourth consecutive contest. Her 18 points leave the redshirt junior center just eight shy of becoming Liberty's 21st 1,000-point scorer.
- Bailey knocked down all three of her three-point tries for nine points after entering the contest with only two made triples for the season.
- Hess grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and reached the 50 three-pointer mark for the second season in a row with her pair of triples.
- Ella Wigal connected on all four of her free throw attempts, giving the freshman a streak of nine straight made foul shots over the last four outings.
- Liberty's 11-game February winning streak came to an end after the Lady Flames' first setback during the month since a 69-61 home loss to FGCU on Feb. 24, 2022. Liberty is now 160-25 in February under Carey Green.
- Middle Tennessee was the first opposing team in 12 games to shoot 50 percent or better against the Lady Flames and just the 34th to do so in Carey Green's 25 years at Liberty.
The Lady Flames will wrap up their road swing on Saturday, making their first-ever visit to Louisiana Tech (8-15, 2-6 CUSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern inside the Thomas Assembly Center as Liberty seeks a season sweep of the Lady Techsters. The Lady Flames erased an 11-point halftime deficit to post a 66-59 win over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 13 at Liberty Arena for their inaugural CUSA triumph.
Team Stats
Lib
MTSU
FG%
.333
.565
3FG%
.421
.474
FT%
.733
.833
RB
29
31
TO
10
8
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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