Saturday, March 2
El Paso, Texas
3:00 PM ET/1:00 PM MT
Liberty University
15-14,10-4CUSA
80
at
63
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UTEP
11-17,6-9CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
9
20
27
24
80
UTEP
21
5
18
19
63
Jordan Hodges
Boone Helps Liberty Shake Off Slow Start for 80-63 Win at UTEP
3/2/2024 6:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EL PASO, Texas – After her team fell behind by 12 early on, Liberty's Asia Boone (career-high 25 points) spearheaded a successful comeback. The Lady Flames went on to post an 80-63 win over UTEP, Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center.
Liberty's season-best five-game winning streak boosts the team's record back above .500 at 15-14 and keeps the Lady Flames in a second-place CUSA tie with FIU at 10-4. Liberty, which has now recorded 10+ conference victories for 25 consecutive seasons, equaled a season high with 11 triples and recorded a season-best +29 rebound margin.
UTEP, which led 21-9 after the first quarter, falls to 11-17 overall and 6-9 in CUSA with its second loss to the Lady Flames this season. Jane Asinde posted 18 points and nine boards for the Miners, but UTEP yielded 19 offensive boards and 20 second-chance points.
The first of Emma Hess's three triples on the afternoon, coming at 5:01 of the second period, gave her a Liberty-record 65 three-pointers this season. The previous mark of 64 was set by Cynthia Thomson in 1989-90 and matched by Emily Lytle in 2018-19.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Boone – 25 points, 6-13 3FG; Bella Smuda – 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-9 FG, 4-4 FT; Hess – 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3-6 3FG; Jordan Bailey – 8 points, 7 rebounds; Jordan Hodges – 6 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 0 turnovers in 36 minutes; Emily Howard – 4 points, 7 rebounds.
UTEP Individuals: Asinde – 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists; Luisa Vydrova – 15 points; Erin Wilson – 12 points, 5 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the field, 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from three-point range and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free throw line. After its dreadful first quarter, the Lady Flames connected at a 57.8 percent (26-of-45) clip from the floor and a 61.1 percent (11-of-18) rate from beyond the arc over the final three periods. UTEP ended up at 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long range and 75 percent (12-of-16) from three-point range on the afternoon. Liberty finished with a 30-26 edge in points in the paint, while UTEP converted Liberty's 13 turnovers into 14 points.
Turning Point
Erin Wilson's hoop from close range put UTEP in front by nine points (25-16), 6:52 before halftime. That would turn out to be the Miners' final made field goal of the half.
Meanwhile, Liberty took the lead for good with a 13-0 run which featured triples by three different players, including Hess's record-breaking connection.
Jordan Hodges closed out the extended surge with a triple at the 2:32 mark, giving Liberty a 29-25 lead. The Lady Flames never trailed again.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Up Next
The Lady Flames will host CUSA regular-season champion Middle Tennessee (24-4, 14-0 CUSA) on Wednesday at Liberty Arena for their final home game of the year. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. as Liberty seeks its seventh consecutive home victory. Middle Tennessee topped the Lady Flames 81-55 on Feb. 8 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Liberty's season-best five-game winning streak boosts the team's record back above .500 at 15-14 and keeps the Lady Flames in a second-place CUSA tie with FIU at 10-4. Liberty, which has now recorded 10+ conference victories for 25 consecutive seasons, equaled a season high with 11 triples and recorded a season-best +29 rebound margin.
UTEP, which led 21-9 after the first quarter, falls to 11-17 overall and 6-9 in CUSA with its second loss to the Lady Flames this season. Jane Asinde posted 18 points and nine boards for the Miners, but UTEP yielded 19 offensive boards and 20 second-chance points.
The first of Emma Hess's three triples on the afternoon, coming at 5:01 of the second period, gave her a Liberty-record 65 three-pointers this season. The previous mark of 64 was set by Cynthia Thomson in 1989-90 and matched by Emily Lytle in 2018-19.
There it is!
— Liberty Women's Basketball (@LibertyWBB) March 2, 2024
Emma Hess's 65th 3-pointer of the season sets a new Liberty single-season record. pic.twitter.com/KxDR2GyG0B
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Boone – 25 points, 6-13 3FG; Bella Smuda – 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-9 FG, 4-4 FT; Hess – 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3-6 3FG; Jordan Bailey – 8 points, 7 rebounds; Jordan Hodges – 6 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 0 turnovers in 36 minutes; Emily Howard – 4 points, 7 rebounds.
UTEP Individuals: Asinde – 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists; Luisa Vydrova – 15 points; Erin Wilson – 12 points, 5 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the field, 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from three-point range and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free throw line. After its dreadful first quarter, the Lady Flames connected at a 57.8 percent (26-of-45) clip from the floor and a 61.1 percent (11-of-18) rate from beyond the arc over the final three periods. UTEP ended up at 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long range and 75 percent (12-of-16) from three-point range on the afternoon. Liberty finished with a 30-26 edge in points in the paint, while UTEP converted Liberty's 13 turnovers into 14 points.
Turning Point
Erin Wilson's hoop from close range put UTEP in front by nine points (25-16), 6:52 before halftime. That would turn out to be the Miners' final made field goal of the half.
Meanwhile, Liberty took the lead for good with a 13-0 run which featured triples by three different players, including Hess's record-breaking connection.
Jordan Hodges closed out the extended surge with a triple at the 2:32 mark, giving Liberty a 29-25 lead. The Lady Flames never trailed again.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- UTEP led 21-9 after a first quarter where the home team shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field, including a streak of six straight made field goals midway through the stanza.
- Conversely, Liberty missed its last 12 field goal attempts. The Lady Flames finished the period at 15 percent (3-of-20) from the floor, including 0-of-11 from beyond the arc.
- Liberty flipped the script at the offensive end during the second quarter, shooting 58.3 percent (7-of-12) to the Miners' 16.7 percent (2-of-12) and outscoring the home team, 20-5.
- The Lady Flames held UTEP without a made field goal for the last 6:52 of the half, taking the lead with the aforementioned 13-0 run during that drought.
- Liberty owned a 29-26 halftime edge, aided by a big 25-14 advantage on the glass.
- Asia Boone exploded for 13 of Liberty's 27 points during a third period where the Lady Flames shot 5-of-6 from three-point range.
- Liberty took a 56-44 lead into the final stanza as a result.
- Liberty nixed any hopes of a UTEP comeback by scoring 20+ points for the third quarter in a row (24). Seven different Lady Flames got their names into the scoring column during the final stanza as Liberty wrapped up an impressive road win.
- Boone matched her career high of six triples and eclipsed her career high of 19 points, which had both come during Liberty's first meeting with UTEP, an 87-68 home win on Feb. 3.
- Boone's 25 points are the most by a Liberty freshman since Feb. 25, 2017, when Keyen Green scored 26 in a win at Winthrop.
- Smuda scored in double figures for the 10th game in a row while recording her 14th doube-double of the season and the 16th of her career. That is the most double-doubles by a Lady Flame since 2014-15, when Ashley Rininger posted 14.
- Smuda also dished out a career-high five assists and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line, extending her streak to 15 in a row without a miss.
- Hess, who ended the game with a record 67 triples this season, tallied double-digit points for the fifth consecutive contest and grabbed a season-best eight rebounds.
- Hodges' eight assists led all players and gave her 18 in two meetings with the Miners this season. She has recorded a 54-to-10 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 10 games, including 14-to-0 in 73 minutes of playing time on this two-game road swing.
- Howard matched her career high of seven rebounds in 12 minutes played off the bench.
- Liberty has now won 10 or more conference games in all 25 of Carey Green's seasons at the helm. Saturday marked the 400th conference game he has coached at Liberty, spanning three leagues (Big South, ASUN and CUSA). The Lady Flames improved to 337-63 in those contests.
- The Lady Flames finished 3-4 in Texas this season, scoring 80 or more points in all three wins (Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston and UTEP).
- Liberty completed its fourth two-game sweep in CUSA play, as the Lady Flames have now gone 2-0 versus Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and UTEP during its first season as a conference member.
- Liberty's comeback from 12 points down at the end of the first quarter marked the largest deficit the Lady Flames have overcome to win a game this season.
Up Next
The Lady Flames will host CUSA regular-season champion Middle Tennessee (24-4, 14-0 CUSA) on Wednesday at Liberty Arena for their final home game of the year. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. as Liberty seeks its seventh consecutive home victory. Middle Tennessee topped the Lady Flames 81-55 on Feb. 8 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Team Stats
Lib
UTEP
FG%
.446
.397
3FG%
.379
.278
FT%
.917
.750
RB
52
23
TO
13
6
STL
1
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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