Wednesday, March 6
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
15-15,10-5CUSA
52
vs
67
Middle Tennessee
25-4,15-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
15
19
14
19
67
Liberty
16
7
17
12
52
Jordan Hodges
Middle Tennessee Spoils Liberty’s Home Finale, 67-52
3/6/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – CUSA-leading Middle Tennessee took control during the second quarter of Liberty's 2023-24 home finale and held off the Lady Flames the rest of the way for a 67-52 decision, Wednesday at Liberty Arena.
Liberty falls to 15-15 overall and 10-5 in CUSA play after seeing its five-game overall winning streak and a six-game home winning streak halted. The Lady Flames got a big game from Bella Smuda (17 points, game-high 14 rebounds), but Middle Tennessee converted its 13 turnovers into 21 points and turned 16 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points. Liberty falls a half game behind FIU in the race for second place in the CUSA standings.
Middle Tennessee completes a season sweep of the Lady Flames, moving to 25-4 overall and 15-0 in CUSA with its 15th consecutive win. Savannah Wheeler led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Lady Raiders became just the third visiting conference team (in 33 games) ever to win at Liberty Arena.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Jordan Hodges – 15 points, 3 assists, 3-6 3FG; Emily Howard – 8 points, 5 rebounds; Emma Hess – 7 points, 4 rebounds; Ella Wigal – 6 rebounds.
Other Middle Tennessee Individuals: Ta'Mia Scott – 13 points, 7 rebounds; Anastasiia Boldyreva – 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks; Jalynn Gregory – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Courtney Whitson – 8 points, 7 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Middle Tennessee (40 percent, 26-of-65) shot slightly better from the field than Liberty (37.7 percent, 20-of-53) but made twice as many three-pointers (8 to 4) as the Lady Flames. Liberty finished with a slight 40-37 rebounding advantage, but Middle Tennessee committed only four turnovers and tallied 14 fast break points to the Lady Flames' two.
Turning Point
There were four ties and five lead changes during the contest's first 12 minutes before visiting Middle Tennessee broke a 20-20 deadlock with an 11-0 run.
Ta'Mia Scott scored six points during the surge, which came during a 6:12 scoring drought for the Lady Flames.
Savannah Wheeler capped things off with her third triple of the opening half, giving Middle Tennessee its first double-digit lead (31-20), 4:28 before halftime.
Liberty got no closer than six the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will close out regular-season play on Saturday, traveling to Western Kentucky (15-15, 6-9 CUSA) for a 3 p.m. Eastern tipoff at E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU spoiled Liberty's CUSA debut with a 68-66 decision at Liberty Arena on Jan. 6.
Liberty falls to 15-15 overall and 10-5 in CUSA play after seeing its five-game overall winning streak and a six-game home winning streak halted. The Lady Flames got a big game from Bella Smuda (17 points, game-high 14 rebounds), but Middle Tennessee converted its 13 turnovers into 21 points and turned 16 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points. Liberty falls a half game behind FIU in the race for second place in the CUSA standings.
Middle Tennessee completes a season sweep of the Lady Flames, moving to 25-4 overall and 15-0 in CUSA with its 15th consecutive win. Savannah Wheeler led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Lady Raiders became just the third visiting conference team (in 33 games) ever to win at Liberty Arena.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Jordan Hodges – 15 points, 3 assists, 3-6 3FG; Emily Howard – 8 points, 5 rebounds; Emma Hess – 7 points, 4 rebounds; Ella Wigal – 6 rebounds.
Other Middle Tennessee Individuals: Ta'Mia Scott – 13 points, 7 rebounds; Anastasiia Boldyreva – 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks; Jalynn Gregory – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Courtney Whitson – 8 points, 7 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Middle Tennessee (40 percent, 26-of-65) shot slightly better from the field than Liberty (37.7 percent, 20-of-53) but made twice as many three-pointers (8 to 4) as the Lady Flames. Liberty finished with a slight 40-37 rebounding advantage, but Middle Tennessee committed only four turnovers and tallied 14 fast break points to the Lady Flames' two.
Turning Point
There were four ties and five lead changes during the contest's first 12 minutes before visiting Middle Tennessee broke a 20-20 deadlock with an 11-0 run.
Ta'Mia Scott scored six points during the surge, which came during a 6:12 scoring drought for the Lady Flames.
Savannah Wheeler capped things off with her third triple of the opening half, giving Middle Tennessee its first double-digit lead (31-20), 4:28 before halftime.
Liberty got no closer than six the rest of the night.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- The first quarter saw two ties and four lead changes, with Liberty emerging with a 16-15 edge.
- The Lady Flames overcame an eight-point quarter by Savannah Wheeler by doubling up the Lady Raiders on the glass, 12-6. Liberty converted four offensive boards into six second-chance points, and centers Bella Smuda and Emily Howard combined for eight points and seven rebounds.
- Aided by its 11-0 second-quarter run, MTSU took that same 11-point margin (34-23) into halftime after outscoring Liberty by a 19-7 count during the second quarter. Ta'Mia Scott tallied eight points in the stanza, while the Lady Flames committed six turnovers.
- After being held scoreless during the first half, CUSA Player of the Week Emma Hess tallied six points during the third period. She helped Liberty trim three points off its deficit, sending the Lady Flames to the final stanza trailing 48-40.
- Jordan Hodges' jumper pulled Liberty within six (48-42), less than a minute into the final period. But Courtney Whitson answered with a MTSU triple 22 seconds later.
- Led by Anastasiia Boldyreva (seven points, six rebounds), the Lady Raiders prevented a Liberty comeback by converting eight offensive boards into nine second-chance points during the final period.
Notes and Nuggets
- Smuda, who was honored prior to tipoff for joining the 1,000-point club earlier this season, scored in double figures for the 11th consecutive game.
- Smuda recorded her 15th double-double this season, which puts her in a tie for fifth place on Liberty's single-season list. It is the most double-doubles by a Lady Flame since the 2013-14 season, when Ashley Rininger finished with 16.
- Smuda shot 3-of-4 at the foul line, ending a streak of 16 straight made free throws.
- Hodges matched her career high of three triples while reaching double figures in the scoring column for the 10th time this year.
- Howard's eight points and five boards came in just eight minutes of playing time.
- Liberty is now 9-2 in its last 11 contests, with both losses coming to Middle Tennessee.
- The Lady Flames finish 10-5 at Liberty Arena this season and are now 52-8 in four years playing at the facility.
- Wednesday's game was Liberty's ninth this season against a 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifier. The Lady Flames are 1-8 in those contests.
The Lady Flames will close out regular-season play on Saturday, traveling to Western Kentucky (15-15, 6-9 CUSA) for a 3 p.m. Eastern tipoff at E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU spoiled Liberty's CUSA debut with a 68-66 decision at Liberty Arena on Jan. 6.
Team Stats
MTSU
Lib
FG%
.400
.377
3FG%
.333
.267
FT%
.583
.615
RB
37
40
TO
4
13
STL
9
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballLiberty Introduces Alexis Sherard As The New Head Coach Of Women's Basketball
Tuesday, September 02
Remembering the Legendary Career of Carey Green
Friday, August 29
Ashley (Rininger) Schut: Faithful Through it All
Thursday, April 03
Coach Green, Emmy Stout & Bella Smuda Talk About The Game Against Kentucky
Friday, March 21