WBB Game Day: UTEP

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (10-5, 3-1 CUSA) will begin its two-game western swing at UTEP (8-6, 1-2 CUSA), Thursday.
Liberty is tied with FIU for second place in the CUSA standings after recording home wins over Sam Houston and Louisiana Tech last week.
The Lady Flames faced UTEP for the first two times in program history in 2023-24, winning both contests by an average of 18.0 ppg.
Emma Hess, who set the Liberty single-season three-point record during her last visit to El Paso, is on the verge of another memorable moment. The senior needs eight points to become the 22nd 1,000-point scorer in program history.
Backcourt mate Asia Boone scored a career-high 25 points during Liberty's 80-63 win at UTEP last season. She knocked down 12 triples in two contests against the Miners in 2023-24, connecting at a 50 percent clip.
Liberty's leader in points (11.9), rebounds (6.5) and blocks (2.0), Bella Smuda fared well against UTEP a season ago. She averaged 22.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg in two contests while making 81 percent of her field goal attempts.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty will tip off its western road swing with its second visit to UTEP. It could be one of the Lady Flames' final trips to the Don Haskins Center, with the Miners set to join the Mountain West Conference in 2026-27.
Thursday's matchup will mark UTEP's CUSA home opener, as the Miners are the only CUSA team yet to play a home conference game in 2024-25. UTEP's last CUSA home contest also pitted the Miners against Liberty (March 2, 2024).
The Lady Flames are one of CUSA's top three-point shooting teams this season, ranking No. 12 nationally for three-point field goal percentage (37.7) and No. 59 for three-pointers per game (7.7). Last season, Liberty averaged 11.0 triples in its two wins over UTEP, hitting at a 42.3 percent clip. Individually, Asia Boone was 12-of-24 for 50 percent.
Liberty will try to slow down UTEP's Ivane Tensaie, the conference leader in three-pointers per game (3.0) and three-point field goal percentage (43.3). A year ago, the Lady Flames limited Tensaie to 25 percent (2-of-8) from beyond the arc in two meetings.
The Lady Flames' roster features six international players, while 10 of UTEP's 14 players are international. Both squads boast a pair of Spaniards, including Liberty's Claudia Acin and Anna Badosa and the Miners' Irene Asensio and Osadebamwen Igbinedion Omoruyi.

Countdown to 1,000

Emma Hess enters the road trip just eight points away from becoming Liberty's 22nd 1,000-point scorer.
With the Lady Flames' next two games coming on the road, it is likely Hess will become the sixth straight Liberty player to reach 1,000 away from Lynchburg. It has been five years since a Liberty player achieved the milestone at home. Keyen Green tallied her 1,000th point during a Jan. 11, 2020 victory over Jacksonville at the Vines Center.
Last time she visited UTEP (March 2, 2024), Hess set a Liberty single-season record with her 65th three-pointer.

Texas Two-Step

Thursday will mark Liberty's first visit to Texas this season. The Lady Flames will return to the state for a Feb. 8 matchup with Sam Houston.
The Lady Flames played seven contests in the Lone Star State in 2023-24, finishing 3-4.
Liberty is 5-10 all-time when playing in Texas with all five victories coming since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Schedule