WBB Game Day: New Mexico State

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (11-5, 4-1 CUSA) will attempt to complete a sweep of its two-game western swing during Saturday's CUSA semifinal rematch at New Mexico State (10-7, 3-1 CUSA).
Second-place Liberty and third-place New Mexico State are the top two teams chasing CUSA leader Middle Tennessee during the third week of conference play.
The Lady Flames went 3-0 against the Aggies last season with four different players (Bella Smuda, Jordan Hodges, Emma Hess and Asia Boone) notching a 20-point game against NM State.
Emma Hess scored a team-high 15 points during a 75-64 win at UTEP on Thursday, becoming the 22nd 1,000-point scorer in program history. She is averaging a team-best 12.8 ppg in CUSA play this season.
Liberty's leading scorer this season, Bella Smuda posted 16.7 ppg and 10.7 rpg versus New Mexico State in 2023-24 with a pair of double-doubles.
Freshman Emmy Stout notched 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks at UTEP. She is part of a Liberty bench squad which ranks No. 18 nationally with 27.8 ppg.

Notes and Anecdotes

Second-place Liberty will travel to third-place New Mexico State for a matchup between two of CUSA's top squads.
Saturday will mark Liberty's second visit to the Land of Enchantment in program history with the first being last season's 60-56 victory at New Mexico State (Feb. 29, 2024).
The Lady Flames will look to snap New Mexico State's five-game home winning streak at the Pan American Center. The Aggies are 6-1 at home this season and have not lost in Las Cruces since Nov. 14 (vs. UTSA).
New Mexico State's Molly Kaiser leads CUSA and ranks No. 10 nationally with 21.5 ppg. Kaiser averaged 15.7 ppg against the Lady Flames last season but shot just 28 percent (14-of-50) from the field in three meetings.
While Kaiser has led the Aggies in scoring in each of the last 11 games, six different Lady Flames have led the team in scoring over the last 11 outings (Emily Howard, Bella Smuda, Asia Boone, Emmy Stout, Jordan Hodges and Emma Hess).
Eight of 10 starters are back from last season's matchup in the CUSA semifinals, including four for each team.
Liberty will try to become the first team to sweep the UTEP/NM State swing this year. The Lady Flames, FIU and MTSU were the only three CUSA squads to do so in 2023-24.

Welcome to the Club

Emma Hess became the 22nd Lady Flame to score 1,000 points, reaching the milestone on a three-pointer with 6:45 to play in the third quarter of Thursday's win at UTEP.
Hess is the sixth straight Liberty player to tally her 1,000th point away from Lynchburg. It has been five years since a Liberty player achieved the milestone at home. Keyen Green scored her 1,000th point during a Jan. 11, 2020 victory over Jacksonville at the Vines Center.
Hess joined Bella Smuda as current Lady Flames who are part of the 1,000-point club.

Fast Start in CUSA Play

Liberty is 4-1 in CUSA action, marking the Lady Flames' best start in conference play since 2021-22. That year, Liberty also began 4-1 while a member of the ASUN Conference.
The Lady Flames have hit 8.0 triples/game and shot 78.9 percent from the foul line in CUSA games this year.
Emma Hess is averaging 12.8 ppg in CUSA contests after posting 9.2 ppg during non-conference action.

Schedule