Thursday, January 2
Bowling Green, Ky.
7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT
Liberty University
8-4,1-0CUSA
77
at
66
Western Kentucky
9-4,0-1CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
14
25
19
19
77
Western Ky.
13
23
17
13
66
Bella Smuda
Liberty Shoots Past WKU in CUSA Opener, 77-66
1/2/2025 10:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Liberty used hot shooting to fuel its 77-66 CUSA-opening victory at Western Kentucky, Thursday evening. The Lady Flames hit 12 triples at a 52.2-percent clip to hand the Lady Toppers their first home loss of the season and remain undefeated all-time at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Emma Hess scored 15 of her 16 points after halftime, leading four Liberty (8-4, 1-0 CUSA) players in double figures. Liberty has won three straight matchups with the Lady Toppers and is now 3-0 all-time in Bowling Green. The Lady Flames also turned the tables after WKU spoiled Liberty's first-ever CUSA contest with a 68-66 decision at Liberty Arena in the 2023-24 conference opener.
WKU drops to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play despite a game-high 19 points from Destiny Salary. The Lady Toppers were outrebounded 41-25 and allowed Liberty to convert 14 offensive boards into a season-high 22 second-chance points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 16 points, 3-6 3FG; Bella Smuda – 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks; Jordan Hodges – 12 points, 5 assists, 4-5 3FG; Asia Boone – 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Brooke Moore – 5 points, 8 rebounds.
Western Kentucky Individuals: Salary – 19 points; Acacia Hayes – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Alexis Mead – 12 points, 6 assists, 5 steals; Zsofia Telegdy – 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Josie Gilvin – 4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field and 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from beyond the arc, compared with WKU's 37.9 percent (22-of-58) field goal shooting and 36 percent (9-of-25) three-point efficiency. The Lady Flames committed nearly twice as many turnovers as WKU (19-10), but the Lady Toppers converted Liberty's miscues into only 10 points. Liberty's bench outscored WKU's reserves by a 19-7 count.
Turning Point
WKU scored the second quarter's first seven points, taking a 20-14 advantage on a Hayes layup 7:35 before halftime.
Pien Steenbergen knocked down a triple on Liberty's next offensive trip, the Lady Flames' first of five three-pointers during the second period.
The proficient outside shooting helped the Lady Flames claim a three-point lead (39-36) by the intermission, and Liberty never trailed after halftime.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Liberty will conclude its road swing on Saturday, heading to Middle Tennessee (9-5, 1-0 CUSA) for a rematch of the 2024 CUSA title game. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern at the Murphy Center, and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Emma Hess scored 15 of her 16 points after halftime, leading four Liberty (8-4, 1-0 CUSA) players in double figures. Liberty has won three straight matchups with the Lady Toppers and is now 3-0 all-time in Bowling Green. The Lady Flames also turned the tables after WKU spoiled Liberty's first-ever CUSA contest with a 68-66 decision at Liberty Arena in the 2023-24 conference opener.
WKU drops to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play despite a game-high 19 points from Destiny Salary. The Lady Toppers were outrebounded 41-25 and allowed Liberty to convert 14 offensive boards into a season-high 22 second-chance points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 16 points, 3-6 3FG; Bella Smuda – 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks; Jordan Hodges – 12 points, 5 assists, 4-5 3FG; Asia Boone – 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Brooke Moore – 5 points, 8 rebounds.
Western Kentucky Individuals: Salary – 19 points; Acacia Hayes – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Alexis Mead – 12 points, 6 assists, 5 steals; Zsofia Telegdy – 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Josie Gilvin – 4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field and 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from beyond the arc, compared with WKU's 37.9 percent (22-of-58) field goal shooting and 36 percent (9-of-25) three-point efficiency. The Lady Flames committed nearly twice as many turnovers as WKU (19-10), but the Lady Toppers converted Liberty's miscues into only 10 points. Liberty's bench outscored WKU's reserves by a 19-7 count.
Turning Point
WKU scored the second quarter's first seven points, taking a 20-14 advantage on a Hayes layup 7:35 before halftime.
Pien Steenbergen knocked down a triple on Liberty's next offensive trip, the Lady Flames' first of five three-pointers during the second period.
The proficient outside shooting helped the Lady Flames claim a three-point lead (39-36) by the intermission, and Liberty never trailed after halftime.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- WKU made three triples during the game's first 1:43, racing out to an early 9-2 lead.
- Avery Mills came off the Liberty bench to score the final five points of a 7-0 run to close out the stanza, helping the Lady Flames go on top, 14-13.
- Liberty shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) during the first 10 minutes but committed eight turnovers.
- Both teams played well at the offensive end during the pivotal second quarter, with Liberty outscoring the host Lady Toppers, 25-23.
- Hodges and Steenbergen made two triples apiece for the Lady Flames.
- Claudia Acin's three-point play midway through the third quarter gave Liberty its first double-digit lead (54-44).
- WKU battled back within five (58-53) at the end of the period despite shooting only 29.4 percent (5-of-17).
- Telegdy made two three-pointers early in the final quarter, trimming WKU's deficit to two both times (58-56 and 61-59).
- But that's as close as the Lady Toppers got as they went 6:44 between made field goals.
- Hess (10 points) and Boone (7 points) helped Liberty close out the win, scoring 17 of the Lady Flames' 19 fourth-quarter points.
- Hess (16 points) scored in double figures for the first time since a Nov. 24 win at Towson and tallied her most points since the season opener against Valparaiso (20). The senior is now just 41 away from becoming the Lady Flames' 22nd 1,000-point scorer.
- Smuda, who had notched a pair of double-doubles against WKU a year ago, finished just one rebound shy on Thursday (14 points, 9 rebounds). She became the 10th player in program history to reach the 1,300-point mark for her career.
- All 12 of Hodges' points came on a career-high four triples. She paced the Lady Flames with five assists, marking her 25th career game with five or more helpers.
- Boone equaled her season high of six rebounds and dished out a season-best four assists to go along with her dozen points.
- Moore grabbed eight rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, equaling her career-high rebounding total from the 2023-24 CUSA-opening matchup vs. WKU.
- Thursday's game was decided by 11 points after the trio of Liberty-WKU clashes in 2023-24 were decided by a total of 12 points.
- Liberty is now 7-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle.
- The Lady Flames knocked down double-digit three-pointers for the fifth time in 12 games this season.
Liberty will conclude its road swing on Saturday, heading to Middle Tennessee (9-5, 1-0 CUSA) for a rematch of the 2024 CUSA title game. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern at the Murphy Center, and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Team Stats
Lib
WestKy
FG%
.491
.379
3FG%
.522
.360
FT%
.750
.813
RB
41
25
TO
19
10
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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