WBB Game Day: FIU

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

First-place Liberty (12-5, 5-1 CUSA) will tip off a three-game homestand with a Saturday matinee against FIU (7-10, 3-3 CUSA).
A sizable group of alumni will be in attendance for a celebration of 50 years of Liberty women's basketball and the 20th anniversary of the Lady Flames' NCAA Sweet 16 run in 2005.
Liberty and FIU split their two meetings last season with each team winning at home. The Lady Flames are 17-4 versus CUSA opponents since their Jan. 18, 2024 setback at FIU.
Emma Hess is averaging a team-best 14.0 ppg during the Lady Flames' four-game winning streak. She is four triples away from being the second Lady Flame ever to make 200 career three-pointers.
Jordan Hodges scored in double figures in both of Liberty's wins last week (at UTEP, at New Mexico State). She recorded her first career double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) last time she faced FIU.
Bella Smuda needs two blocks to overtake Meribeth (Feenstra) Anderson (who will be in attendance Saturday) for second place in program history. Smuda blocked seven FIU shots in two matchups a year ago.

Notes and Anecdotes

After moving into first place in the CUSA standings, Liberty will tip off a three-game homestand by hosting FIU.
Liberty dropped its first-ever meeting with the Panthers by a 70-59 count on Jan. 18, 2024 in Miami. Since then, the Lady Flames are 17-4 versus CUSA opponents, with all four losses coming to Middle Tennessee.
FIU's Mya Kone was voted CUSA Preseason Player of the Year. However, she has not played since the Panthers' season-opening win over Florida National on Nov. 4.
FIU (+8.7) and Liberty (+6.9) rank 1-2 in CUSA in rebounding. The Lady Flames are 9-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle.
While Liberty is riding a six-game home winning streak, the Panthers have won just one game away from home this season (Jan. 4 at WKU).
Parris Atkins is leading FIU with 14.6 ppg. She scored a team-high 16 points against the Lady Flames at Liberty Arena as a Central Arkansas freshman on Jan. 5, 2023. However, Liberty topped the Sugar Bears, 64-53.
Liberty has won 96 straight games when leading with 5:00 remaining. Meanwhile, FIU lost its most recent outing (Jan. 18 at UTEP) despite leading by five points with 5:00 to play.

Keys to the Streak

Liberty has moved into first place in the CUSA standings with a four-game winning streak, matching its longest of the season.
Emma Hess is averaging 14.0 ppg with eight triples during the streak, scoring her 1,000th career point in the process.
The Lady Flames are shooting well from both three-point range (39.3 percent) and the foul line (83.9 percent).
Liberty has only trailed for 8:07 during the last four games and never by more than two points.

Home Sweet Home

Liberty has won six straight home contests by an average of 31.7 ppg since its loss to Duke on Nov. 7.
The Lady Flames are averaging 79.1 ppg and shooting 48.6 percent from the field at Liberty Arena this season.
The Lady Flames are now 58-9 all-time at Liberty Arena, including a 32-3 mark in conference games (24-1 ASUN, 8-2 CUSA).

Schedule