WBB Game Day: East Carolina

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (1-0) will wrap up its opening week of the 2025-26 season by hosting East Carolina (1-0) for a Friday matinee at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames got the Alexis Sherard era off to a successful start, defeating Frostburg State 78-49 at Liberty Arena on Tuesday. Sherard took over as head coach this season after spending the last 18 years assisting former head coach Carey Green.
Liberty is 1-2 all-time against East Carolina, with the one victory coming in the Pirates' only previous visit to campus. The Lady Flames defeated ECU 81-66 at the Vines Center on Dec. 3, 2019 for Liberty's only win over an American Conference foe (in seven tries).
Preseason all-conference selection Emmy Stout opened her sophomore season with her second career double-double, pacing the Lady Flames in points (16) and rebounds (11) against Frostburg State.
Avery Mills, Stout's former high school teammate and fellow preseason all-conference honoree, joined her in double figures with 10 points. It marked the 10th time Mills has reached double figures during the sophomore's collegiate career. Mills, Stout, Claudia Acin and Ify Nwaobi all started for the first time on Tuesday.

Notes and Anecdotes

Both Liberty and East Carolina opened the season with comfortable home wins earlier in the week. The Lady Flames defeated Frostburg State 78-49 on Tuesday, one night after ECU dispatched of UNCW by an 82-63 count.
Liberty is predicted for a runner-up finish in CUSA, while East Carolina was voted seventh of 13 squads in the preseason American Conference poll.
East Carolina went 17-15 last season, making the Pirates one of 10 opponents on Liberty's 11-team non-conference schedule which posted a winning record in 2024-25.
East Carolina's only previous visit to Liberty (Dec. 3, 2019) was noteworthy, coming during the Lady Flames' final season at the Vines Center and Kim McNeill's first year as the Pirates' head coach. Liberty overcame a halftime deficit and 31 turnovers to win 81-66, posting its only victory over an American Conference foe to date.
Turnovers will be a stat to watch on Friday, as ECU forced UNCW into 27 miscues Monday evening.
The Pirates boast three players who have scored 800 or more collegiate points (Savannah Brooks - 919, Anzhane Hutton - 874 and Keanna Rembert - 822). Conversely, Elisabeth Aegisdottir is the Lady Flames' top career scorer at 300 points.

Lady Flames vs. American Conference

Liberty is 1-6 all-time when facing American Conference opponents (at time of meeting), including 1-1 at home (0-1 at Liberty Arena).
The Lady Flames' lone victory over an American opponent came against East Carolina (81-66 home triumph on Dec. 3, 2019) and their most recent American matchup was against the Pirates (72-64 loss on Nov. 26, 2022).
All six of Liberty's setbacks to American foes have come by eight points or fewer.
Liberty is 1-2 vs. East Carolina, 0-1 vs. Houston, 0-2 vs. Memphis and 0-1 vs. UCF.

Making a Good First Impression

A number of Liberty players and coaches experienced memorable "firsts" during Tuesday's 78-49 season-opening victory over Frostburg State.
Alexis Sherard became the third Liberty WBB head coach ever to win his debut with the Lady Flames, joining Brenda Bonheim (1975-76 season) and Mike Goad (1986-87 season).
Five of Sherard's players appeared in their first collegiate game on Tuesday, including Zeynep Avci, Maleah Alexander, Emma Leon, Ify Nwaobi and Lynn Peters. Meanwhile, transfers Lydie Mwamba and JaKayla Thompson played in a Liberty uniform for the first time.
All seven Liberty newcomers found the scoring column against the Bobcats.
One season after playing for the Lady Flames, Emma Hess served as an assistant coach for the first time.

Schedule