WBB Game Day: Oregon State

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (6-4, 0-0 CUSA) will close out non-conference play on Saturday with a matchup against Maui Classic host and defending WCC champion Oregon State (7-5, 0-0 WCC).
The Lady Flames are seeking their first win over the Beavers (in their second try) and their first victory against a WCC opponent (in their second try).
Liberty will look to snap a two-game losing streak. The Lady Flames fell 67-58 to Hawai'i on Friday after cutting a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to five. Reserves scored Liberty's final 24 points, paced by Lydie Mwamba (career-high 13) and Emma Leon (13).
Ify Nwaobi tied for the team lead with five rebounds against the Rainbow Wahine but saw her streak of seven straight double-digit rebounding efforts halted. It was the longest streak by a Lady Flame in 21 years. Nwaobi ranks No. 18 nationally with 10.4 rpg and Liberty ranks No. 15 in rebound margin (+12.0).
Sophomores and high school teammates Avery Mills and Emmy Stout will look to get back on track Saturday after being held in check Friday. Both Mills (four points) and Stout (three) tallied season-low point totals against Hawai'i after entering the game scoring a combined 31.9 ppg for the season.

Notes and Anecdotes

The Maui Classic marks Liberty's first visit to Hawai'i in its 51 seasons of playing women's basketball. Prior to this week, the Lady Flames' longest trip of the season was a 216-mile bus ride to Navy (Annapolis, Md.) Thanksgiving weekend.
The Lady Flames will play two games which tip off during the same day in their home time zone (Eastern), as Friday's matchup with Hawai'i began at 12:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, while the Oregon State contest tips off later the same day at 11 p.m. Eastern.
Liberty is predicted for a runner-up finish in CUSA, while Oregon State is the West Coast Conference (WCC) preseason favorite.
The Beavers went 19-16 last season, winning the WCC title to advance to the NCAA Tournament. That makes Oregon State one of 10 squads among Liberty's 11-team non-conference schedule which posted a winning record in 2024-25.
Like Liberty, Oregon State features a large number of international players (10 total). The two teams have a combined five players from Spain.
The Beavers are hosting the Maui Classic for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. They are looking for their sixth 2-0 showing after pulling out a 53-51 victory over Montana State in Friday's tournament opener.

Lady Flames vs. WCC

Liberty has only faced one West Coast Conference (WCC) opponent in program history.
The Lady Flames fell to Gonzaga 102-59 on day one of the Betty Chancellor Classic, Nov. 24, 2023 in Katy, Texas.
Oregon State was a Pac-12 member during the teams' previous meeting and will be part of the new-look Pac-12 beginning next season.
The Lady Flames are 1-4 all-time against Pac-12 foes, winning their most recent meeting (66-54 at Washington on Dec. 18, 2022).

Tournament Time

The Maui Classic marks Liberty's second and final regular-season tournament of 2025-26.
The Lady Flames previously went 2-0 at the Navy Classic (Nov. 29-30 in Annapolis, Md.), defeating Duquesne and Manhattan.

Notes from Night One

Liberty scored 26 fourth-quarter points (its most in any quarter this season) to cut a 21-point deficit to five. However, the Lady Flames fell short in their first-ever meeting with Hawai'i, 67-58.
Reserves tallied the Lady Flames' final 24 points of the game, including nine apiece by Lydie Mwamba and Emma Leon.
Mwamba's 13 points for the game marked a career high, making her the eighth of Liberty's 11 active players to score in double figures this season.
Ify Nwaobi tied for the team lead with five rebounds but was held in single digits for the first time since Nov. 7 vs. East Carolina. Her run of seven straight games with 10+ boards was the longest by a Lady Flame in 21 years.
Friday's tilt marked Liberty's first-ever contest played in Hawai'i.
Liberty has now lost back-to-back games for the second time this season. The Lady Flames have not dropped three in a row since Dec. 31, 2023-Jan. 10, 2024.

Schedule