WBB Game Day: New Mexico State

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (16-6, 9-2 CUSA) will tip off a two-game homestand Thursday evening against New Mexico State (12-11, 5-5 CUSA).
The Lady Flames will look to complete a season sweep of the Aggies for the second year in a row. Liberty notched an 82-72 victory in Las Cruces on Jan. 18.
Liberty will look to remain perfect against New Mexico State, as the Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time when facing the Aggies. A win would extend the Lady Flames' home winning streak to 10 and give them 26 straight seasons with 10+ conference victories.
Bella Smuda scored a team-high 14 points during the first meeting with New Mexico State. She paces the Lady Flames' balanced attack with 12.2 ppg.
Asia Boone has hit multiple three-pointers in each of Liberty's last eight games, leaving the sophomore two triples away from overtaking Daina Staugaitiene for 10th place in program history. Boone has totaled 10 triples in four meetings with New Mexico State.
Pien Steenbergen matched her career high of 15 points during a 74-54 triumph at Sam Houston on Saturday. She contributed 11 points off the bench in Las Cruces last month.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty is looking to complete a season sweep of New Mexico State for the second year in a row, following its 82-72 victory in Las Cruces on Jan. 18.
The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time against New Mexico State, making the Aggies one of four current CUSA members Liberty has never lost to (also Kennesaw State, Sam Houston and UTEP).
New Mexico State's Molly Kaiser ranks No. 9 nationally with 21.8 ppg. Liberty is 2-0 this season when facing one of the nation's top 10 scorers. The Lady Flames defeated Arkansas 75-61 on Dec. 19 despite Izzy Higginbottom's 24 points. Liberty then topped New Mexico State 82-72 on Jan. 18 even though Kaiser racked up 31 points.
While Kaiser has led the Aggies in scoring outright or shared the team lead in each of the last 17 games, seven different Lady Flames have led the team in scoring over their last 17 outings (Emily Howard, Bella Smuda, Asia Boone, Emmy Stout, Jordan Hodges, Emma Hess and Pien Steenbergen).
Four of Liberty's five starters have recorded a 20-point game against New Mexico State, including Bella Smuda (22 on Feb. 1, 2024), Jordan Hodges (career-high 20 on Feb. 1, 2024), Emma Hess (26 on Feb. 29, 2024, 24 of which came after halftime) and Asia Boone (20 on March 15, 2024, including 17 in the first half).

An Impressive Streak

Liberty's next win would be its 10th CUSA triumph, continuing an impressive streak. Entering 2024-25, the Lady Flames had recorded 10+ conference wins for 25 straight seasons spanning three leagues (Big South, ASUN and CUSA).
The Lady Flames have won 84 percent of their conference games (347-66 record) during that span, which began with Carey Green's first season (1999-2000).
This is the longest such streak of any current CUSA member. Middle Tennessee has posted 22 straight 10-win seasons in conference play, including 2024-25.

Home Sweet Home

Liberty has won nine straight home contests by an average of 29.2 ppg since its loss to Duke on Nov. 7.
The Lady Flames are averaging 77.3 ppg and shooting 48.8 percent from the field at Liberty Arena this season.
The Lady Flames are one victory away from recording their fourth home winning streak of 10 or more contests in five seasons playing at Liberty Arena.

Schedule