Saturday, February 22
Miami, Fla.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
19-6,12-2CUSA
73
at
57
FIU
10-15,6-8CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
24
15
19
15
73
FIU
16
9
17
15
57
Avery Mills paced the Lady Flames with 15 points at FIU.
Balanced Lady Flames Notch 73-57 Victory at FIU
2/22/2025 3:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MIAMI, Fla. – Liberty won its fourth game in a row using a familiar recipe of balanced scoring, Saturday afternoon at FIU. Avery Mills (15 points) paced four Lady Flames in double figures as Liberty came away with a 73-57 triumph over the Panthers.
Liberty (19-6, 12-2 CUSA) became the first visiting team to win in its two-year head-to-head series with FIU, spanning four games. The Lady Flames won the battle between the conference's top two rebounding teams (34-28) and racked up 29 bench points.
FIU falls to 10-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play after losing just its second CUSA home tilt of the year. The Panthers shot only 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor and committed 22 turnovers during the matinee.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Mills – 15 points, 3-6 3FG; Bella Smuda – 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks; Emma Hess – 12 points, 3 steals, 2-6 3FG; Asia Boone – 10 points, 2-2 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 7 assists; Brooke Moore – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals.
FIU Individuals: Parris Atkins – 15 points, 5 steals, 6-6 FT; Aaliyah Pitts – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2-3 3FG; Isnelle Natabou – 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (51.9 percent, 28-of-54), three-point range (44.4 percent, 8-of-18) and the foul line (75 percent, 9-of-12). FIU got to the charity stripe almost twice as many times as the Lady Flames, but made only 65 percent (13-of-20). In addition to its rebounding edge, Liberty had the upper hand in points in the paint (34-26) and second-chance points (7-3). Both teams turned the ball over frequently, with Liberty finishing at 20 turnovers and FIU 22.
Turning Point
Binetta Diatta's layup tied the score at 14-14 with 4:05 remaining on the first-quarter clock.
But the Panthers only made two more field goals over the next 13 minutes as Liberty opened things up with a 25-5 surge.
Avery Mills tallied 11 points during the run, which ended with Liberty owning a 39-19 cushion entering the final minute of the opening half.
The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will continue their road swing on Thursday, traveling to Jacksonville State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The home team has won all six previous matchups between Liberty and Jax State, including the Lady Flames' 62-53 triumph at Liberty Arena on Feb. 1.
Liberty (19-6, 12-2 CUSA) became the first visiting team to win in its two-year head-to-head series with FIU, spanning four games. The Lady Flames won the battle between the conference's top two rebounding teams (34-28) and racked up 29 bench points.
FIU falls to 10-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play after losing just its second CUSA home tilt of the year. The Panthers shot only 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor and committed 22 turnovers during the matinee.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Mills – 15 points, 3-6 3FG; Bella Smuda – 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks; Emma Hess – 12 points, 3 steals, 2-6 3FG; Asia Boone – 10 points, 2-2 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 7 assists; Brooke Moore – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals.
FIU Individuals: Parris Atkins – 15 points, 5 steals, 6-6 FT; Aaliyah Pitts – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2-3 3FG; Isnelle Natabou – 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (51.9 percent, 28-of-54), three-point range (44.4 percent, 8-of-18) and the foul line (75 percent, 9-of-12). FIU got to the charity stripe almost twice as many times as the Lady Flames, but made only 65 percent (13-of-20). In addition to its rebounding edge, Liberty had the upper hand in points in the paint (34-26) and second-chance points (7-3). Both teams turned the ball over frequently, with Liberty finishing at 20 turnovers and FIU 22.
Turning Point
Binetta Diatta's layup tied the score at 14-14 with 4:05 remaining on the first-quarter clock.
But the Panthers only made two more field goals over the next 13 minutes as Liberty opened things up with a 25-5 surge.
Avery Mills tallied 11 points during the run, which ended with Liberty owning a 39-19 cushion entering the final minute of the opening half.
The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- The Lady Flames hit their first five three-point attempts of the afternoon, including a pair by Asia Boone. Liberty built a 24-16 lead through 10 minutes, paced by Avery Mills' seven points off the bench.
- FIU stayed within striking distance early on by scoring seven points off Liberty's seven turnovers.
- Liberty broke things open with 12 straight points, holding the Panthers scoreless for more than seven and a half minutes. Brooke Moore closed out the surge with six consecutive points of her own, including a pair of free throws at the 1:58 mark which made it 39-19, Lady Flames.
- FIU then hit two late triples, cutting its deficit to 14 points (39-25) at the intermission.
- Liberty shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the field during the first 20 minutes, including 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from long range.
- Parris Atkins scored nine straight FIU points to close out the third period. However, Liberty added two points to its lead during the stanza overall and emerged with a 58-42 advantage.
- After being in foul trouble throughout the first half, Boone and Emma Hess combined for nine third-quarter points for the visitors.
- Held in check for much of the game, Isnelle Natabou tallied five straight points during a 7-0 FIU burst which pulled the home team within a dozen (66-54) with 3:56 to play.
- But that's as close as it got, as FIU did not make another field goal and Jordan Hodges went 3-of-4 from the free throw line down the stretch.
- Mills (15 points) became the eighth different Lady Flame to lead the team in scoring at least once this season. She totaled 29 points in two regular-season victories over the Panthers.
- Smuda's 13 points enabled her to pass Avery Warley for sixth place on Liberty's career scoring list. She ended the game with 1,455 career points.
- Smuda posted her fifth double-double of the season and the 25th of her career, tying her with Elena Kisseleva for fifth in program history.
- Smuda rejected a pair of FIU shots, giving her 14 blocked shots in four all-time meetings with the Panthers.
- Hess (12 points) reached double figures for the 50th time in her career.
- After missing all seven of her three-point tries during the last two games, Boone was 2-for-2 from long distance on Saturday. The sophomore now ranks No. 10 all-time for the Lady Flames with 107 triples.
- Hodges' seven assists were her most since the senior point guard opened the season with an eight-assist outing vs. Valparaiso on Nov. 4.
- FIU's Natabou entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage (70.3), and she had scored a game-high 20 points during her team's 83-54 loss at Liberty Arena on Jan. 25. But she was limited to nine points on 3-of-11 from the floor Saturday.
- Liberty improved to 16-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle.
- The Lady Flames pushed their record to 7-1 this season and 161-6 under Carey Green when hitting 50 percent of their field goals or more.
- More than half of Liberty's wins this year (10 of 19) have come on Saturday, as the Lady Flames are 10-2 in Saturday tilts.
- The Lady Flames are now 24-5 against CUSA opponents since their 70-59 loss at FIU on Jan. 18, 2024. Brooke Moore, who suffered a season-ending injury that day, enjoyed a productive return to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
The Lady Flames will continue their road swing on Thursday, traveling to Jacksonville State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The home team has won all six previous matchups between Liberty and Jax State, including the Lady Flames' 62-53 triumph at Liberty Arena on Feb. 1.
Team Stats
Lib
FIU
FG%
.519
.365
3FG%
.444
.462
FT%
.750
.650
RB
34
28
TO
20
22
STL
12
12
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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