WBB Game Day: Jacksonville State

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (19-6, 12-2 CUSA) will look to complete a season sweep of Jacksonville State (10-16, 4-11 CUSA), Thursday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Liberty owns a 4-2 all-time record against the Gamecocks in a series which has seen the home team win all six contests. The Lady Flames held off Jax State for a 62-53 triumph, Feb. 1 at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames are 0-2 when playing at Pete Mathews Coliseum, making it one of two CUSA facilities (also Middle Tennessee's Murphy Center) where they have yet to record a victory.
Bella Smuda recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds during Liberty's Feb. 1 triumph over Jax State. She was also outstanding (26 points, career-high 17 rebounds) in a losing effort at Jax State a year ago (Jan. 10, 2024).
Emma Hess tallied 12 points during Saturday's 73-57 triumph at FIU, reaching double figures for the 50th time in her career.
Reserve guard Avery Mills paced Liberty with 15 points vs. FIU on Saturday, becoming the eighth player to lead Liberty in scoring this year. Liberty ranks No. 10 nationally in bench points (28.4 ppg).

Notes and Anecdotes

The road team has yet to win a game in the Liberty-Jax State head-to-head series, and neither squad has defeated the other twice in one season. The Lady Flames will attempt to accomplish both feats on Thursday.
Four of the teams' six previous meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Jax State is the only team which has shared a conference affiliation with Liberty each of the past four seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23 in ASUN, 2023-24 and 2024-25 in CUSA).
Liberty (No. 10, 28.4 ppg) and Jax State (No. 12, 28.2 ppg) are two of the nation's leaders in bench points per game. The Gamecocks outscored the Lady Flames, 32-13, in bench points during their Feb. 1 meeting.
Jax State (No. 1, 8.2/game) and Liberty (No. 2, 7.7/game) rank 1-2 in CUSA in three-pointers made per contest. Jax State hit seven triples to the Lady Flames' three on Feb. 1.
The two teams are bookending the month of February against one another after squaring off on Feb. 1. Liberty is 5-1 this month, while the Gamecocks are 1-6.
A Lady Flames victory would make Liberty the first CUSA member to reach 20 wins in both men's and women's basketball thus far in 2024-25.

On the Verge of 20

Liberty's next victory will be No. 20 of the season. If successful, the Lady Flames would record their 23rd 20-win season in the last 29 years, dating back to 1996-97.
Prior to this current run of success, the Lady Flames recorded zero 20-win campaigns during their first 21 seasons of women's basketball (1975-76 through 1995-96).
Liberty has fared well in conference play especially over the last 29 seasons, going 380-72 (.841) in league action spanning three conferences (Big South, ASUN and CUSA), including 350-66 (.841) under Carey Green.

Challenging Road Swing

Liberty is playing its second straight game at a facility where it had not won a game prior to this season.
The Lady Flames, who picked up their first-ever win at FIU's Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Saturday, are 0-2 all-time at Jax State's Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The only other CUSA venue Liberty has yet to win in is Middle Tennessee's Murphy Center (0-2 record).

On This Date

Liberty is 14-6 all-time when playing on Feb. 27.
On this date in 1999, the Lady Flames captured their third straight Big South Championship title. Tournament MVP Elena Kisseleva's 28 points helped Liberty top Coastal Carolina, 68-55, in Asheville, N.C.
Liberty is 268-142 all-time in February, including a 169-26 mark under Carey Green. The Lady Flames are 5-1 this February and have won 20 of their last 22 contests during the month.

Schedule