Thursday, February 27
Jacksonville, Ala.
7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT
Liberty University
20-6,13-2CUSA
71
at
55
Jacksonville State
10-17,4-12CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
18
18
14
21
71
Jacksonville St.
15
14
11
15
55
Pien Steenbergen
Liberty Records 71-55 Victory at Jax State for Win No. 20
2/27/2025 10:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Liberty earned its 20th victory of the 2024-25 season, Thursday night at Jacksonville State, in much the same fashion as many of its previous 19 triumphs. The Lady Flames prevailed 71-55 inside Pete Mathews Coliseum, aided by significant advantages in rebounds (41-31), points in the paint (38-10) and bench points (36-13).
Liberty's (20-6, 13-2 CUSA) fifth consecutive victory overall marked its first win inside Pete Mathews Coliseum in three tries. The underclass trio of sophomore Asia Boone (12 points), freshman Avery Mills (11) and freshman Emmy Stout (11) paced the Lady Flames' balanced offensive attack as the Lady Flames completed a season sweep of the Gamecocks.
Jax State falls to 10-17 overall, 4-12 in CUSA play and 2-5 all-time against the Lady Flames. The Gamecocks nailed 10 three-pointers but shot just 21.2 percent (7-of-33) inside the arc, with eight of those shot attempts being rejected.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Boone – 12 points, 2-4 3FG; Mills – 11 points, 3-4 3FG; Stout – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5-5 FG; Bella Smuda – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4-6 FG; Jordan Hodges – 8 points, 3 assists, 2-3 3FG.
Jacksonville State Individuals: Maria Sanchez Ponce – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2-4 3FG; Clara Gonzalez Planella – 10 points, 5-6 FT; Mya Barnes – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3-7 3FG.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field, including 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from three-point range. Jax State countered at 28.8 percent (17-of-59) from the floor and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks enjoyed a significant edge at the free throw line, shooting 11-of-14 for 78.6 percent to Liberty's 2-of-6 for 33.3 percent. The two teams combined for only 17 turnovers (6 by Jax State, 11 by Liberty), with the Lady Flames' turnover count being their lowest in CUSA play this season.
Turning Point
Jax State swished two triples within the first 2:15 of Thursday's clash, racing out to a quick 8-2 advantage.
Liberty then outscored the Gamecocks 16-5 over the next six minutes, getting field goals from seven different players.
Avery Mills closed out the surge with a reverse layup that made the score 18-13 in favor of the visitors with 42 ticks remaining in the opening quarter. The Lady Flames never trailed again and eventually extended the lead to 19.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will close out the road portion of their regular-season schedule at Kennesaw State (11-16, 6-10 CUSA) on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the KSU Convocation Center, and the matinee will air live on ESPN+.
Liberty's (20-6, 13-2 CUSA) fifth consecutive victory overall marked its first win inside Pete Mathews Coliseum in three tries. The underclass trio of sophomore Asia Boone (12 points), freshman Avery Mills (11) and freshman Emmy Stout (11) paced the Lady Flames' balanced offensive attack as the Lady Flames completed a season sweep of the Gamecocks.
Jax State falls to 10-17 overall, 4-12 in CUSA play and 2-5 all-time against the Lady Flames. The Gamecocks nailed 10 three-pointers but shot just 21.2 percent (7-of-33) inside the arc, with eight of those shot attempts being rejected.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Boone – 12 points, 2-4 3FG; Mills – 11 points, 3-4 3FG; Stout – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5-5 FG; Bella Smuda – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4-6 FG; Jordan Hodges – 8 points, 3 assists, 2-3 3FG.
Jacksonville State Individuals: Maria Sanchez Ponce – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2-4 3FG; Clara Gonzalez Planella – 10 points, 5-6 FT; Mya Barnes – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3-7 3FG.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field, including 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from three-point range. Jax State countered at 28.8 percent (17-of-59) from the floor and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks enjoyed a significant edge at the free throw line, shooting 11-of-14 for 78.6 percent to Liberty's 2-of-6 for 33.3 percent. The two teams combined for only 17 turnovers (6 by Jax State, 11 by Liberty), with the Lady Flames' turnover count being their lowest in CUSA play this season.
Turning Point
Jax State swished two triples within the first 2:15 of Thursday's clash, racing out to a quick 8-2 advantage.
Liberty then outscored the Gamecocks 16-5 over the next six minutes, getting field goals from seven different players.
Avery Mills closed out the surge with a reverse layup that made the score 18-13 in favor of the visitors with 42 ticks remaining in the opening quarter. The Lady Flames never trailed again and eventually extended the lead to 19.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Sanchez Ponce (7 points) and Gonzalez Planella (6 points) combined for all but two of Jax State's 15 first-quarter points.
- Liberty emerged with an 18-15 edge through the first 10 minutes, setting the tone for the contest with advantages in points in the paint (10-4) and bench points (9-0).
- A pair of Barnes triples helped the Gamecocks get within four (27-23) with 3:57 to play in the opening half.
- But Mills hit a pair of three-pointers herself, helping Liberty take a 36-29 advantage into the intermission. Nine different Lady Flames scored points before halftime, leading to a 19-2 edge in bench points.
- The Lady Flames' lead reached double figures for the first time during a third quarter which saw the home team shoot only 25 percent (4-of-16) from the floor. Liberty was on top 50-40 heading to the final stanza.
- Liberty closed out the win with a 21-point final period. The Lady Flames connected on all four of their three-point tries, including a pair from Hodges. As a result, Liberty wrapped up its third consecutive double-digit triumph, 71-55.
- Boone's 12-point outing pushed the guard past the 600-point mark for her career. She is up to 604 career tallies with at least four contests remaining in her sophomore campaign. That is just one fewer than Hodges' career total (605), as the senior point guard also eclipsed the 600-point mark on Thursday.
- A day before her 19th birthday, Mills' 11 points gave her back-to-back contests in double figures for the first time in her young career. The freshman had tallied a team-high 15 points during the opener of a three-game road swing, Saturday at FIU.
- Mills' high school teammate Stout (11 points) tallied double-digit points for the fifth time in 18 career appearances. She paced the team with six rebounds, pulling down half of the Lady Flames' 10 offensive caroms.
- Liberty has now reached the 20-win mark 23 times in the last 29 seasons, including 20 of 26 years under Carey Green.
- Liberty becomes the first CUSA school to record 20 wins in both men's and women's basketball this season. The Flames' men's hoops squad is now 23-5 following a 59-55 home triumph over Jax State on Thursday at Liberty Arena.
- The Lady Flames went 6-1 in February, bookended by wins over Jax State. As a result, Liberty is now 170-26 in February contests under Carey Green, including 21-2 in the last 23.
- Liberty is 17-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
- The Lady Flames are 8-1 this year and 162-6 under Carey Green when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
- Liberty has scored more bench points than its opponent in six straight contests and 21 times in 26 contests this year. The Lady Flames entered the evening ranked No. 10 nationally with 28.4 bench points per game.
The Lady Flames will close out the road portion of their regular-season schedule at Kennesaw State (11-16, 6-10 CUSA) on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the KSU Convocation Center, and the matinee will air live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Lib
JSU
FG%
.526
.288
3FG%
.474
.385
FT%
.333
.786
RB
41
31
TO
11
6
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballC
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