Liberty will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 after capturing its first CUSA crown on Saturday.
WBB Game Day: No. 4 seed Kentucky
3/18/2025 3:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- No. 13 seed Liberty at No. 4 seed Kentucky (NCAA First Round)
- Tipoff: Friday at 12:02 p.m.
- TV: ESPN
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- NCAA Ticket Information
- NCAA Bracket
- No. 13 seed Liberty (26-6, 16-2 CUSA) will travel to No. 4 seed Kentucky (22-7, 11-5 SEC) on Friday to begin the Lady Flames' 18th NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship appearance but first since 2018.
- The Lady Flames punched their ticket with a 53-48 victory over two-time defending champion Middle Tennessee in the CUSA title game on March 15, earning their first CUSA crown in their second year of league membership.
- Liberty is 1-2 all-time against Kentucky, including 1-0 in Lexington and 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament (2010).Meanwhile, the Flames' Carey Green is 3-10 coaching against the Wildcats' Kenny Brooks.
- All-CUSA first team center and CUSA Tournament MVP Bella Smuda's 160th game as a Lady Flame will mark her NCAA Tournament debut, following three losses in conference tournament finals during her five-year career.
- All-CUSA second team guards Asia Boone (62 triples) and Emma Hess (53) headline Liberty's perimeter attack. They hit three triples apiece during the CUSA final, including Hess' long-range dagger with 1:10 to play. Hess will be playing just two hours south of her hometown (Beavercreek, Ohio) on Friday.
- Kentucky is 2-1 all-time against Liberty, but the Lady Flames won the teams' only previous meeting at Memorial Coliseum (Dec. 12, 1998). Liberty recovered from an 18-point deficit to record their first-ever win over an SEC opponent, 80-76. The three previous matchups have all been decided by 12 points or fewer.
- The teams' only previous NCAA Tournament clash came during the first round in 2010 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. (March 20, 2010). The No. 13 seed Lady Flames challenged No. 4 seed Kentucky before falling 83-77.Â
- Carey Green-coached Liberty teams are 3-10 against Kenny Brooks' squads, including 2-7 during his time at James Madison and 1-3 during Brooks' tenure at Virginia Tech.Â
- The last time Green and Brooks squared off, Liberty posted a 59-40 home victory over the Hokies on Dec. 7, 2021. Current Lady Flames Emma Hess, Jordan Hodges and Bella Smuda all appeared in that contest, while Georgia Amoore started for Virginia Tech.
- Liberty (3-1) and Kentucky (3-0) both fared well against three common opponents this season (Arkansas, Tennessee and WKU).
- Liberty went 0-3 vs. NCAA Tournament qualifiers this year, losing to Duke, Tennessee and Grand Canyon in November.
- The Lady Flames are returning to March Madness for the 18th time in 29 seasons but the first since 2018. This marks Liberty's longest drought between appearances since the Lady Flames qualified for their first NCAA Tournament in 1997.
- None of Liberty's current players have appeared in an NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship contest, although Anna Badosa played for Franklin Pierce in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship a year ago.
- Liberty is seeded No. 13 for the eighth time, marking the Lady Flames' most common seed. Liberty was also a No. 13 seed for its previous NCAA matchup with Kentucky in 2010. The Lady Flames' highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history has been No. 12 in 2008.Â
- Most notably, Liberty was the No. 13 seed in 2005 when current assistant Katie (Feenstra) Mattera and the Lady Flames upset No. 4 seed Penn State and No. 5 seed DePaul to reach the Sweet 16. Those are the Lady Flames' only two NCAA Tournament victories, as they own a record of 2-17 in March Madness (2-14 under Carey Green).
- The 2004-05 Lady Flames are one of three No. 13 seeds ever to advance to the Sweet 16, joining 1993-94 Texas A&M and 2006-07 Marist.
- Only seven No. 13 seeds have ever won a game, with 2020-21 Wright State being the most recent to do so.Â
- The Lady Flames are 0-11 in true road matchups during the NCAA Tournament.
- Liberty is 0-2 in NCAA Tournament games played in Kentucky, with both coming in Louisville. The Lady Flames lost to Kentucky in 2010 and Purdue in 2013.
- Liberty has faced SEC opponents during March Madness more often than any other conference, going 0-10.Â
- The Lady Flames are meeting an SEC foe in the first round for the 10th time in 18 NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Both Liberty basketball teams made the NCAA Tournament the same year for the third time (also 2004 and 2013). This is the first time both will play an NCAA contest on the same day, with Liberty's men facing Oregon Friday night in Seattle.
- Liberty is 0-2 all-time when playing on March 21, including 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
- Ten years ago today (March 21, 2015), No. 13 seed Liberty lost an NCAA first-round contest at No. 4 seed North Carolina by a score of 71-65. That equals the Lady Flames' closest loss in an NCAA tilt (also 83-77 loss to Kentucky on March 20, 2010.)
- Liberty is 99-59 all-time in March, including 91-34 under Carey Green and 6-0 this season.
- Kentucky enters March Madness ranked No. 12 nationally in the Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the AP Poll. The Wildcats will be Liberty's second Top 25 opponent of the season, following No. 11 Duke on Nov. 7.
- Liberty has lost 42 consecutive matchups with Top 25 opponents since an 88-79 victory over No. 17/16 DePaul on March 22, 2005 sent the Lady Flames into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. That also marked the highest-ranked team Liberty has defeated in program history.
- Liberty has defeated four Top 25 foes all-time, with three of those victories coming during the 2004-05 season, the senior year of current assistant Katie (Feenstra) Mattera.Â
- Liberty is 2-23 all-time against SEC opponents, including 1-1 this season.
- The Lady Flames lost a 109-93 decision at Tennessee on Nov. 16 and topped Arkansas 75-61 on day one of the Cherokee Invitational, Dec. 18 in Cherokee, N.C.
- Liberty's win over the Razorbacks snapped a 22-game losing streak to SEC foes and improved Carey Green's record vs. the SEC to 1-21.
- Liberty is 10-3 all-time when playing in Kentucky, including its 77-66 CUSA-opening triumph at WKU on Jan. 2.
- The Lady Flames have won seven straight in the Bluegrass State since a 77-43 loss to Purdue in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
- All three of Liberty's setbacks in Kentucky have come in Louisville, including both of their NCAA losses.
- Liberty will look to give CUSA at least one NCAA Tournament victory for the second year in a row, following Middle Tennessee's first round triumph over Louisville in 2024.
- It has been 25 years since UAB became CUSA's most recent squad to reach the Sweet 16, getting there as a No. 11 seed in 2000. That is the deepest NCAA Tournament run a CUSA squad has ever made.
- Before they joined CUSA, LA Tech captured two national titles and WKU was the 1992 national runner-up.
- Liberty shoots the ball well, ranking No. 16 nationally for three-point field goal percentage (36.9) and No. 28 for field goal percentage (46.1).Â
- The Lady Flames will have to contend with a stout Kentucky defense that leads the nation in blocked shots (6.9 bpg) and sits No. 6 in three-point defense (26.0) and No. 8 in field goal percentage defense (35.7).
- Liberty ranks No. 9 in the nation with 27.7 bench points per game, while Kentucky sits No. 351 of 353 at 8.4 bench points per contest.
- Emma Hess paces Liberty with 25.2 minutes per game. That would rank sixth on Kentucky's squad.
- Bella Smuda is seven blocked shots away from breaking Katie Feenstra's Liberty career record of 257.
- Smuda is 11 rebounds away from becoming the fourth Lady Flame ever to grab 1,000 career boards.
- Emma Hess is seven three-pointers away from breaking Cynthia Thomson's Liberty career record of 227.
Players Mentioned
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