WBB Game Day: Western Kentucky

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

CUSA co-leader Liberty (22-6, 15-2 CUSA) will host Western Kentucky (22-7, 13-4 CUSA) on Saturday for both teams' regular-season finale.
Following an impressive 61-42 win over Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Liberty needs a victory on Saturday to wrap up at least a share of its first CUSA regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for next week's CUSA Women's Basketball Championship.
The Lady Flames have won seven straight overall and 12 in a row at Liberty Arena, where they are 38-3 all-time in conference games. WKU dealt Liberty one of those losses with a 68-66 decision in the Lady Flames' CUSA debut on Jan. 6, 2024.
Bella Smuda excelled in her Liberty-record 155th career appearance on Thursday, pacing all players in points (21) and rebounds (10). She has posted two double-doubles in four all-time meetings with WKU.
Asia Boone has scored in double figures in each of her last four games, shooting 10-of-20 from three-point range during that stretch.
Liberty made 12 triples at a 52.2 percent clip at WKU on Jan. 2. The Lady Flames need 11 more to set a program single-season record for three-pointers made.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty would earn the CUSA No. 1 seed with a win on Saturday, while WKU is locked in at No. 3 regardless of result.
For the second year in a row, Liberty and WKU are facing each other in both the CUSA opener and the regular-season finale. It has been 65 days since the Lady Flames opened CUSA play with a 77-66 win in Bowling Green on Jan. 2.
It has been 427 days since WKU last visited Liberty Arena. The Lady Toppers rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit on Jan. 6, 2024 to spoil the Lady Flames' CUSA debut with a 68-66 decision. That is one of only three conference losses the Lady Flames have ever suffered at Liberty Arena. Liberty is 38-3 all-time in conference games at the facility, including 8-0 this season.
The Lady Flames have matched their longest winning streak of the season (7 games), while WKU brings a five-game wining streak to Lynchburg. Liberty and the Lady Toppers are the only two CUSA teams to defeat Middle Tennessee this season.
The Lady Flames and Lady Toppers have both been frequent participants in the NCAA Tournament, with WKU appearing 20 times and Liberty 17. Both squads most recently advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, where each was eliminated in a first-round matchup at Tennessee (WKU by Oregon State and Liberty by the host Lady Vols).

So Much at Stake

A win on Saturday would earn at least a share of the CUSA regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for next week's CUSA Women's Basketball Championship. Liberty has not achieved either of those feats since 2017-18, its final season of Big South Conference play.
A victory would be the Lady Flames' eighth in a row, marking their longest winning streak since a run of 16 straight spanning Jan. 14-March 8, 2023.

Thursday Tidbits

Prior to Thursday's 61-42 win over Middle Tennessee, Liberty was 0-4 all-time against the Blue Raiders.
The Lady Flames had only led for a total of 18:03 and never by more than five points during their first four matchups with Middle Tennessee. On Thursday, Liberty never trailed and led by as many as 33 during the fourth quarter.
Liberty limited the Blue Raiders to 20 total points during the first three quarters and handed Middle Tennessee its largest CUSA setback since March 4, 2021 (72-49 loss to Marshall).

Long-Range Record Watch

The Lady Flames made a program single-game record 15 three-pointers during a Dec. 11 home victory over Randolph, setting the first of what could be several three-point records this year.
Liberty is shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc in 2024-25 (No. 21 nationally), superior to the program single-season mark of 35.6 percent set during Carey Green's first season (1999-2000). That year, the Lady Flames shot 12.5 triples/game, as compared with 21.6/game in 2024-25.
The Lady Flames have hit 220 triples this year (7.9/game), putting them within 11 of breaking of last season's program-record 230 three-pointers (6.8/game).
Individually, Emma Hess is chasing Liberty's career record for most three-pointers made. She has hit 214 triples to date, leaving the senior 14 shy of breaking Cynthia Thomson's (1990-93) long-standing mark of 227 with one regular-season game remaining. Hess shattered Thomson's single-season record of 64 triples with 76 last season.

On This Date

Liberty is 8-1 all-time when playing on March 8.
Twenty years ago (March 8, 2005), the Lady Flames opened their memorable postseason run with an 83-36 home win over Winthrop in the Big South Championship quarterfinals. Katie Feenstra scored 16 points in 19 minutes for Liberty, which shot 10-of-14 from three-point range.
Liberty is 95-59 all-time in March, including 87-34 under Carey Green and 2-0 this season.

Schedule