WBB Game Day: Middle Tennessee

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (9-8, 3-3 CUSA) will close out a three-game road swing at Middle Tennessee (10-9, 5-2 CUSA) on Friday. It will mark the teams' first matchup since the Lady Flames defeated the Blue Raiders 53-48 for their first CUSA title last March in Huntsville, Ala.
The Lady Flames are coming off a dramatic 55-53 win at WKU on Thursday, which saw Avery Mills hit a game-winning triple with 9.1 seconds left and JaKayla Thompson seal the victory with a steal. The triumph snapped Liberty's first-ever three-game CUSA skid.
Liberty has won its last two matchups with Middle Tennessee but is 0-2 in Murfreesboro. The Blue Raiders had won 39 straight CUSA home games prior to Thursday's 61-48 loss to Delaware.
Mills, whose game-winning three-pointer was her fourth of Thursday's game, ranks No. 4 nationally with 3.18 three-pointers per contest. The sophomore is four away from becoming the 16th Lady Flame ever to make 100 career three-pointers.
Emmy Stout, Mills' high school teammate, paced the Lady Flames in points (19) and rebounds (11) at WKU for her third double-double of the year. She scored eight of her 19 points during the fourth quarter and is now averaging 20.0 ppg over the last three contests.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty and Middle Tennessee have squared off in each of the last two CUSA title games. However, the two new-look teams have already combined for more conference losses this year (5) than they had all of last season (4).
Friday marks 50 days until the 2026 CUSA title game in Huntsville, Ala. It has never happened that the same teams have met in three straight CUSA championship games.
Both teams had less than 24 hours between contests when they met in the 2025 CUSA title game. Only seven of that matchup's 101 points return this season, as Liberty's Emmy Stout scored four and Elisabeth Aegisdottir had three. Emma Hess, who tallied a team-high 14 points, is now part of the Lady Flames' coaching staff.
This marks the first time Liberty is playing road games in different cities on consecutive days since Jan. 8 & 9, 2011. That time, the Lady Flames won 51-40 at Presbyterian and 61-44 at UNC Asheville in a contest moved up a day due to snow.
The Murphy Center is one of two CUSA arenas Liberty has played in without winning a game (also Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center). The Lady Flames are 0-2 in Murfreesboro, losing by an average of 27.0 ppg.
Prior to Thursday, Middle Tennessee had won 39 straight CUSA home games since a March 4, 2021 loss.

Thursday Tidbits

Liberty ended a three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, pulling out a 55-53 victory at WKU Thursday evening. Avery Mills hit a game-winning three-pointer with 9.1 seconds remaining and JaKayla Thompson sealed the victory with a steal.
This marks the second time Mills has made a game-winning or game-tying triple during the final 10 seconds this season. She also evened the score with a three-pointer at George Mason on Dec. 7.
Emmy Stout scored eight of her game-high 19 points during the fourth quarter, helping Liberty shake off an 0-for-13 shooting start to begin the second half. Stout is averaging 20.0 ppg in her last three outings.

At Home on the Road

Liberty has actually played better on the road (4-2 record) than it has at home (3-4) thus far in 2025-26.
Sophomores Avery Mills (19.7 ppg, 23 three-pointers, 51.1 3FG%) and Emmy Stout (18.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 59.2 FG%) have both been effective during the Lady Flames' six road contests this season.
Road teams are 20-18 in CUSA action this season, entering Friday's slate of games.

CUSA Checkup

Liberty has been successful during its first three years of CUSA membership, headlined by its regular-season and tournament titles in 2024-25.
The Lady Flames are 35-11 versus CUSA foes over the last three seasons, including 30-10 in conference play, 5-1 in the CUSA Championship, 15-4 at home and 15-6 on the road.
Liberty has faced three CUSA foes without suffering a loss over the past three years, including Kennesaw State (2-0), New Mexico State (6-0) and UTEP (5-0).
The Lady Flames got off to their first 2-0 conference start as a CUSA member this season.
However, Liberty followed that hot start with its first three-game conference losing streak since joining CUSA.

Schedule