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Friday, January 30
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
9-10,3-5CUSA
61
vs
74
FIU
12-7,5-3CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
FIU
15
15
21
23
74
Liberty
10
15
15
21
61
Emma Leon made her first career start on Friday.
FIU Paints a 74-61 Victory at Liberty
1/30/2026 10:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Paced by CUSA leading scorer Rhema Collins (19 points, 11 rebounds), FIU controlled the interior during a 74-61 triumph at Liberty, Friday evening. The Panthers had the upper hand in rebounds (38-31), points in the paint (30-22) and second-chance points (15-9).
Liberty falls to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in CUSA action after suffering its fourth consecutive home defeat and its fifth loss in six games overall. The Lady Flames committed 21 turnovers that led to 25 points while losing to FIU at Liberty Arena for the first time.
FIU is now 12-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play thanks to its fourth consecutive road win. The nation's leader in free throw attempts got there 28 times, connecting on 23 of them for 82.1 percent.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JaKayla Thompson – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-3 3FG; Avery Mills – 12 points, 4-4 FT; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 9 points, 3-4 3FG; Emmy Stout – 9 points; Ify Nwaobi – 4 points, 9 rebounds.
FIU Individuals: Collins – 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 7-8 FT; Parris Atkins – 17 points, 5 assists, 3-7 3FG; Judit Valero – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 3FG; Grecia Ferrer Leal – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 8-8 FT.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field, 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from beyond the arc and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the line for the night. FIU countered at 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long distance. Liberty finished with a 13-12 edge in bench points.
Turning Point
After Aegisdottir gave Liberty an early 3-2 lead with a triple, the Lady Flames went scoreless for the next 5:09.
During that time, FIU reeled off an 11-0 run with points from five different players. Eight of the tallies came off Liberty turnovers.
Atkins' three-pointer with 3:08 to play in the opening quarter put the Panthers in front 13-3. Liberty never got closer than five for the remainder of the contest.
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will play host to CUSA newcomer Missouri State (13-7, 5-2 CUSA) Sunday at 2 p.m. Liberty's first-ever meeting with the Lady Bears will air on ESPN+.
CUSA Championship Ticket Information
Ticket packages for the 2026 CUSA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are now on sale. Both the Flames and Lady Flames will look to defend their conference tournament titles at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., March 10-14.
Fans can purchase an all-session booklet through the Liberty Ticket Office for $175, a savings of $25. This includes tickets to all nine men's games and all nine women's games throughout the tournament. To purchase tickets and find more information, please visit http://www.libertyflames.com/CUSABasketball.
Students will be able to purchase tickets for the tournaments on a session-to-session basis. These may be purchased at Propst Arena with a valid student ID (of a CUSA school) for half the price of the current day's session.
Liberty falls to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in CUSA action after suffering its fourth consecutive home defeat and its fifth loss in six games overall. The Lady Flames committed 21 turnovers that led to 25 points while losing to FIU at Liberty Arena for the first time.
FIU is now 12-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play thanks to its fourth consecutive road win. The nation's leader in free throw attempts got there 28 times, connecting on 23 of them for 82.1 percent.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JaKayla Thompson – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-3 3FG; Avery Mills – 12 points, 4-4 FT; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 9 points, 3-4 3FG; Emmy Stout – 9 points; Ify Nwaobi – 4 points, 9 rebounds.
FIU Individuals: Collins – 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 7-8 FT; Parris Atkins – 17 points, 5 assists, 3-7 3FG; Judit Valero – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 3FG; Grecia Ferrer Leal – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 8-8 FT.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field, 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from beyond the arc and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the line for the night. FIU countered at 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long distance. Liberty finished with a 13-12 edge in bench points.
Turning Point
After Aegisdottir gave Liberty an early 3-2 lead with a triple, the Lady Flames went scoreless for the next 5:09.
During that time, FIU reeled off an 11-0 run with points from five different players. Eight of the tallies came off Liberty turnovers.
Atkins' three-pointer with 3:08 to play in the opening quarter put the Panthers in front 13-3. Liberty never got closer than five for the remainder of the contest.
Notes and Nuggets
- Thompson (team-high 13 points) reached double figures for the second time in her career. After totaling six three-pointers during her first 60 collegiate appearances, the junior guard hit a pair on Friday. Both triples beat the buzzer at the end of quarters (halftime and end of the third quarter).
- Mills (12 points) scored in double digits for the ninth straight game and for the third time in as many matchups with FIU. Her two made triples give the sophomore 100 for her career, making Mills the 16th Lady Flame ever to reach that milestone.
- All nine of Aegisdottir's points came on a career-high three triples. She is now shooting 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from beyond the arc during conference play.
- Emma Leon made her first career start, posting five points, three assists and a pair of steals in a career-high 27 minutes.
- Nwaobi returned to action after missing the previous three contests due to injury, collecting a team-high nine rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
- The Lady Flames are now 0-3 in CUSA home games this season after going 39-3 in conference home games at Liberty Arena prior to this year.
- FIU became just the fourth opponent to outrebound Liberty this season.
The Lady Flames will play host to CUSA newcomer Missouri State (13-7, 5-2 CUSA) Sunday at 2 p.m. Liberty's first-ever meeting with the Lady Bears will air on ESPN+.
CUSA Championship Ticket Information
Ticket packages for the 2026 CUSA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are now on sale. Both the Flames and Lady Flames will look to defend their conference tournament titles at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., March 10-14.
Fans can purchase an all-session booklet through the Liberty Ticket Office for $175, a savings of $25. This includes tickets to all nine men's games and all nine women's games throughout the tournament. To purchase tickets and find more information, please visit http://www.libertyflames.com/CUSABasketball.
Students will be able to purchase tickets for the tournaments on a session-to-session basis. These may be purchased at Propst Arena with a valid student ID (of a CUSA school) for half the price of the current day's session.
Team Stats
FIU
Lib
FG%
.400
.420
3FG%
.368
.364
FT%
.821
.733
RB
38
31
TO
15
21
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
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