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Sunday, February 1
Lynchburg, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
10-10,4-5CUSA
60
vs
52
Missouri State
13-8,5-3CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Missouri St.
8
11
14
19
52
Liberty
15
14
16
15
60
Ify Nwaobi (11 points, game-high 10 rebounds) posted her second career double-double on Sunday.
Liberty Withstands Missouri State for 60-52 Victory
2/1/2026 5:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – During the first-ever meeting between a pair of longtime mid-major women's basketball powers, Missouri State made a pair of major comeback attempts, Sunday afternoon at Liberty. However, the Lady Flames were able to close out a 60-52 victory on Alumni Day at Liberty Arena.
Liberty halted an uncharacteristic four-game home losing streak to even its overall record at 10-10 and improve to 4-5 at the halfway mark of CUSA play. The Lady Flames never trailed, aided significantly by a 40-26 rebounding advantage and a 23-0 edge in bench points.
Missouri State falls to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in its inaugural season of CUSA competition. The Lady Bears got a game-high 24 points from Kaemyn Bekemeier but shot just 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the floor and 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point range as a team.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Claudia Acin – 13 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5-5 FG; Ify Nwaobi – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks; Avery Mills – 10 points, 3 steals, 2-2 3FG; Emmy Stout – 7 points, 8 rebounds.
Missouri State Individuals: Bekemeier – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3-7 3FG, 9-9 FT; Lainie Douglas – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Faith Lee – 10 points, 5-8 FG.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (45.1 percent, 23-of-51) and three-point range (53.8 percent, 7-of-13) but struggled from the charity stripe (46.7 percent, 7-of-15). Missouri State scored 15 points off the Lady Flames' 17 turnovers and had the edge in points in the paint (24-20). Liberty converted its 12 offensive boards into 10 second-chance points.
Turning Point
Liberty led 29-12 following Acin's three-pointer 3:11 before halftime.
Missouri State then tallied the first half's final seven points and opened the second half with a 12-6 surge. Bekemeier single-handedly outscored Liberty 10-6 during that span, pulling her team within four (35-31) midway through the third quarter.
The Lady Flames outscored the visitors 21-6 over the next 10 minutes, aided by two Elisabeth Aegisdottir triples and two Lydie Mwamba trifectas. Acin split a pair of free throws with just 5:21 remaining in the game, giving Liberty a seemingly insurmountable 56-37 edge.
Bekemeier tallied her final seven points of the afternoon during a 13-0 Lady Bears burst which took less than three minutes. Her two foul shots made it a two-possession game (58-52) with 1:22 left.
Stout then made some key plays to stem the tide, sinking a free throw, grabbing a key offensive rebound and blocking Missouri State's final three-point attempt in the closing seconds.
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will head to Jacksonville State (11-10, 5-4 CUSA) on Thursday for their only regular-season meeting with the Gamecocks. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum, and the game 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 halted an uncharacteristic four-game home losing streak to even its overall record at 10-10 and improve to 4-5 at the halfway mark of CUSA play. The Lady Flames never trailed, aided significantly by a 40-26 rebounding advantage and a 23-0 edge in bench points.
Missouri State falls to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in its inaugural season of CUSA competition. The Lady Bears got a game-high 24 points from Kaemyn Bekemeier but shot just 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the floor and 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point range as a team.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Claudia Acin – 13 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5-5 FG; Ify Nwaobi – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks; Avery Mills – 10 points, 3 steals, 2-2 3FG; Emmy Stout – 7 points, 8 rebounds.
Missouri State Individuals: Bekemeier – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3-7 3FG, 9-9 FT; Lainie Douglas – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Faith Lee – 10 points, 5-8 FG.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (45.1 percent, 23-of-51) and three-point range (53.8 percent, 7-of-13) but struggled from the charity stripe (46.7 percent, 7-of-15). Missouri State scored 15 points off the Lady Flames' 17 turnovers and had the edge in points in the paint (24-20). Liberty converted its 12 offensive boards into 10 second-chance points.
Turning Point
Liberty led 29-12 following Acin's three-pointer 3:11 before halftime.
Missouri State then tallied the first half's final seven points and opened the second half with a 12-6 surge. Bekemeier single-handedly outscored Liberty 10-6 during that span, pulling her team within four (35-31) midway through the third quarter.
The Lady Flames outscored the visitors 21-6 over the next 10 minutes, aided by two Elisabeth Aegisdottir triples and two Lydie Mwamba trifectas. Acin split a pair of free throws with just 5:21 remaining in the game, giving Liberty a seemingly insurmountable 56-37 edge.
Bekemeier tallied her final seven points of the afternoon during a 13-0 Lady Bears burst which took less than three minutes. Her two foul shots made it a two-possession game (58-52) with 1:22 left.
Stout then made some key plays to stem the tide, sinking a free throw, grabbing a key offensive rebound and blocking Missouri State's final three-point attempt in the closing seconds.
Notes and Nuggets
- Acin paced the Lady Flames with 13 points on just five field goal attempts, becoming the ninth different player to lead the team in scoring this season. She also matched her season high of four rebounds.
- In just her second game back from injury, Nwaobi recorded her second career double-double (11 points, game-high 10 rebounds) and equaled her career high of three blocked shots.
- Mills (10 points) reached double figures for the 10th game in a row and came up with a career-high three steals. Her two triples give the sophomore 102 for her career, moving her into a 14th-place tie with Jordan Hodges and Mickayla Sanders in program history.
- Aegisdottir shot 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, hitting multiple three-pointers for the fifth game in a row.
- The Lady Flames won for the first time in four CUSA home games this season, improving to 40-6 all-time in conference contests at Liberty Arena.
- Liberty is now 22-2 in its last 24 February tilts.
- The Lady Flames' 23 bench points were their most in a conference game this season.
- Liberty held Missouri State (52 points) well below its season scoring average of 66.6 ppg and to its third-lowest point total this year.
The Lady Flames will head to Jacksonville State (11-10, 5-4 CUSA) on Thursday for their only regular-season meeting with the Gamecocks. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Pete Mathews Coliseum, and the game 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
MOST
Lib
FG%
.327
.451
3FG%
.200
.538
FT%
.750
.467
RB
26
40
TO
12
17
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballCoach Sherard Talks About The Win Over Missouri State
Monday, February 02
Elisabeth Aegisdottir & Avery Mills Talk About The Win Over Missouri State
Monday, February 02
Liberty Women's Basketball Show with Alexis Sherard and Maleah Alexander (1-21-26)
Thursday, January 22
The Sherard Family: On the Court and on the Track
Wednesday, January 21