WBB Game Day: UTEP

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

Liberty (11-11, 5-6 CUSA) will host UTEP (10-12, 2-9 CUSA) on Thursday for the Lady Flames' annual Play4Kay game.
The Lady Flames will look to complete a season sweep of the Miners. Liberty improved to 5-0 all-time against UTEP with an 86-66 victory in El Paso on Jan. 4. The Lady Flames set season highs for points, three-pointers (12) and assists (22).
Liberty won its most recent home game, 60-52 over Missouri State on Feb. 1. The victory improved the Lady Flames' all-time conference record at Liberty Arena to 40-6.
Ify Nwaobi was named CUSA Freshman of the Week for the first time on Monday after averaging 12.0 ppg, 13.0 rpg and 3.0 bpg during Liberty's 1-1 road trip to Jax State and Kennesaw State.
Claudia Acin enjoyed one of the best games of her career at UTEP last month, setting a career high for points (20), tying her career high for steals (3) and adding a game-high seven assists.
Emmy Stout chipped in 16 points and six boards during the first meeting with UTEP. The sophomore is just nine points shy of 500 for her career.

Notes and Anecdotes

Liberty is 5-0 all-time against UTEP, with all five victories coming by 11 points or more.
The Lady Flames will attempt to complete a two-game regular-season sweep of the Miners. Liberty has gone 2-0 in CUSA play against an opponent 11 times since joining the conference, while going 0-2 just once (vs. MTSU in 2023-24).
Thursday's matchup will be the last Liberty-UTEP regular-season clash for the foreseeable future. The Miners are set to join the Mountain West Conference next season.
As the regular season winds down, both the Lady Flames and Miners are looking to secure berths in the CUSA Championship. The conference's top 10 teams will qualify, and Liberty is currently tied with Delaware for seventh place at 5-6 while UTEP sits 11th at 2-9.
The Lady Flames have won two of their last three, moving to 5-6 in CUSA play. They need to go 5-2 the rest of the way to record a 27th straight season with 10+ conference wins.
UTEP is only one victory away from matching its 2024-25 season total of 11. However, the Miners have a difficult schedule ahead with five of their final seven regular-season contests coming away from El Paso. UTEP has lost six straight road games overall and has dropped 11 consecutive CUSA road tilts dating back to last season.

Home Sweet Home

Despite owning a 1-3 record in CUSA home games this year, the Lady Flames are 40-6 all-time in conference games at Liberty Arena, including 24-1 in the ASUN and 16-5 in CUSA.
Liberty is 4-5 at home this season, pushing its all-time mark at Liberty Arena to 69-14.
The Lady Flames' 60-52 win over Missouri State on Feb. 1 snapped their first four-game home losing streak in Liberty Arena history.
Liberty will close out the regular season by playing five of its final seven contests at Liberty Arena.

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 37-14 versus CUSA foes over the last three seasons, including 32-13 in conference play, 5-1 in the CUSA Championship, 16-5 at home and 16-8 on the road.
Liberty is unbeaten against each of this week's foes, New Mexico State (6-0) and UTEP (5-0).

Bombs Away!

Liberty set program records for three-pointers made (267) and three-point field goal percentage (36.9) last season. Despite losing 75.7 percent of their triples from 2024-25, the Lady Flames have been proficient from beyond the arc once again this year.
Liberty tops CUSA and ranks No. 23 nationally for three-point field goal percentage at 36.0.
The Lady Flames hit a season-high 12 triples at a 50 percent clip at UTEP on Jan. 4.

Spreading the Wealth

Nine different Lady Flames have scored in double figures this year, and those same nine have all led the team in scoring at least once. They include Avery Mills, JaKayla Thompson, Claudia Acin, Ify Nwaobi, Emmy Stout, Elisabeth Aegisdottir, Lydie Mwamba, Emma Leon and Lynn Peters.

Schedule