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Saturday, February 7
Kennesaw, Ga.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
11-11,5-6CUSA
58
at
64
Kennesaw State
11-11,4-7CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
13
15
13
17
58
Kennesaw St.
16
13
20
15
64
Claudia Acin
Kennesaw State’s Game-Ending 9-0 Run Leads to 64-58 Win Over Liberty
2/7/2026 4:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENNESAW, Ga. – Liberty battled back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit to take a pair of leads during the final two minutes of Saturday afternoon's contest at Kennesaw State. However, the host Owls tallied the game's final nine points to pull out their first-ever victory over the Lady Flames, 64-58 inside VyStar Arena.
Liberty falls to 11-11 overall and 5-6 in CUSA action after splitting its two-game road swing. The Lady Flames lost despite stellar games from post players Emmy Stout (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Ify Nwaobi (career-high 17 points, game-high 11 rebounds, career high-equaling 3 blocks).
Kennesaw State is now 11-11 overall and 4-7 in conference play thanks to halting a three-game losing streak and moving to 1-13 all-time against the Lady Flames. Shania Nichols scored a team-high 18 points, including the game-tying triple with 57 seconds remaining. Keyarah Berry added 17, punctuated by the game-winning hoop from close range with 24 seconds to play.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 8 points, 3 rebounds; JaKayla Thompson – 6 points, 3 steals; Claudia Acin – 5 points, 4 assists.
Other Kennesaw State Individuals: TaTianna Stovall – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kailyn Fields – 7 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals; Trynce Taylor – 5 points, 9 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 44 percent (22-of-50) for the game, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from the three-point line. The Lady Flames connected on all 11 of their free throw attempts. KSU finished at 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the line. Kennesaw State became just the fifth opponent to outrebound Liberty this season, 30-27. However, the Lady Flames finished with edges in points in the paint (34-28) and second-chance points (10-6). Both teams recorded six blocked shots, with Liberty's rejection total falling one shy of its season high. The Owls enjoyed a 21-0 advantage in fast break points.
Turning Point
Liberty outscored the Owls 17-6 over the first 8:48 of the fourth quarter, taking a 58-55 lead on Nwaobi's three-pointer from the wing with just 1:12 to play.
Nichols evened the score with a triple of her own 15 seconds later.
After a Liberty turnover, Berry hit what proved to be the game-winner from close range. Her hoop made it 60-58, Kennesaw State with 24 seconds left.
Liberty then missed its final three shot attempts, and the Owls closed out the game by shooting 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Notes and Nuggets
The Lady Flames will return home on Thursday for a 5 p.m. matchup with UTEP. Liberty will look to complete a season sweep of the Miners in the contest set to 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 11-11 overall and 5-6 in CUSA action after splitting its two-game road swing. The Lady Flames lost despite stellar games from post players Emmy Stout (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Ify Nwaobi (career-high 17 points, game-high 11 rebounds, career high-equaling 3 blocks).
Kennesaw State is now 11-11 overall and 4-7 in conference play thanks to halting a three-game losing streak and moving to 1-13 all-time against the Lady Flames. Shania Nichols scored a team-high 18 points, including the game-tying triple with 57 seconds remaining. Keyarah Berry added 17, punctuated by the game-winning hoop from close range with 24 seconds to play.
Box Score Highlights
Other Liberty Individuals: Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 8 points, 3 rebounds; JaKayla Thompson – 6 points, 3 steals; Claudia Acin – 5 points, 4 assists.
Other Kennesaw State Individuals: TaTianna Stovall – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kailyn Fields – 7 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals; Trynce Taylor – 5 points, 9 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 44 percent (22-of-50) for the game, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from the three-point line. The Lady Flames connected on all 11 of their free throw attempts. KSU finished at 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the line. Kennesaw State became just the fifth opponent to outrebound Liberty this season, 30-27. However, the Lady Flames finished with edges in points in the paint (34-28) and second-chance points (10-6). Both teams recorded six blocked shots, with Liberty's rejection total falling one shy of its season high. The Owls enjoyed a 21-0 advantage in fast break points.
Turning Point
Liberty outscored the Owls 17-6 over the first 8:48 of the fourth quarter, taking a 58-55 lead on Nwaobi's three-pointer from the wing with just 1:12 to play.
Nichols evened the score with a triple of her own 15 seconds later.
After a Liberty turnover, Berry hit what proved to be the game-winner from close range. Her hoop made it 60-58, Kennesaw State with 24 seconds left.
Liberty then missed its final three shot attempts, and the Owls closed out the game by shooting 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Notes and Nuggets
- Stout (18 points) scored in double figures for the second straight game and the 17th time this year.
- Nwaobi's double-double (career-high 17 points, game-high 11 rebounds) was the third of her career. She also tied her career high of three blocked shots for the third straight contest. Nwaobi tallied 12 of her 17 points after halftime.
- Liberty' leading scorer (Avery Mills, 15.7 ppg) missed the first game of her two-year collegiate career due to injury.
- The Lady Flames' three triples were their fewest in a game this season. They entered the contest averaging 7.1 triples per contest.
- Saturday's game marked the 10th time in 14 all-time meetings between Liberty and Kennesaw State the contest has been decided by 10 points or fewer.
- Liberty is now 8-2 all-time at VyStar Arena, with the only previous loss coming to FGCU in the 2021 ASUN title game.
- The Lady Flames will now close out the regular season by playing five of their last seven games at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames will return home on Thursday for a 5 p.m. matchup with UTEP. Liberty will look to complete a season sweep of the Miners in the contest set to 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.
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Team Stats
Lib
KennSt
FG%
.440
.429
3FG%
.231
.333
FT%
1.000
.846
RB
27
30
TO
15
14
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballF
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/ Women's BasketballG
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