Conference domination
Lady Flames keep rolling in Big South play
The Lady Flames basketball team pulled out another impressive conference victory Tuesday, Dec. 13 as it defeated neighboring rival Longwood, 70-48.
DRIVE — Freshman Candice Leatherwood attacks the hoop against Longwood. Photo credit: Courtney Russo
The Lady Flames came into the contest at 10-5, having won four in a row and five in a row at home. Tuesday night’s win contributed to Liberty’s perfect Big South Conference (BSC) record.
Although the Lancers, 2-15, have struggled this season, the focus and motivation coming into the game remained very clear, according to Lady Flames Head Coach Carey Green.
“We need to develop our team regardless of who we’re playing,” Green said. “We need to continue to develop certain areas and try to reach our goals, … to win the regular season and win the conference and be able to get into the NCAA.”
Liberty started off the game a little slow, struggling to rebound and allowing Longwood to score nine points off turnovers.
However, with some help from the three-point line, the Lady Flames ended the first half with a 39-23 lead.
DIMES — Sadalia Ellis dished out seven assists against Longwood. Photo credit: Courtney Russo
The Lady Flames made 11 three-pointers in their dominant performance, a season high and Vines Center record, according to libertyflames.com. Simone Brown, Karly Buer, Mickayla Sanders and Jaymee Fisher-Davis were all in on the three-point action.
“I just try to go into every game (telling myself), ‘Jaymee, when you get an open shot, you have to shoot it,’” Fisher-Davis said. “I’m getting more confident shooting. I wasn’t as confident in the beginning of the year.”
Liberty’s depth is a crucial element to their success this season. The “next man up” mentality can be seen as the Lady Flames continue to see success from their starters and bench alike.
“We’ve been very blessed with having depth and certainly tonight you saw it firsthand,” Green said. “We have a good, deep team that can really have an impact if they’re playing and clicking.”
In Tuesday’s victory, the bench put up 46 of their 70 total points, more than half of their offense. Four different Lady Flames were able to score double digits.
“We’re very fortunate that we have several bullets in the gun at each position,” Green said. “It was great to have a lot of energy coming from the bench and their contributions tonight and gaining some confidence as we move on.”
Defense has been key for this year’s squad. The Lady Flames have the No.1 defense in the BSC, consistently holding their opponent to 50 points or below. Working on defense is a task emphasized regularly in practice.
“In practice, we focus on (defense) a lot,” redshirt junior Catherine Kearney said. “Going at each other a lot and just really trying to push each other has helped us in games so much.”
With another conference win under their belt, the Lady Flames hope to continue to improve and build an even stronger team.
“We need to have confidence,” Green said. “We need to secure our play, especially on the offensive end.”
The Lady Flames continued to roll through conference play with a 86-51 road win over Charleston Southern Jan. 17, in which the Flames tallied a season high in points. Winthrop will host the Lady Flames Jan. 20 in another Big South clash.
CARTER is a sports reporter.