When you spend the majority of your life doing something that you love, it can be very emotional to see that journey come to an end.
The Lady Flames women’s basketball team, while emotional, celebrated senior day with a victory over Queens 77-60 in Liberty Arena.
Before tipoff, the team recognized the astounding careers of its five seniors: Mya Berkman, Dee Brown, Audrey Clark, Alise Markova and Kennedi Williams. When it came time to take the court, things got off to a great start with Brown scoring a layup less than five seconds into the game. Brown finished the game with a career-high 19 points that led all Flames scorers.
While the numbers certainly speak to excellence, Head Coach Carey Green feels it’s the team’s fight and the bond they share that brings them together.
“They’re a special group,” Green said. “Their motto is one heartbeat, and when they really come together, they’re an exciting team.”
Williams echoed this statement, praising her team for its dedication to the game and to each other.
“(This team is) beyond measure,” Williams said. “You know, if you’re with us behind closed doors, it’s always going to be laughs and giggles and good times, but then when you step on the court together, it translates in all the right ways.”
Green described his team as fast-paced and said that’s not always a bad thing.
“I would say probably 80% of our offense shot the ball within 15 seconds, and that means your offense is really good or you’re a little bit impatient, and we think it’s really good,” Green said.
The Flames finished the game with 23 assists — something that Green said points to the team’s unselfishness.
“It’s a great team play tonight … It was really sharing the ball. … Audrey Clark had a drive-in, two-on-one fast break. … (It would have) been easy for someone like her trying to get some points to shoot it, and she was very unselfish just showing you the character of this team.”
Clark, who had her family come out onto the court for her senior-day ceremony, said this Flames team feels like family to her.
“I think it’s really cool that here, I just basically got a whole new big family, and we just compete and go hard after each other every day,” Clark said.
Although the Flames must look ahead to the task at hand, Green said he wanted to take a moment and really enjoy the outcome of this game.
“It’s always fun to win and especially on an emotional day, celebrating five seniors that have given us a lot and see them go out on their senior day as winners,” Green said.
The victory brought the Lady Flames to a strong 19-7 and 13-2 in ASUN play. The team will return to Liberty Arena Feb. 23, hosting the Bellarmine Knights at 7 p.m.
Hughes is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter