The Liberty Women’s Basketball team stole some hearts at Liberty Arena as they secured their second win of the week Feb. 14 with a 67-42 victory against New Mexico State.
New Mexico started the game with momentum as they scored twice in the first few minutes of the opening quarter to put up a four-point lead against the Lady Flames.
Freshman guard Emma Leon halted the Lady Aggies’ run and put two on the board for Liberty. The Lady Flames continued to take over the score with two more buckets, one coming from junior forward Elisabeth Aegisdottir and another from sophomore center Emmy Stout.
Junior guard Claudia Acin extended the Lady Flames lead with a scoring streak of three, sinking in two 2-point field goals and a 3-pointer to establish distance between Liberty and New Mexico.
Senior guard Lydie Mwamba earned another two points, extending Liberty’s lead to 15-4.
“I think we played really good from the start. I know they started 4-0 for them but after that we just locked in on our defense. New Mexico is always a hard team to play,” Acin said.
The Lady Aggies sunk a free throw against the Lady Flames, but Acin scored a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to close out the first quarter, with Liberty leading 18-5.
Redshirt freshman forward Ify Nwaobi began the second quarter with several layups, putting up more points for the Lady Flames.
New Mexico snuck past Liberty’s defense with a layup from junior guard Imani Warren. Leon opened up another opportunity for the Lady Flames and freshman center Lynn Peters with a pass to Aegisdottir who handed it back off to Peters.
As the clock ticked down, Liberty snagged the final bucket of the quarter. The Lady Flames took the lead into halftime with a score of 36-15.
“For us, it’s about consistency and we were definitely talking about that throughout the timeouts. We really didn’t want to look at the scoreboard, we just really wanted to emphasize and focus on our intensity and our defensive assignment,” Head Coach Alexis Sherard said.
Liberty returned from halftime with increased intensity. They started the third quarter by blocking an offensive rebound from New Mexico. The Lady Aggies offense attempted to find an opening, but the Lady Flames defense immediately closed it while capitalizing offensively. Mwamba put up multiple 3-pointers while Peters provided the layups.
“We’ve been really focusing on our defense, getting our energy from our defense, so when we started getting those stops, it gives us so much energy,” Acin said. “The bench is locked in and cheering for each other and then it just feels like the offense comes easily.”
Redshirt freshman guard Maleah Alexander took the ball down the court for a last-second attempt at a basket but had to be aided off after being injured on the floor.
“This is a very close-knit family,” Sherard said. “They enjoy one another’s company, and I think that carries over onto the court. And I think when you have close chemistry and great culture, which we’re very conscious of for our team, that carries onto the floor.”
Liberty kept the lead going into the final frame with a 25-point cushion, with the score standing 51-26. The Lady Flames kept the pressure up as they entered the fourth quarter. With less than four minutes left on the clock, Liberty led New Mexico 61-30.
“I’m just overly pleased,” Sherard said. “I thought our girls were very locked in, locked into the game plan and came out with a big win today.”
Liberty continued to hold strong and closed out the game with a final score of 67-42.
The Lady Flames will go to Springfield, Missouri to play against Missouri State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Stewart is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.