Liberty Tops Queens on Senior Night, 77-60
2/18/2023 10:35:31 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Carey Green Press Conference
Kennedi Williams and Audrey Clark Press Conference
Two of the five players honored during the pregame Senior Night ceremony, Liberty’s Dee Brown (career-high 19 points) and Mya Berkman (16 points, game-high 11 rebounds) led the way to a 77-60 victory over Queens, Saturday evening at Liberty Arena.
Liberty, which never trailed during its second win against Queens in three days, improves to 19-7 overall and 13-2 in ASUN play with its 11th consecutive triumph. The Lady Flames dished out a season-high 23 assists and committed a season-low eight turnovers while clinching a home game in the ASUN Championship quarterfinal round.
ASUN newcomer Queens falls to 8-18 overall and 3-12 in conference action with its fifth consecutive setback despite a game-high 20 points from Kasey Kidwell. The Royals yielded 46 points in the paint.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brown – 19 points, 8-8 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals; Berkman – 16 points, 4-5 FT, 11 rebounds; Bella Smuda – 14 points, 4 rebounds; Emma Hess – 12 points; Alise Markova – 7 points, 8 rebounds; 4 assists; Kennedi Williams – 7 assists.
Queens Individuals: Kidwell – 20 points, 6-6 FT; Adia Brisker – 17 points, 6 rebounds; Amari Davis – 6 points, 5 rebounds.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 46 percent (29-of-63) from the field despite shooting just 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from three-point range. Queens finished at 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the floor. Both teams fared well at the foul line, with the Lady Flames shooting 88.9 percent (16-of-18) and Queens checking in at 75 percent (15-of-20). Liberty won the rebounding battle, 45-38, with 13 offensive boards leading to 19 second-chance points. The Lady Flames recorded all five of the game’s blocked shots, matching their season average.
Turning Point
Late in a foul-filled third quarter, Liberty led by only six points (49-43).
Smuda then gave the Lady Flames a spark off the bench, single-handedly going on an 8-0 run to close out the stanza.
Now owning a 14-point cushion (57-43), Liberty kept its lead in double figures throughout the final period.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty raced out to a 10-3 lead to open the game with Queens missing eight of its first nine shot attempts.
- The visiting Royals then made six consecutive field goal attempts to close out the quarter, trimming their deficit to 20-17. Kasey Kidwell tallied eight first-quarter points for Queens.
Second Quarter
- Back-to-back triples by Emma Hess and Alise Markova kick-started an 11-3 Liberty run to end the half, sending the Lady Flames to the intermission with a 38-27 advantage.
- Queens misfired on 14 of its final 15 field goal tries to close out the period, enabling the Lady Flames to open up some breathing room.
Third Quarter
- Queens cut into Liberty’s lead by getting to the free throw line early and often in the third quarter, making 12-of-15. Amari Davis’ driving layup at the 3:58 mark had the Royals within six (49-43).
- As mentioned previously, Smuda then tallied the period’s final eight points by herself, enabling the Lady Flames to push the advantage back to 14 (57-43).
Fourth Quarter
- Brisker tallied 10 fourth-quarter points as the visitors attempted a comeback.
- But Berkman and Brown refused to lose on Senior Night, combining for 13 points of their own and enabling Liberty to wrap up a sweep of this week’s home-and-home series.
Notes and Nuggets
- Brown’s team-high 19 points eclipsed her previous career high of 17 and put her into double figures for the fourth time in the last five games. Her six boards made her one of two Lady Flames (also Smuda) to go over the 400-rebound mark on Saturday.
- Berkman’s double-double was her fourth in the last five outings, her ninth of the season and the 16th of her career. She now ranks 10th in Liberty’s Division I era for most career double-doubles.
- In addition to scoring 14 points (just one off her season high), Smuda blocked her 98th career shot. She needs two more rejections to become the eighth Lady Flame with 100+ career blocks.
- With 12 points, Hess reached double figures for the first time since her career-high 28-point outburst at Lipscomb on Jan. 28. She has recorded 10 double-digit games for her career, eight of which have come this season.
- Markova grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and tied her career high of four assists.
- Williams, who entered the day ranked No. 4 nationally for assist-to-turnover ratio, did nothing to harm that number with seven assists and zero turnovers in 28 minutes played. She has recorded 53 assists and eight turnovers during the Lady Flames’ 11-game winning streak.
- This was Liberty’s 10th straight home win, as the Lady Flames improved to 38-3 all-time at Liberty Arena.
- The Lady Flames improved to 10-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more.
- Liberty’s Senior Night honorees included Berkman, Brown, Markova, Williams, Audrey Clark and manager Emma Farrar. The Lady Flames were victorious on Senior Night for the seventh consecutive season.
Up Next
The Lady Flames will continue their three-game homestand on Thursday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Bellarmine (8-19, 4-10 ASUN). It will be the first of two meetings with the Knights within the final seven days of the regular season.
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