No. 23 FGCU Tops Liberty in Back-and-Forth Battle for 1st Place

Head Coach Carey Green Press Conference

Alyssa Iverson Press Conference

Bridgette Rettstatt Press Conference

The ASUN Conference’s top two teams battled back and forth before a Liberty Arena women’s basketball-record crowd of 1,631, Thursday evening. In the end, the duo of Kierstan Bell (23 points) and Tishara Morehouse (20 points) helped No. 23 FGCU pull out a 69-61 victory.

Liberty falls to 25-3 overall and 13-2 in the ASUN, with the two conference losses coming at the hands of the Eagles by a combined 12 points. The Lady Flames shot just 3-of-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and committed 17 turnovers for the game. As a result, they saw several winning streaks halted, including a 10-game overall streak, an 11-game home winning streak, and a 20-game home winning streak versus ASUN foes.

Held mostly in check for the first 30 minutes, FGCU (25-2, 14-1 ASUN) exploded for a 26-point fourth quarter with Bell and Morehouse combining for 17 of those points. The Eagles improve to 10-0 with their nation-leading 30^th consecutive road win. The first visiting ASUN team ever to win at Liberty Arena (in 16 tries), FGCU clinches the No. 1 seed in the East Division for the upcoming ASUN Women’s Basketball Championship.

Box Score Highlights

Liberty Individuals: Bridgette Rettstatt – 15 points, 13 rebounds; Alyssa Iverson – 13 points, 3 assists; Mya Berkman – 10 points, 7 rebounds.

FGCU Individuals: Bell – 23 points, 4-11 3FG, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals; Morehouse – 20 points, 6 assists, 3 steals; Emma List – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Karli Seay – 8 points, 5 rebounds; 3 assists.

Key Team Stats: Both teams got to the foul line rather often, with FGCU shooting 74.1 percent (20-of-27) and Liberty finishing at 57.7 percent (15-of-26). The Eagles made nine three-pointers to Liberty’s four. The Lady Flames won the rebounding battle (42-28) and scored 20 bench points to FGCU’s nine. The Eagles blocked seven Liberty shot attempts on the night.

Turning Point

Alyssa Iverson split a pair of free throws with 2:46 to play, knotting up the game at 58-58.

FGCU then seized control with an 8-0 run. Morehouse shot five-of-six at the foul line during the pivotal surge, and Bell knocked down a back-breaking three-pointer from the left wing that doubled the visitors’ lead from three to six (64-58) with 1:03 remaining.

Game Summary

First Quarter

• FGCU jumped out to a 15-6 lead, aided by two triples and four early Liberty turnovers.
• The Lady Flames’ Priscilla Smeenge and Alyssa Iverson responded with back-to-back triples, sparking a 10-3 Liberty run to end the quarter. FGCU was on top 18-16 after 10 minutes of play.

Second Quarter

• Liberty held FGCU scoreless for the first 6:34 of the second quarter, scoring the period’s first 10 points to build a 26-18 advantage.
• The Lady Flames did not make a field goal for the remainder of the opening half. During that time, the Eagles posted a 12-2 run. Tishara Morehouse beat the halftime buzzer with a layup that sent the visitors to the intermission on top, 30-28.

Third Quarter

• Kierstan Bell scored seven points over the third quarter’s first six minutes, including a layup which extended the Eagles’ cushion to 42-34.
• The Lady Flames used a 7-1 period-ending surge to close the gap to 43-41 heading to the final stanza.

Fourth Quarter

• Limited to three points on 1-of-7 from the field during the first three periods, Bridgette Rettstatt exploded for a dozen fourth-quarter points for the Lady Flames.
• However, the Lady Flames did not get enough defensive stops to get over the hump. FGCU posted 26 fourth-quarter points on 60 percent (6-of-10) from the field, 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the foul line.

Notes and Nuggets

• Reigning ASUN Player of the Week Rettstatt notched her fourth double-double of the season, the 12^th of her career and the third she has recorded against FGCU all-time. Her 13 rebounds equaled both her season high and the Liberty Arena record she co-holds with teammate Berkman.
• During the game, Rettstatt leapfrogged Kristal Tharp and Sharon Snodgrass on Liberty’s career scoring list, moving into 11^th place with 1,174 points. She also passed Devon Brown on the rebounding chart and now ranks No. 9 with 807 boards.
• Iverson’s 13 points off the bench marked her second-highest scoring output of the season.
• One day before her 22^nd birthday, Berkman scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and became the 17^th Lady Flame ever to pull down 600 career rebounds.
• Thursday marked the Lady Flames’ 36^th straight loss to a Top 25 opponent since their win over No. 16 DePaul on March 22, 2005.
• Liberty finishes the regular season with a 14-2 home record and is now 26-2 in two seasons at Liberty Arena.

Up Next

Liberty will travel to Georgia for its regular-season finale on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center for the Lady Flames’ clash with Kennesaw State (9-17, 5-10 ASUN). Liberty will attempt to complete a season sweep of the Owls after posting a 68-58 home win on Jan. 8.

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