Liberty saw its dream of a Conference USA Championship and NCAA Tournament Appearance come to an end on Saturday night in Huntsville, Alabama in the CUSA Title Game against No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee, 67-51.
The No. 2 seed in the conference tournament this week, the Lady Flames advanced to the championship game following wins over No. 7 Western Kentucky, 62-59, and No. 6 New Mexico State, 82-70. However, the success would end at the hands of the Blue Raiders who repeat as CUSA Champions. Middle Tennessee improves to 29-4 on the season after a perfect 16-0 record in conference play while Liberty falls to 18-16 overall and were 11-5 in the CUSA.
Seeking their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Flames muddied things up against the undefeated in the CUSA Blue Raiders, holding a one point lead at 10-9 early in the second quarter. MTSU would go on a 17-3 run to take control of the game, leading 26-13. A three-pointer by CUSA Freshman of the Year Asia Boone cut into the deficit, having Liberty trail, 29-17 at the break.
To say Liberty struggled on the offensive end in the first half would be putting it mildly. The Lady Flames shot 6 of 32 from the field (19%) and 2 of 13 from three (15%) in the opening 20 minutes.
Liberty would attempt to cut into the deficit on multiple occasions in the second half. The Flames cut the deficit to as few as 7 but could not get any closer. Middle Tennessee used an 11-0 spurt to push the lead to 19 with about 2 minutes left to play to put the final dagger in the Flames.
Liberty would finish the game shooting 33% from the field and 23% from three. It’s difficult to win many games shooting at that rate much less against a team the quality of the Blue Raiders.
Bella Smuda did her part, finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Asia Boone, who was leading the league with 18.5 points per game during the CUSA Tournament entering Saturday, added 11 points while Emma Hess chipped in 10.
Liberty head coach Carey Green falls to 58-10 all-time in conference tournament games, including a 14-6 mark in title contests.
The win marks Middle Tennessee’s 18th consecutive. After starting the season 6-13, Liberty was 12-3 in its final 15 games of the season with all three losses coming at the hands of the Blue Raiders.
The Flames advanced to the championship game of their conference tournament for the second straight year and 24th time in the last 28 seasons. Liberty is now 17-6 all-time in conference tournament championship games, having dropped four straight.
