No, 5 seed Liberty (18-13) saw its run in the CUSA Women’s Basketball Tournament come to an end in the Semifinals on Friday evening, falling 61-48, to top-seeded Louisiana Tech (26-5). The Lady Techsters extend their winning streak to 19 straight and will play in Saturday’s title game.
“When you are on the big stage here in the conference tournament play, experience is a big deal,” said Liberty head coach Alexis Sherard. “It’s a big advantage. I think tonight LA Tech had that experience over us. During the w hole course of 40 minutes it showed.”
The Lady Flames got off to a strong start, scoring 11 straight after initially trailing, 2-0. Liberty was very intentional of getting Emmy Stout involved early as she scored the team’s first five points and seven in the first quarter as the Lady Flames finished the first period with a 17-10 lead despite being held scoreless for the final two minutes of the period. She would score 11 points in the first half while Ify Nwaobi had 7 points and 6 rebounds, helping Liberty maintain the lead throughout the first 20 minutes, entering the locker room with a 31-25 lead.
After halftime, Louisiana Tech dialed up its defensive pressure significantly. They did not allow Liberty to simply walk the ball up the floor but put the pressure on the Lady Flames’ in the backcourt. It greatly impacted Liberty’s offensive rhythm and flow. The Flames went nearly 10 minutes between made field goals, missing 11 straight and its first nine of the second half. The drought ended on an Avery Mills three-pointer at the top of the key with just over two minutes remaining in the third period. It helped Liberty maintain its lead, entering the final period still maintaining that edge though it had been cut to one at 39-38.
It was more of the same in the final period. Liberty was just 4 of 16 from the field over the final 10 minutes. The Lady Techsters scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to take its first lead since it was 2-0. The run pushed its advantage to seven at 46-39 with 6:55 left to play. Liberty showed some brief signs of life when Stout made a couple buckets and Mills made a three pointer. That 7-2 spurt cut the deficit to two. But, it was all Louisiana Tech down the stretch as they scored the next 11 points and closed the game on a 13-2 run.
“That fourth quarter, it may have been fatigue,” said Sherard. “Our shots weren’t dropping. Instead of taking rhythm shots, they forced us into a couple of rushed shots. That experience is a big advantage. Our ladies persevered. They played hard. They never gave up. I’m really excited for what the future has for this group.”
Louisiana Tech won the matchup of CUSA’s two hottest teams. Liberty only trailed LA Tech’s win streak in the league, having won four in a row and nine out of its last 11 games. The two teams also recorded the tournament’s largest margins of victory thus far after Liberty defeated Sam Houston by 32 and the Lady Techsters won by 29 over Delaware, both in the quarterfinal round.
Emmy Stout led the Lady Flames in scoring with 16 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Avery Mills added 9 points on 3 of 10 shooting and 3 of 8 from three to go along with her 6 assists. Ify Nwaobi added 9 points and 9 rebounds while Elisabeth Aegisdottir had 4 points and 10 rebounds.
Liberty shot 37.3% from the field for the game, 4 of 17 (23.5%) from three, and 6 of 12 from the free throw line. The Flames were just 6 of 27 (22.2%) from the field in the second half. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech shot 42.5% from the field, 5 of 16 (31.3%) from three, and 22 of 29 (75.9%) from the free throw line.
The season comes to end for the Lady Flames under first year head coach Alexis Sherard. This year’s Liberty team was a young squad after last year’s championship team lost so much production to graduation and the transfer portal. Of the six players who played the majority of the game, all of them have remaining eligibility.
“This year, with this loss, hopefully it just fuels our ladies, fuels their fire and gives them a lot of incentive,” Sherard stated. “We should be very optimistic for the future because we will be back here for sure.”
