On Saturday evening, Liberty was edged out in a close battle against the Delaware Blue Hens with a score of 76-69. This loss moves the Flames to 8-8 overall and now 2-3 in Conference USA. This win for Delaware marks its first-ever victory in Conference USA. Liberty has now lost three straight CUSA games for the first time since joining the league.
Delaware controlled the early flow of the game, building a lead that reached double digits in the first quarter as Liberty struggled to find rhythm offensively. The Lady Flames responded in the second quarter by tightening up defensively and attacking the paint, slowly cutting into the deficit and keeping the game within reach at halftime. Coming out of the break, the pace picked up in the third quarter with both teams trading baskets, as Liberty continued to chip away behind strong play from Emmy Stout and Avery Mills, while Delaware stayed efficient and set the tone for a big second half.
The fourth quarter featured the game’s turning point, as Liberty surged ahead twice in the final five minutes, highlighted by a 10–2 run capped by a Mills jumper that gave the Lady Flames a 58–57 lead with 3:48 remaining. Delaware answered immediately with back-to-back three-pointers from Kailah Correa and Ella Wanzer, then closed the game at the free throw line by hitting 13-of-16 attempts in the final 75 seconds, securing the 76–69 win.
Liberty had a few high-volume performances, like Emmy Stout, who tallied an impressive 21 points and 7 rebounds. This is her first time in her career with back-to-back 20-point games. Jakayla Thompson and Avery Mills were also big contributors, with both having 17-point showings. Thompson also had a career best 4 steals, and Mills had her 6th straight game in double figures. The veteran Aegisdottir was efficient in the loss as well, shooting 2-5 from three.
One of the main reasons LU lost this game is the poor shooting in all areas, the Flames 39.7% from the field, and had an especially low three-point performance, shooting under 25 percent with a 5-22 stat line. They were only able to hit on 66 percent of their free throws. A big thorn for LU was the zero points gained from the bench. Liberty has always had strong depth throughout the seasons, but this season has been a letdown in terms of bench scoring in some games, and it needs to be better. For the rest of the stats, Liberty was able to keep it close, even winning some of the stat lines like points in the paint and having fewer turnovers.
Liberty will now turn its attention to the next game as it stays on the road to take on Western Kentucky, a matchup that feels important at this point in the season. After dropping three straight conference games, this is a chance for the Lady Flames to respond and get some momentum back before CUSA play really tightens up. Western Kentucky has had its struggles, but road games are never easy, and Liberty will need a more complete performance to come away with a win. Cleaning up the shooting, especially from three and the free-throw line, will be a big focus, along with getting more production from the bench.
Even with the recent losses, Liberty’s season is far from over. Sitting around .500, the Lady Flames are still right in the mix in Conference USA and have shown they can compete with anyone on the schedule. The team has the pieces, with multiple players capable of stepping up on any night, but consistency will be the key moving forward. If Liberty can start closing games better and get back to playing to its strengths, this stretch can still be turned into a positive as the season heads toward the second half and postseason play.
