Liberty’s (2-0) first road contest of the 2026-27 season turned into a win at East Carolina (1-1) on Saturday evening in Greenville, North Carolina. The Lady Flames picked up the win in dominating fashion, 82-49.
The game was tied at 16 in the early moments of the second period before Liberty scored 8 in a row. The run would extend to 17-2 allowing the visitors to take control of the game, leading 33-18 at halftime. The Flames would make sure the run would not be for naught, scoring a season high 24 points in the third quarter as the lead swelled to 57-31 entering the final 10 minutes. Liberty topped that mark with 25 points in the final period, to put on the finishing touches to the win.
The Lady Flames utilized a very balanced attack. Head coach Alexis Sherard sent 13 different players into the game with 11 of them reaching the scoring column. Freshman Trinity Holsinger had a breakout game, pacing the visitors with 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting from three. Ify Nwaobi scored 12 points to go along with her team-high 8 rebounds.
Claudia Acin scored 9 points with 4 assists while Emmy Stout had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Sophia Gregory had 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Lynn Peters added 8 points and 3 rebounds.
Liberty shot 46% from the field and 41% (9/22) from three. Liberty out-rebounded the Pirates, 38-26 and held a 10-5 advantage in second chance points. The Flames dominated off the bench with 45 points from its reserves compared to just 6 by the Pirates’ reserves. The Lady Flames also got to the free throw line frequently, converting 23 of their 29 trips.
Exactly one year ago today, Liberty recorded a 69-53 win over the Pirates. Saturday’s win in North Carolina is the first in program history on the road against an American Conference opponent. Liberty improves to 3-6 all-time against American Conference opponents. All three of the Lady Flames’ victories over American opponents have come against East Carolina – 81-66 on Dec. 3, 2019 in addition to the victory a year ago. All six of Liberty’s setbacks to American foes have come by eight points or fewer.
Liberty’s only previous visit to East Carolina, on Dec. 13, 2018, was a thriller despite coming in a Liberty loss. The Pirates’ Justice Gee knocked down a long three-pointer as the final buzzer sounded, giving ECU a 66-63 victory in front of a facility women’s basketball record crowd of 6,276.
East Carolina was voted to finish seventh of 13 squads in the preseason American Conference poll despite earning the No. 2 seed with a 14-4 conference record a year ago. The Pirates drop their first game of the season after opening the new year with a 61-45 win over Charleston Southern on Tuesday.
The Flames continue their trip in North Carolina on Wednesday, playing at No. 25 NC State. Tip-off from Raleigh against the Wolfpack is scheduled for 7 p.m.
