The Liberty Lady Flames earned a split last week to conclude the regular season at 16-15 overall and 11-5 in CUSA play. Liberty did see its five game win streak come to an end with a loss to unbeaten Middle Tennessee, but bounced back with a win at Western Kentucky in the regular season finale.

The Flames win the tiebreaker with FIU for the No. 2 seed in this week’s CUSA Tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. Here’s a recap from the last week as well as a look at this week’s tournament schedule:

L, 67-52 vs Middle Tennessee, Mar. 6

CUSA-leading Middle Tennessee took control during the second quarter of Liberty’s 2023-24 home finale and held off the Lady Flames the rest of the way for a 67-52 decision, Wednesday at Liberty Arena.

The Lady Flames got a big game from Bella Smuda (17 points, game-high 14 rebounds), but Middle Tennessee converted its 13 turnovers into 21 points and turned 16 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points.

Middle Tennessee completes a season sweep of the Lady Flames, moving to 25-4 overall and 15-0 in CUSA with its 15th consecutive win. Savannah Wheeler led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Lady Raiders became just the third visiting conference team (in 33 games) ever to win at Liberty Arena.

W, 84-77 @ Western Kentucky, Mar. 9

Trailing host Western Kentucky by as many as 11 points during the second half of Saturday afternoon’s regular-season finale, Liberty used red-hot shooting to fuel a comeback. The Lady Flames hit 84.6 percent (11-of-13) of their fourth-quarter field goal attempts, leading to an 84-77 come-from-behind victory at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Lady Flames, who shot a season-high 60.4 percent (32-of-53) for the game and knocked down 10 triples, were led by a talented trio of juniors. Emma Hess hit four triples as part of a game-high 22-point performance and was followed closely by Bella Smuda (21 points, 9 rebounds, 10-11 FG) and Jordan Hodges (19 points, 8 assists).

WKU falls to 15-16 overall and 6-10 in CUSA play with its sixth consecutive setback. The Lady Toppers put four players into double figures and scored 22 points off Liberty’s 17 turnovers. However, WKU was outrebounded 21-6 during the Lady Flames’ 54-point second half.

Liberty gained a measure of revenge against the Lady Toppers, after WKU had rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the Lady Flames by a 68-66 count, spoiling Liberty’s first-ever CUSA tilt on Jan. 6.

The two teams will meet again in four days, with their CUSA Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal clash set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.

Upcoming schedule

CUSA Tournament

3/13: #2 Liberty vs #7 Western Kentucky, 3pm, ESPN+

The No. 2 seed Lady Flames will begin their inaugural CUSA Women’s Basketball Championship appearance on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern with a quarterfinal clash against No. 7 seed Western Kentucky. The game will be televised on ESPN+.

The winner of that game will meet the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 3 seed FIU and No. 6 seed New Mexico State in the semifinals, Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern., live on ESPN+. The championship game is slated for Saturday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern and will air on CBS Sports Network. All tournament games will take place at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.

CUSA Standings

#1 Middle Tennessee…16-0
#2 Liberty…………………11-5
#3 FIU……………………….11-5
#4 LA Tech……………….7-9
#5 Jax State………………7-9
#6 New Mexico State…6-10
#7 Western Kentucky…6-10
#8 UTEP……………………..6-10
#9 Sam Houston………..2-14