[Sly Fox]

Our ladies head over to Radford Saturday coming off that blowout at Longwood. The Highlanders will be using the game as Alumni Day. You wonder how many of the alumni coming in had ever won a game against us. My guess is few if any.



Overall Record: 9-9
Big South Record: 2-4

Radford Official Site
New Raford Message Board Just Getting Started



After riding a 5-game win streak that including their first two Big South contests against CCU & CSU, the Highlanders are now on a 4-game losing skid. Here are their key players:


#3 Shavon Earp
5' 10" Junior Guard
Averaging 13.6 Pts & 4.4 Rebounds



#20 Corrie Fertitta
6' 1" Sophomore Forward
Averaging 10.3 Pts & 8.1 Rebounds



#44 Sarah Stephens
6' 1" Junior Center
Averaging 13.6 Pts & 6.4 Rebounds

[BJWilliams]

Interesting factoid about Radford vs Liberty: Radford is one of only two current BSC teams to hang a loss on a Carey Green Coached LU team...thing is they haven't beaten LU since 2000 (12 straight wins in that time span)

[TIMSCAR20]

Another interesting Factoid is that Radford and Liberty are the only schools to have multiple winning Big South seasons. Before this mighty Dynasty Liberty has put together it was Radford who had won 7 of 8 I believe. I will have to check my Big South record book when I get back home this weekend but I think I am close. Perhaps RedDog can correct me if I am wrong. Also I think there have only been 3 or 4 schools to ever win the Big South women's tournament. Last factoid is that Coach Jeri (Wiley) Porter was a standout for the Lady Flames in the early 90's and helped start the dynasty as an assistant coach under Rick Reeves. If Green ever leaves I hope she comes back to the Burg and represents Liberty.....I want to go on record and say that I am NOT CALLING FOR GREEN TO BE FIRED

[TallyW]

Way to go SCAR... now a new thread will get started...

[WinthropEagleFan]

Another interesting Factoid is that Radford and Liberty are the only schools to have multiple winning Big South seasons. Before this mighty Dynasty Liberty has put together it was Radford who had won 7 of 8 I believe. I will have to check my Big South record book when I get back home this weekend but I think I am close. Perhaps RedDog can correct me if I am wrong. Also I think there have only been 3 or 4 schools to ever win the Big South women's tournament. Last factoid is that Coach Jeri (Wiley) Porter was a standout for the Lady Flames in the early 90's and helped start the dynasty as an assistant coach under Rick Reeves. If Green ever leaves I hope she comes back to the Burg and represents Liberty.....I want to go on record and say that I am NOT CALLING FOR GREEN TO BE FIRED

Tournament Champs - Big South Women's Basketball

1987 - Radford
1988 - Radford
1989 - Campbell
1990 - Radford
1991 - Radford
1992 - Radford (Note: The first 6 tournament finals all were Radford vs. Campbell)
1993 - Radford
1994 - Radford
1995 - Radford (Note: These last 3 tournament finals all were Radford vs. UNC Greensboro)
1996 - Radford
1997 - Liberty
1998 - Liberty
1999 - Liberty
2000 - Liberty
2001 - Liberty
2002 - Liberty
2003 - Liberty
2004 - Liberty
2005 - Liberty

Not much for variety there...

[RedDog]

Radford, Campbell and Liberty are the only schools to win the Big South Tournament ... Radford won 9 championships, The first two, lost to Campbell, then won 7 straight ... Then We took over and now run the Conference winning 9 straight ...

Coach Porter from Radford played at Liberty and had a 41-inch vertical jump ... She could drive in the middle of lane and pull up and hit the softest jumper ... She could dunk a pop a shot ball ... My high school team used to play against hers so I have known her for a lot of years ... She is a very classy women and great coach ...

[beigledog]

Kind of off topic but would HP have the #1 seed in the tournament if we beat them and then they win out since they have the better overall record? How does it work for seedings?

[WinthropEagleFan]

Kind of off topic but would HP have the #1 seed in the tournament if we beat them and then they win out since they have the better overall record? How does it work for seedings?

If HPU and LU tie at 13-1 at the end of the year, a coin-toss would decide the top seed....overall record, RPI, etc. are not used.

[ATrain]

I say it should be who had the worse loss, since thats the way some high school leagues do it. For example, they beat us by 9, but if we beat them by 30, then we should have the #1 seed...

[Chris Lang]

That would be the way soccer teams in Europe determine things, two legged aggregate scores.

[BJWilliams]

I was looking at the records and noticed that Carey Green has these records against current Big South teams:

UNC Asheville: 18-0
Winthrop: 14-0 (15-0 if you count the first matchup this year)
Coastal Carolina: 15-0 (16-0 counting the first meeting this year)
Charleston Southern: 13-0
Radford: 12-1
High Point: 11-1 (11-2 factoring the first meeting this year)
Birmingham Southern: 9-0 (10-0 counting the first meeting this year)

All told, Carey Green is 92-2 against the current Big South Conference coming into this year and adding our current record that is 95-3 since he became LU's women's basketball coach in 1999

[TallyW]

Maybe we should pay him more as we upgrade the other programs. He and Tolsma deserve a raise.... I guess Tolsma just got a facility named after him so lets give Green a raise

[A.G.]

He had to have gotten his palm greased to have pulled out of the Clemson deal last year.

[Sly Fox]

Coach Green is being well paid now after turning down the aforementioned Cllemson offer. He won'tr be going anywhere anytime soon by all appearances.

[givemethemic]

Tough win 58-50....Courtney led the way with 10 points...

[absturgill]

We are very fortunate Coach Green stayed here. If you remember last year after the tourney, Clemson fought HARD to pull Green away. Coach Green is WELL taken care of I can assure you.

[krh44]

I thought I heard he was never offered the Clemson job? Anyway. Nice win against a struggling Radford team. They actually showed the game on UPN/WDRL in Lynchburg. You guys bashing the guys who did LU/VMI game. Wow the one announcer line of the night" Radford is doing everthing right except putting ball in the basket." When the game was going off the air they showed the LU & Radford girls gathering for prayer in the middle of the court. They left it on there for a while nice to see that, reminds me why I love LU sports.

[jimflamesfan]

Green WAS offered the Clemson job...and even after he said no, he was still being offered the job.

[Sly Fox]

For the record, here is Chris' recap:

LU withstands Radford rally

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
February 5, 2006

RADFORD - Courtney Watkins had just scored her third straight basket to put Liberty up by 15 points against Big South rival Radford Saturday afternoon, and it felt like old times again.
Old times meaning Liberty turning conference games into glorified exhibitions.

The problem was there were still 17 minutes left and Radford wasn't interested in just crawling into a Dedmon Center corridor and withering away.

The Highlanders made a spirited charge but lost 58-50. Even so, the Flames learned a valuable lesson about closing out games.

"Well, if we can learn that lesson without learning it in a distasteful way, like a loss, that can be good," Flames coach Carey Green said.

The Flames (14-5, 5-1 Big South) closed out a four-game road swing at 3-1, with the only loss coming at conference leader High Point. But they had to sweat out a furious Radford rally. The Highlanders (9-11, 2-5) closed within four in the final 50 seconds and had a chance to get closer after Roli-Ann Nikagbatse missed two free throws. But Radford's Serena White missed a shot that would have cut the lead to two, and the Flames hit enough free throws down the stretch to escape.

Afterward, Green felt compelled to quell the grumblings of a fan base that has become used to the Flames winning conference games by very comfortable margins.

"People have grown accustomed to thinking that we've got to win every game by 20 or 30 points," Green said. "It's unfair to our young ladies. As long as we can win and stay competitive and continue to develop, I'll be pleased with that."

Watkins led Liberty with 10 points and had a team-best four assists. The Flames' offense again produced in spurts. Watkins' three second-half baskets came in a span 57 seconds. In the first half, Liberty scored eight points on three straight possessions in a 1:20 span.

But at other times, the Flames looked impatient and lost on offense and three times went more than three minutes without hitting a field goal.

Watkins blamed it on impatience and rushed shots.

"We always try to take the first shot, so trying to reverse the ball is always a big key with us," said Flames forward Jamie Feagin, who scored six points and grabbed two steals. "We're definitely young and ready to shoot. So patience is good."

Feagin provided a big boost in her 15 minutes. In the second half, she cut into a passing lane to pick off a lazy Radford pass and converted it into a fast-break layup. Still limited by her sore left shoulder, which is heavily taped during games and practices, Feagin is trying to provide the Flames with energy minutes in any way possible.

The injury is actually a pulled pectoral muscle, and she hopes that ice and rehab will help her get through the rest of the season.

"It's always a struggle with the shoulder," she said. "It's locking up some times, you know, from getting knocked to the floor so many times. I was trying to wait until it was pain free, but that's not going to happen. I'm just going to have to fight through it for a little while."

Feagin's defense was representative of the Flames' effort as a whole. Liberty held Radford to 23.5 percent shooting and forced guards Shavon Earp and Johnette Walker into a combined 1-for-20 effort. It was the fifth time this season an opponent failed to break 30 percent shooting from the floor against Liberty and the third time in a row.

"We'll take that any time," Watkins said. "It just comes down to our defense being strong and stopping the opponent."

The only number that really irked the Flames was the rebounding margin, which was zero. The Flames came into the game outrebounding opponents by an average of 12.1 boards per game. Radford's Sarah Stephens played a big role, grabbing 12 of the Highlanders' 47 rebounds and scoring a game-high 20 points.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports

[TIMSCAR20]

Another interesting Factoid is that Radford and Liberty are the only schools to have multiple winning Big South seasons. Before this mighty Dynasty Liberty has put together it was Radford who had won 7 of 8 I believe. I will have to check my Big South record book when I get back home this weekend but I think I am close.

Actually Radford won 9 of the first 10 Championships and 7 in a row at one point. Campbell is the only other Big South School to ever win a championship (1) but they lost 5 championship games before leaving the conference. Liberty has won all the rest. Good win on the road. Radford is much improved and I am glad to see this team be able to go on the road and win in a hostile environment.

Edit*** I see my boy RedDog had my back and came back on with the stats that I said I would have to look up. Didn't see it before I typed this.

[PAmedic]

Another Dominating Defensive Efforts Lifts Lady Flames Over Highlanders

February 4, 2006 · Radford, Va.

For the third-straight game, the Lady Flames held an opponent under 30 percent shooting from the field as Liberty held Radford to just 23.5 percent on the afternoon en route to a 58-50 Big South win over the Highlanders at the Dedmon Center.

With the victory, the Lady Flames push their conference record to 5-1 and 14-5 overall, marking the team’s ninth win in the last 10 games. The loss, the fifth-straight for the Highlanders, drops Radford to 2-5 in league play and 9-11 overall.

The Lady Flames jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as Roli-Ann Nikagbatse converted on an old-fashion three-point play on the opening tip-off with a lay-up and a free throw, while Nikagbatse fed Courtney Watkins down low a minute later for another lay-up to give Liberty a 5-0 lead at the 18:38 mark.

A pair of free throws by Tameisha Carter and a lay-up by Corrie Fertitta at the 16:30 mark pulled Radford within one, 5-4, while Moriah Frazee and Karolina Piotrkiewicz both connected on lay-ups to push the lead back to four points with 13:22 left to play in the opening half.

The four-point swings continued over the next three minutes as a jumper by Sarah Stevens and a lay-up by Serena White pulled Radford to within one point, 9-8, at 11:18, but Liberty scored nine-unanswered points to take a 17-8 edge on a jumper by Rebecca Lightfoot with 9:13 left in the opening half.

Stephens converted on a pair of free throws at the 6:53 mark to trim the lead back to five points, 17-12, but that would be as close as the Highlanders would get over the rest of the period as Liberty pushed its lead to as much as 11 points before setting for a 10-point edge at the break, 29-19.

The Lady Flames holding Radford to just 18.2 percent shooting from the field in the opening period (6-of-33), while the Lady Flames connected on 41.9 percent of their attempts from the field (13-of-31).

The Lady Flames pushed their lead to as much as 15 points in the opening minutes of the second half as Watkins came out the locker room and scored six-consecutive points to push Liberty’s advantage to 15 points, 39-24, at the 16:59 mark.

The lead continued to hover around the double-figure mark until the waning minutes of the game as a jumper by Nikagbatse gave Liberty a 10-point lead, 54-44, with 2:14 left to play. Radford made one last push in the contest as three-pointers by Shaven Earp and White trimmed the lead back to four points, 54-50, at the 1:04 mark, but Allyson Fasnacht converted on 4-of-6 shots from the free throw line to seal the victory over the final 64 seconds.

Liberty finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field (24-of-59), while Radford was held to just 23.5 percent shooting (16-of-68), marking the seventh time this year that Liberty has held an opponent under 30 percent.

Watkins paced the way for the Lady Flames with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, marking her fifth double-figure game in the last six contests, while Nikagbatse and Fasnacht netted nine points each. Piotrkiewicz posted her eighth double-figure rebound game to lead the Lady Flames with 10 rebounds.

Stephens led the way for the Highlanders as she netted a game high 20 points and pulled down 12 boards for the double-double, while White added 11 points.

The Lady Flames are currently in a stretch where they play six out of seven games on the road and the lone home game over the seven games will be Liberty’s next as they host UNC Asheville on Tuesday evening in the Vines Center for a 7 p.m. Big South conference.

[BJWilliams]

I was chatting with my buddy ATrain last night and actually came up with these other interesting tidbits on Coach Green's tenure at LU:

Carey Green has NEVER lost a Big South Tournament game (18-0, 1.000 win %)
Here is LU's regular season records during his tenure: 1999-2000: 12-2, 2000-01: 13-1, 2001-02: 15-1, 2002-03: 16-0, 2003-04: 14-0, 2004-05: 13-1
Overall record regular season vs. Big South: 83-5 (6 seasons, .943 winning %)
Overall record regular season vs current Big South: 79-3 (6 seasons, .963 winning %)
Overall record regular season vs current Big South (through Radford game yesterday): 84-4 (.954 winning %)
Overall record regular season and tournament (through Radford game yesterday): 102-4 (.962 winning %)

How do you NOT keep something like that around??? Im glad that LU did what they had to to keep him