Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke, thesportscritic
February 27, 2006 · Lynchburg, Va.
The Lady Flames controlled almost every aspect of the second half to break open a closely contested battle en route to a 60-47 victory over visiting Birmingham-Southern, Monday evening, at the Vines Center.
With the victory, the Lady Flames up their conference record to 12-1 on the year (21-5), picking up the team’s 10-straight win and ninth consecutive against a league opponent. The Lady Flames have already wrapped up their ninth-straight regular-season title by virtue of their victory over UNC Asheville on Saturday.
The loss drops Birmingham-Southern to 5-8 in conference action and into seventh place in the league stands as Winthrop’s road victory over Coastal Carolina earlier in the evening allowed the Eagles to take a one-game lead over Birmingham-Southern for the number-sixth seed in the upcoming Big South Basketball Championship.
Prior to the start of the contest, the Lady Flames honored head coach Carey Green as the seventh-year head coach became the winningest coach in Big South Conference history on February 18th with his victory High Point, having accumulated 162 career victories during his six-plus years at the helm of the Lady Flames’ program. Green surpassed previous record holder Luby Lichonczak as the Radford head coach finished his career with 158 victories in 11 seasons.
Birmingham-Southern controlled the pace of play early on as the Panthers connected on four out of their first seven shots from the field and took a five-point lead, 9-4, on a jumper by Britni Ballard at the 15:39 mark.
The Lady Flames came roaring back as Liberty scored nine-straight points, taking a four-point lead, 13-9, on a tip-in by Molly Frazee (Fr., G/F, Zenia, Ohio) with 12:58 left to play in the first half. The Panthers countered back with a 10-2 over the next three minutes of play as LaWanda Young found Ashley Thornton open for a jumper at the 9:59 mark, giving the visitors a four-point edge, 19-15.
But a three-pointer by Courtney Watkins (So., G/F, Bristol, Tenn.) just 12 seconds later sparked a 12-2 run for the Lady Flames, allowing Liberty to open up its largest of the opening half at six points, 27-21, as Moriah Frazee (Fr., G/F, Zenia, Ohio) knocked down one of two free throw attempts with four minutes left to play before the intermission.
However, the Panthers held Liberty to just two points over the final four minutes of the period, while a jumper by Pam Thornborrow with 60 seconds left trimmed Liberty’s lead back two points, 29-27, accounting for the halftime margin.
A three-pointer by Stacey Anthony just 31 seconds into the second half gave Birmingham-Southern a brief lead, 30-29, but back-to-back jumpers by Rachel Hammond (Fr., G, Clearwater, Fla.) allowed the Lady Flames to regain the lead.
Another trey by Anthony at the 13:36 mark trimmed Liberty’s lead back to one point, 36-35, but the Lady Flames held the Panthers to just one field goal over a nine-minute span, while outscoring the visitors 17-2 over the time frame to take a 16-point lead, 53-37 on a put-back by Rebecca Lightfoot (Fr., F, Duluth, Ga.) with 4:37 left to play.
Birmingham-Southern cut the margin back to 12 points, 53-41, after a three-pointer by Young and a free throw by Thornton just one minute later, but Liberty scored the game’s next five points to seal the victory.
The Lady Flames posted their third most dominating rebounding performance of the season as Liberty finished with 19 more rebounds than Birmingham-Southern, 45-26, including a 28-13 edge in the second half, while Liberty held Birmingham-Southern to just 26.9 percent shooting in the decisive final period.
Moriah Frazee led the way for Liberty with 14 points and tied for team-high rebounding honors with seven boards, while Hammonds came off the bench to post her second double-figure game in three contests as she netted 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
The Lady Flames didn’t allow a Panther to reach double figures as Anthony and Thornton led the team with nine points each, while Reba Ross followed with eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
Both teams wrap up their regular-season schedule on Saturday as the Lady Flames host arch rival Radford in a 2 p.m. contest in the Vines Center, while the Panthers host UNC Asheville at Bill Battle Coliseum in a 4 p.m. (CST) game.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
Prior to the start of the contest, the Lady Flames honored head coach Carey Green as the seventh-year head coach became the winningest coach in Big South Conference history on February 18th with his victory High Point, having accumulated 162 career victories during his six-plus years at the helm of the Lady Flames’ program. Green surpassed previous record holder Luby Lichonczak as the Radford head coach finished his career with 158 victories in 11 seasons.more career victories + nearly HALF the time = IMPRESSIVE!
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
jcmanson wrote:I really like Rachel Hammond. She could become one of our leading scorers right behind the Frazee's in the coming years. She has a great knowledge of the game. The future looks so bright for the Lady Flames. I thought that this would be the one year that our run could come to an end especially after losing Megan, but it looks that we are in solid footing for at least the next 4 years even though the conference is greatly improving.I am quite high on her AND Rebecca Lightfoot. the girl is 6'3" and is not afraid to shoot from the outside. In fact I believe all of our bigs attempted at least one 3 last night
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
February 28, 2006
When Rachel Hammond stepped on the floor Monday night at Vines Center, the freshman looked beat up.
Literally. The Liberty guard sported a thick knot at the top of her forehead, and it resulted in residual bruising all the way down to her eyes and nose. Those bruises actually came from last Wednesday's game at Winthrop. Plenty of other Flames could feel her pain by the end of the evening.
The Flames celebrated their ninth-straight Big South regular-season title with a hard-fought 60-47 win over a scrappy, physical Birmingham-Southern bunch. In a game with as many floor burns as field goals, the Flames were just happy to survive.
Roli-Ann Nikagbatse went to the floor with a thud and the painful sound of skin sliding against hardwood. Moriah Frazee hit the deck several times. Not even injured forward Megan Frazee could avoid the hurt.
When Birmingham-Southern guard Britni Ballard dove for a loose ball, she couldn't pull up in time to avoid Megan, and both ended up on the floor behind the Liberty bench.
No worries, Moriah said. Sister Megan took the brunt of the blow with her tuchas, not her injured left knee.
Still, only 30 fouls were called and the teams combined for just 23 free-throw attempts, something that stumped Liberty coach Carey Green.
"That was how the game was called," Green said. "We want to be physical. We want to attack the basket and we want to get to the free-throw line. We've got a goal to get to the free-throw line 30 times, and we didn't. ? There were fewer calls than we expected."
Both teams wanted a physical game, and Birmingham-Southern (11-15, 5-8 Big South) benefited early on. BSC found open shots in the first half, hit 44 percent of its looks against a team that allows teams to shoot 34 percent on average, and trailed 29-27 at the break.
"Our rebounding wasn't there and our defense wasn't there," Hammond said. "Those are two huge things that we are continually focusing on. We didn't come out right."
Liberty (21-5, 12-1) took the lead for good when Hammond, who scored 12 points, hit a jumper to put LU up 31-30 with 16:06 left in the game. The Panthers hung around, staying within five until Liberty went on a 11-0 run to ice the game.
The Flames' size was a key to the game-sealing run. Moriah Frazee (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Karolina Piotrkiewicz (6 points, 7 rebounds) drew and-ones. Rebecca Lightfoot (7 points, 5 rebounds) muscled inside and stuck back a missed free throw for a basket.
"We were getting bumped around out there a little bit, but it helped us focus and concentrate when we got the rebounds," Moriah said. "I know once I had one tipped away. I know when I grabbed it, I had to hold on tight."
Stacey Anthony and Ashley Thornton scored nine each to pace the Panthers, who have played the Flames tough for a half twice but have struggled after the break in both games.
BSC coach Brad Hodge said he wanted to slow the pace and force Liberty into a deliberate game. The Panthers accomplished their goal for the most part, and had BSC maintained its first-half shooting pace, the outcome of the game might have been different.
But Liberty was stronger on the boards after halftime, turning a four-rebound advantage at halftime into a 19-board edge by the end of the night.
"We were where we needed to be at the half, but it's like it's fools gold when you come in here and feel that way," Hodge said. "They really just worked the clock and took shots. We had them missing shots and they just went and got them."
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