[ATrain]

Third year we've faced this in-state D-II school...ok, I'm going to go out on a major limb here and predict we end our losing streak and beat them soundly and convincingly...anyone willing to bet against that?

[bigsmooth]

uh...no, im sure will win handliy. this is much needed.

[BJWilliams]

They only have 9 players on their roster, and 6 of them are guards...I say this one is over by halftime...

[jcmanson]

a big fat W on this one

[thesportscritic]

hopefully we will bounce back on Saturday

[ATrain]

Alright, who (besides me) is gonna be there?

[Stevev]

We lead by 14 with 2 minutes to go. I certainly expected a bigger point spread than that. I could be a game that is hard to get up for and we are simply going through the motions right now.

[TIMSCAR20]

I have some questions for the insiders. Anyone notice Fasnauct didn't play? Is she hurt? Also I know KP is hurt so that is 2 starters not on the court. That could account for the closer score than what was expected. Also it looks as though Megan started at either point or shooting guard with Molly, Moriah, and Michelle Parker with Rebecca Lightfoot down low. Much different lineup as Courtney Watkins came off the bench as well. Jamie Feagin played 17 minutes tonight off the bench so maybe she is starting to get over her injury. You can learn a lot from a box score.

[hurricane fan]

I was there and Coach Green had some very ODD lineups on the floor. I haven't looked at the box score but Alex Bream and Leslie Cook played quite a bit. Megan only played 6 or 8 minutes in the second half. I think he took advantage of the fact that the minutes for the bench players will be diminshing the deeper we get into the schedule.

[PAmedic]

Team Effort Leads Lady Flames To Comfortable Win Over Virginia Union

December 16, 2006
Lynchburg, Va.
» Box Score

All 11 Liberty players who saw action reached the scoring column Saturday afternoon at the Vines Center, lifting the Lady Flames to a comfortable, 66-49 win over visiting Virginia Union. The triumph enabled Liberty to snap a three-game losing skid.

The victory, Liberty’s third in four home games this season, improves the Lady Flames’ season record to 6-3.

Virginia Union remains winless during its 2006-07 campaign. The Panthers depart Lynchburg with an 0-4 record.

Neither team scored until Virginia Union’s Ashley Hill drained a three-pointer at the 17:31 mark.

Another Hill three-pointer lifted the visitors to a 6-3 lead at 16:43 before Liberty’s offense began to awaken from a slumber. The Lady Flames shoot 22.2 percent from the floor and commit five turnovers in the first 6:06 of play.

Rebecca Lightfoot, making her first start of the season, gave Liberty its initial lead of the contest, 11-8, on a three-pointer with 12:53 showing on the clock. The bucket capped an 8-2 run which featured a pair of Lightfoot long-distance connections.

Liberty stretched its advantage to 15-10 before the visiting Panthers put together an 8-2 surge. Hill’s third three-pointer of the opening half regained the lead for Virginia Union, 18-17, 6:27 before halftime.

However, the Panthers did not score for the next 6:05, finally breaking their scoreless drought on Kennedy’s lay-up with 22 seconds left in the opening stanza.

Meanwhile, the Lady Flames tallied 14-consecutive points, including five by Moriah Frazee. Michelle Parker wrapped up the run with a pair of free throws at the 38-second mark which made the count, 31-18, in favor of Liberty.

The two squads exchanged baskets in the waning moments, making the Lady Flames’ halftime lead 33-20.

Liberty and Virginia Union combined to make 20 first-half field goals, eight of which were of the three-point variety. The two squads also accumulated 25 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Panthers’ Hill paced all players with nine points in the opening half, and Moriah Frazee led Liberty with seven first-half markers. Parker pulled down six rebounds prior to the intermission, matching her career high for an entire game, and helped Liberty own a 22-14 first-half rebounding edge.

The Lady Flames notched the first six points of the second half, extending their lead to 39-20 on a perimeter jumper by Parker with 17:57 remaining in the contest.

A Ciara Alston lay-up at 16:47 capped a 4-0 burst by the Panthers and trimmed the home team’s advantage to 15 points, 39-24.

Liberty then broke the game wide open with a 13-3 run featuring five Roli-Ann Nikagbatse points. A Nikagbatse jumper with 12:52 left increased the Lady Flame lead to 52-27.

The Panthers, who chipped away at the 25-point margin for the remainder of the afternoon, poured in six of the game’s next seven points, cutting the deficit to 53-33 on a three-pointer by Kennedy at 10:35.

The visitors then used a 10-1 run to trim the Liberty lead down to 59-46 on a Hill three-point play with 2:18 showing on the second-half clock.

Liberty regained its composure and put the game away with five-consecutive markers. Nikagbatse’s acrobatic three-point play at the 1:32 mark gave the Lady Flames a 64-46 advantage.

The Lady Flames’ first victory since a Nov. 25 win at Binghamton came by a final margin of 66-49. Liberty held its opponent under the 50-point mark for the third time this season.

Megan Frazee paced Liberty in both points (12) and assists (6) in her 22 minutes of work, equaling her career-high total in the latter category. Sister Moriah Frazee added 11 points and a team-best seven boards. Nikagbatse chipped in with 10 points, four assists and a trio of steals for the Lady Flames.

Kennedy led all players with 15 points, sparking the Panthers’ offensive effort. Hill ended up with 13 markers and Katchona Johnson pulled down a game-high eight caroms.

The victory was hardly picture perfect for the Lady Flames, who shot just 52.2 percent from the free throw line and committed a season-high 25 turnovers. Liberty was able to limit Virginia Union to 32.1 percent from the field, outrebounding the Panthers, 46-32, and connect on a season-best eight three-pointers, though.

The Panthers will look for their initial win of the 2006-07 season Monday evening at 6 p.m., when they travel to Norfolk State.

Liberty will compete in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico this coming week. The Lady Flames’ first of two contests at the event will be a Tuesday match-up with Texas-Arlington (3-6, 0-0 Southland). Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. Eastern at the Galactic Ballroom.

[thesportscritic]

hurricane fan it is leslie jones not leslie cook who plays for High Point.

[thesportscritic]

SCAR Allyson has an injury. I am not sure what type of injury but i don't think it is serious. Maybe GMTM or FSN32 can give more insight.

[PAmedic]

Megan Frazee paced Liberty in both points (12) and assists (6) in her 22 minutes of work, equaling her career-high total in the latter category. Sister Moriah Frazee added 11 points and a team-best seven boards. Nikagbatse chipped in with 10 points, four assists and a trio of steals for the Lady Flames.

not bad for limited minutes

[thesportscritic]

Some of those lineups didn't have a point guard with the exception of Megan who can play point and Roli who played some point today.

[BJWilliams]

I was there and Coach Green had some very ODD lineups on the floor. I haven't looked at the box score but Alex Bream and Leslie Cook played quite a bit. Megan only played 6 or 8 minutes in the second half. I think he took advantage of the fact that the minutes for the bench players will be diminshing the deeper we get into the schedule.

You DO know that Leslie Cook plays for HPU right?

[givemethemic]

Allyson could have played but she tweaked her ankle earlier this week and was only gonna play unless she was really needed.

[Go Flames]

We won the war, but we sure lost a lot of battles.

25 turnovers (at home) vs a winless D2 team. Deep bench?? We were being overhauled at the end.

The ability of Va. Union's quicker guards to penetrate into the paint, seemingly at will, vs our innability to do likewise. "Quickness"

Since our guards can't penetrate on offense, it's easy to design a defense to double team Megan every time she gets a touch.

Not an easy game to watch!! Hopefully the Ladies can get things together in Mexico.

[thesportscritic]

this team continues to wilt under full court pressure. this is a turnover machine team. Great points GO flames. all our guards do is just pass the ball around on the perimeter and not create anything off of their penetration.

[A.G.]

this team continues to wilt under full court pressure. this is a turnover machine team. Great points GO flames. all our guards do is just pass the ball around on the perimeter and not create anything off of their penetration.

OK. I am not trying to start a war here. Could it be our guards are not athletic enough, compared to other schools. And by athletic, I do mean the kind of athletes that Fisher DeBerry spoke of. Again, not trying to start something, but only bringing up a point?

[TIMSCAR20]

If you are saying we need some "sistas" in the back court, I am with you and I know Sportscritic is with you. That said though, Allyson Fasnauct is a 1st team all conference player and will help this team win a lot of games as she has the past 2 seasons. She makes up for her lack of quickness with always being in the right position and great anticipation. The turnovers were a problem last year. Statistically it is extraordinary that this team averaged over 20 turnovers a game last year but still won so many games. This year I thought they would take better care of it but so far they haven't. Megan at the point may or may not be the answer but I trust this coaching staff's judgement.

[A.G.]

Whew! I was worried you, of all the folks on here, would take offense to my suggestion. Yes, this is nothing against all that the current (and past) backcourt did, but all our players are more on the cerebral side--and they do a great job of "playing the game the way its meant to be played." That said, however, when we play other teams that play "right" and they have more athletes (or sistas), we are at a disadvantage. I would have loved to have seen Stephanie Walker all four years if she had stayed healthy.

[fsn32]

Rachel Hammond can get to the tin (she had a hard time leading us around the resort to our building ) but she can get to the basket. She hasn't been healthy all year but she might be that missing link in the offense.

BTW, pray for one of the managers Billy... his passport came up missing and he had to stay behind in Atlanta... they are hoping it shows up in order for him to get here tomorrow.

[thesportscritic]

this team continues to wilt under full court pressure. this is a turnover machine team. Great points GO flames. all our guards do is just pass the ball around on the perimeter and not create anything off of their penetration.

OK. I am not trying to start a war here. Could it be our guards are not athletic enough, compared to other schools. And by athletic, I do mean the kind of athletes that Fisher DeBerry spoke of. Again, not trying to start something, but only bringing up a point?

i agree with you 100% A.G. If you notice the teams who are in the top 5 they are mostly sistas.

[thesportscritic]

LSU showed us what speed really was in 2005 in the regional semifinals. so did UNC last season. we just don't handle pressure well at all. Our guards need to be more creative instead of passing the ball around the perimeter. GO TO THE FREAKIN HOLE!!!!!!!!!

[bigsmooth]

ok... i agree critic in your assessment of the top teams player color, and it is a valid point IMO. and if you look at green's recruiting, he has not signed many black players. however, there are plenty of white players out there that are very athletic, we are just not getting them. and if a black player was looking at coming here, do you think they would if they were the only one on the team?? i kinda doubt it. i have questioned our recruiting anD was actually talking about this to GMTM. we really need an impact guard other than these average players who just manage games. it is hard to argue with this team's success, but our guard play is suffering right now IMO.