Lady Flames Clinch BSC Regular-Season Title
CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the 11th time in the last 12 seasons, the Liberty women’s basketball team has captured the Big South Conference regular-season championship. The Lady Flames wrapped up the title by shooting a school-record 70.2 percent from the field in an 81-59 win at Charleston Southern, Monday evening.

Liberty is now 18-7 overall and a perfect 12-0 in conference play, after extending numerous winning streaks. The Lady Flames have won seven consecutive road games, 15 consecutive contests overall, 16 consecutive games versus Big South foes and 24 consecutive games against Charleston Southern.

Liberty’s 70.2 percent (33-of-47) field goal accuracy broke the existing school single-game record of 67.3 percent, set against Charleston Southern last season, on Jan. 19, 2008. The Lady Flames narrowly missed the all-time record for field goal percentage in a Big South women’s basketball contest. UNC Greensboro shot 71.9 percent against UNC Asheville on Feb. 11, 1994.

Charleston Southern drops to 10-16 overall and 4-9 in Big South action, despite scoring the most points by a conference team against the Lady Flames all season.

After Avery Warley won the opening tip-off, the Lady Flames ran out to a quick, 4-0 advantage within the game’s first 39 seconds, on hoops by Big South Player of the Week Megan Frazee and Warley.

Charleston Southern, the most prolific three-point shooting team in Big South history, countered with triples by Kelsey Wasmer and Katie Tull on its next two possessions, claiming a 6-4 lead with 18:27 remaining in the opening half.

The homestanding Lady Buccaneers’ edge only lasted for 20 seconds, however, as a Rachel Hammond triple from the corner put Liberty back in front. Her long-distance connection initiated an 11-2 burst by the Lady Flames. Moriah Frazee’s three-point play at 16:35 capped off the run, giving Liberty a 15-8 edge.

Pam Tolbert’s first basket of the night, coming at the 15:19 mark, trimmed the home team’s deficit to 15-10. Liberty then scored eight of the contest’s next 11 points, building its initial double-digit lead, 23-13, on Warley’s field goal 9:24 before the break.

Liberty’s advantage stood at nine points (26-17), prior to a 9-2 burst by the Lady Buccaneers. Ali Schwagmeyer, named Big South Freshman of the Week earlier in the day, hit a 13-foot jumper at 3:28 to cut the Lady Flames’ lead to 28-26.

Charleston Southern only made one more field goal during the remainder of the stanza, as Liberty finished out the final 20 minutes on an 11-3 spurt. Four different Lady Flames contributed to the run, which gave Liberty a 39-29 halftime edge.

Liberty shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and owned a sizable 23-9 rebounding edge in the first half. However, Charleston Southern stayed within striking distance by making five triples and scoring 12 points off the Lady Flames’ 15 miscues.

Both of Liberty’s Frazee sisters reached double figures in the scoring column during the first 20 minutes of play. Moriah Frazee paced all players with 12 markers, while Megan Frazee added 10 points, a half-high seven boards and four assists. Eight of the nine Lady Flames who played in the first half scored at least two points.

Lydia Johnson made four of her five opening-half field goal attempts, scoring 10 points prior to the intermission to pace the Charleston Southern offense. As a team, the Lady Buccaneers connected on 37.9 percent (11-of-29) of their field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes of play.

Wasmer opened the second-half scoring with her third trey of the game, just 42 seconds in. Her three points temporarily shaved Liberty’s lead down to seven, 39-32.

Warley converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the red-clad Lady Flames’ ensuing possession, helping Liberty reclaim momentum. Her trio of markers started off an extended 15-2 run by the visitors. Megan Frazee scored five of the surge’s points, including a layup at 14:57 that increased Liberty’s edge to 54-34.

The Lady Flames built their lead up to 24 points, 60-36, before a 7-0 run by Charleston Southern. Back-to-back Pam Tolbert baskets finished the surge, which made the score 60-43, Liberty, with 11:06 on the second-half clock.

A fade-away jumper by Amber Mays and a Megan Frazee free throw put Liberty in front by 20 points once again, 63-43.

The Lady Buccaneers had one more run remaining. They trimmed a 21-point deficit to 15, 70-55, with 5:11 left, after Schwagmeyer scored six straight tallies during an 8-2 CSU surge.

The Lady Flames closed the game by scoring nine of the contest’s last 11 points, bolstering Liberty’s final margin of victory to 22 points, 81-59.

Liberty missed only three field goals during the entire second half, shooting an incredible 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the field. Meanwhile, Charleston Southern struggled from the outside after the intermission, making just one triple on 13 attempts (7.7 percent).

The Lady Flames, who currently rank No. 2 nationally in rebounding margin, did nothing to harm that statistic on Monday. They outrebounded the Lady Buccaneers, 37-18, on the evening.

Four of Liberty’s five starters scored in double figures, paced by Megan Frazee. Frazee, who became the program’s first-ever ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first-team selection Monday evening, led all players in points (20), rebounds (10) and assists (career high-tying 7). She is now the No. 9 scorer in Big South history, with 1,724 career points.

Sister Moriah Frazee added 18 points, five rebounds and a game-high two blocked shots. Point guard Mays finished with a dozen points, six assists and four steals. Her quartet of thefts give her 52 for the season, making Mays the first Lady Flame to record 50 steals since Sharon Wilkerson in 1999-2000, head coach Carey Green’s first year at Liberty.

Warley, Liberty’s final double-digit scorer, made all five of her field goals as part of an 11-point effort. The redshirt freshman has connected on eight consecutive field goals and 19 of her last 20 attempts (95.0 percent), boosting her Big South-leading field goal percentage to 62.0 percent.

Three Lady Buccaneers scored in double digits, led by Johnson’s career-high 13 points and Tolbert’s 13 markers. Schwagmeyer paced the home team with six caroms.

Liberty will return to Lynchburg for its final two-game homestand of the season. The Lady Flames will host UNC Asheville (10-16, 7-6 Big South) Saturday at 7 p.m. The contest will serve as Liberty’s Senior Night, and Alexandria Bream, Megan Frazee, Molly Frazee, Moriah Frazee, Rachel Hammond, Rebecca Lightfoot and Jessica Nelson will all be recognized prior to tip-off.

Meanwhile, Charleston Southern will prepare for its Senior Night recognition Saturday as well. The Lady Buccaneers will play host to Gardner-Webb for their final home game of the year, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Bulldogs Overcome 15 Point Second Half Deficit to Defeat the Eagles,65-62
Rock Hill, S.C. – The Bulldogs overcame a 15 point second half deficit to defeat Winthrop 65-62 on the road, outscoring the Eagles 26-8 in the final 10:30 of the game, giving Gardner-Webb its first road conference win of the season.

With the win the Bulldogs move to 15-12 overall and 7-7 in Big South play, while the Eagles fall to 12-13 overall and 6-6 in conference play on the year.

The 15 wins are the most the Bulldogs have had in one season since the 2000-01 season.

The 15 point come from behind win was the largest come back win for the Bulldogs since moving to NCAA Division I in 2000-01.

In the first half the Bulldogs continued their cold shooting from field, as GWU was only 8-of-24 from the floor overall, including no points in the paint, and continued to have droughts in which they struggled to put the ball in the basket.

Winthrop on the other hand relied on seniors Ashley Fann and Tiffany Todd, as the duo combined to score 27 of the Eagles 33 points in the opening half.

It was Fann who got the game going, as she accounted for the Eagles first seven points of the contest and put Winthrop up 7-4 with 17:06 to play in the first half. 

The Bulldogs then went on a cold spell over the next 3:32, as Winthrop pushed their lead out to seven at 15-8 on back-to-back free throws by Rodd.

GWU answered with a 7-0 spurt which was capped off by a three-pointer by red-shirt junior Laura Povilonyte to knot the score up at 15-15 and force Winthrop to call a timeout with 10:26 remaining on the clock.

Out of the timeout, Winthrop went on a 13-2 run to push their lead out to 11 at 28-17 on a made jumper by Fann with 4:29 to play in the half.

Yet the young Bulldogs would not give in, as Coach Reeve’s squad continued to battle over the final four minutes, cutting the Eagles lead to eight at 33-25 heading into the halftime break.

Both teams came out of the halftime break red hot, as over the first four minutes of the second half the two teams combined to score 19 points with the Bulldogs holding on to a slight 11-8 advantage, cutting the Eagles lead to five at 41-36.

After a called timeout at the 16:00 mark, the Eagles continued their hot shooting, while the Bulldogs cooled off, as Winthrop went on a 13-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 15 points, 54-39, with 10:30 to go in the game.

GWU finally found their offense at the 9:47 mark on a put back lay up by Dominique Hudson, as the basket kick started a 15-3 run, cutting the Eagles lead down to three at 57-54 with 5:11 to play.

The two teams then traded baskets with until sophomore guard Courtney Epps made a great move along the baseline, driving past her defender and connecting on a lay up to tie the score up at 61-61 with 2:28 on the clock.

Neither team would take the lead until GWU’s Povilonyte connected on the first of two free throws with 18.1 seconds left to push the Bulldogs in front 62-61, their first lead since the 18:16 mark of the first half.

However, Larua Povilonyte would miss the second foul shot, where Epps hauled in the board and was immediately fouled.  Epps calmly stepped to the line and knocked down two in a row from the charity stripe to give the Bulldogs a 64-61 lead with 16.4 to go in regulation.

After the Eagles called two timeouts and advanced the ball up the court, a foul by the Bulldogs put Winthrop’s Rodd on the foul line with 5.8 seconds to go.  Rodd made the first to cut the lead to two at 64-62, but missed the second off the back rim which was rebounded by Gardner-Webb’s Roundtree.

Roundtree, who was fouled after grabbing the defensive board, made the second of two free throw attempts to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead at 65-62 with 3.4 remaining in the game.

The last second three-point attempt by Winthrop’s Yvonne Van Daalen was off to the right, giving the Bulldogs the 65-62 come from behind win.

Gardner-Webb had four players in double-figures in scoring, as Roundtree led the way with 15 points, while Hudson had 14 points. 

Povilonyte added 13 points, while Epps was right on her heels with 12.

Winthrop was led by seniors Fann and Rodd, as each had a game-high 23 points, while Fann added a game-high 13 rebounds.  All 61 points for the Eagles came by way of upperclassman.

For the game, GWU had only nine turnovers, the least in a single game this season, while the Eagles coughed up the ball 18 times.

The Bulldogs will wrap up their three game road trip on Saturday, February 28th, as GWU travels down to Charleston, S.C. to take on the Lady Buccaneers of Charleston Southern for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.

Winthrop plays at High Point on Feb. 28 at 7:00pm.

High Point Downs Presbyterian
Mackenzie Maier and Amy Dodd combined for 32 points as the High Point University women's basketball team defeated Presbyterian, 64-52 on Monday night in Clinton, S.C.

Maier went 5-of-9 from the field including 2-of-4 from outside the arc and went 5-of-5 from the line as she notched 17 points. She also tallied three blocks, three steals and five rebounds. Dodd tallied 15 points and was 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line. Dodd along with LaTeisha Dean had team-highs with eight rebounds each. Jurica Hargraves added 14 points for the Panthers (12-15, 8-6 Big South). HPU notched one of its best shooting percentages of the season with 49-percent, going 24-of-49 from the field. For Presbyterian (4-21, 1-11 Big South) Katlin Moore led with 12 points. Lea Smith added 11 points while Chelsea Wright notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Presbyterian came strong out of the gates to take an early seven point lead, up 9-2 with just over three minutes into the game. High Point charged back to tie the game at 12 all when Maier was fouled on a three pointer and drained all her charity shots at the 12 minute mark. The Panthers got the ball back off a missed shot and Maier came down the court to hit a three pointer, giving the Panthers a 15-12 advantage. Hargraves decided to get in the action and hit from outside as HPU took a 20-12 lead with 10:21remaining. High Point took its largest lead of the half (22-12) on the next possession with a layup from Shamia Brown.

The Lady Blue Hose battled back though with a 13-2 run, closing the gap to 26-25 with 2:51 on the clock. PC regained the lead with a layup from Lea Smith on the next possession. The two teams battled back and forth over the final minutes and were tied at 30 all with 29 seconds. Hargraves hit from outside the arc as time was winding down to send the Panthers into the break with a 33-30 advantage.

High Point capitalized on the momentum coming out of the first half as the team opened with a 17-8 run to take a 14 point, 52-38 lead at 7:15 when Dodd connected on a layup. Presbyterian cut the lead back down to single digits (54-45) at the 5:17 mark, but HPU responded. The Panthers held on to the double-digit advantage, but PC again threatened with just over two minutes left, again cutting the lead down to nine, 60-51. That is as close as the Lady Blue Hose would get though as the Panthers held on in the final minutes.

The Panthers held the 35-25 advantage on the boards, knocking down 15 second chance points. PC held the advantage in turnovers though only giving the ball up 18 times while forcing 23 from the Panthers.

High Point will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 28 when it hosts Winthrop. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. and is the middle game in a triple header for HPU athletics on Saturday. Baseball will play earlier in the day with men's basketball playing in the nightcap.

Presbyterian's next game is scheduled for Feb. 28 as they travel to Radford for a 3:00pm tip.

Radford Defeats Coastal Carolina
CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University women's basketball team fell 67-59 to Radford Monday, Feb. 23 at Kimbel Arena. With the loss, the Chanticleers slip to 14-12 on the year and 6-7 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 8-16 and 7-6 in the league. 
 
Sophomores Kate Jasinski (Toledo, Ohio/Penn (Ind.) and Sydnei Moss (North Augusta, S.C./N. Augusta) led the way for the Chants scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Radford had three players hit double figures with Johnette Walker registering a game-high 22 points, while Taleia Moton added 17 and Kymesha Alston had 15 points on the night.

The Highlanders went up 9-2 in the opening minutes of play, but the Chanticleers tied the score at 9-9 behind five points by Jasinski. Coastal Carolina took its only lead of the game at the free throw line, where junior Kendra Reynolds (South Bend, Ind./Riley (Olney Central J.C.)) put the Chants ahead 12-11 at the 13-minute mark. A 10-2 run and a five minute scoring drought allowed Radford to build a 21-14 advantage with just under seven minutes left to play in the half. The Highlanders led by as much as 13 in the final minute of the frame, but the Chants were boosted by four points from junior Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) and scored the last seven points of the half to trim the deficit to 36-30 heading into the break.

With the first bucket of the second half going in favor of the Chants, Coastal Carolina narrowed the gap to 36-32, but Radford quickly pushed its lead back to double digits at 47-36 with 15:37 remaining in the game. The Chanticleers made another short run to pull within seven points at 48-41, but Radford's Johnette Walker hit a triple to keep the lead at 51-41 with 12 minutes left on the clock.  The Chants held Radford off the scoreboard for the next four minutes and made it a five point game at 51-46 with 6:54 remaining in the game. Coastal Carolina had offensive possessions, but was unable to connect giving Radford room to make it another 11-point ball game with three minutes left to play. A final attempt to get back into the game looked promising as Jasinski drained a three-pointer to make it a 59-54 game with 54 seconds left to play. Walker would go to the foul line for the Highlanders and miss giving Coastal Carolina the possession, but the Chants turned the ball over and were forced to foul down the streatch. The Chants sent the Highlanders to the charity stripe eight times, where Radford went a perfect 8-for-8 to hand Coastal Carolina its fourth home loss of the season.

The Chanticleers had their opportunities offensively taking 16 more shots than the Highlanders, but shot 33.9 percent (21-for-62) from the floor, while Radford finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (20-for-46) from the field on its 46 shots. Radford turned the ball over 22 times and the Chants turned the giveaways into 17 points, but the Highlanders earned 24 points at the Charity stripe on their 31 attempts, while the Chants were 15-for-21 at the foul line.

Coastal Carolina ends its four-game homestand Monday, March 2 when it hosts in-state rival Winthrop at 7 p.m. Radford heads back to the Dedmon Center for its final three league games starting with Presbyterian Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.