Friday, March 14
Huntsville, Ala.
6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM CT
Liberty University
25-6,16-2CUSA
80
vs
53
Louisiana Tech
16-15,8-10CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana Tech
16
10
6
21
53
Liberty
22
15
16
27
80
Defense Leads Liberty Back to CUSA Title Game with 80-53 Win Over LA Tech
3/14/2025 10:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 1 seed Liberty is back in the CUSA Women's Basketball Championship title game for the second year in a row. A stout defensive effort fueled an 80-53 semifinal triumph over No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech, Friday evening at Propst Arena.
The Lady Flames (25-6) won their 10th game in a row by holding the Lady Techsters to 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the field and scoring 17 points off LA Tech's 14 turnovers.
Liberty's third consecutive conference tournament championship game appearance and its 25th in the last 29 years will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, live on CBS Sports Network. The Lady Flames will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee and No. 3 seed Western Kentucky.
Louisiana Tech, the most recent team to defeat Liberty (67-66 on Feb. 6), falls to 16-15. The Lady Techsters got a second consecutive big game from freshman Averi Aaron (16 points, 7 rebounds). But they went 10:34 between made field goals in the first half, enabling Liberty to break things open.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Avery Mills – 17 points, 3-4 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 13 points, 7 rebounds; Emma Hess – 8 points, 4 assists; Emmy Stout – 8 points, 4-4 FT; Asia Boone – 7 points, 5 assists.
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Aaron – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4-6 3FG; Paris Bradley – 11 points, 4 assists, 5-6 FT; Jianna Morris – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Jordan Marshall – 8 points, 4-4 FT.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot better than LA Tech from all three levels, connecting on 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field, 40 percent (8-of-20) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. For the first time in three matchups this season, Liberty won the rebounding battle (32-25). The Lady Flames also had the upper hand in points in the paint (15-6) and second chance points (15-6). Liberty racked up 41 bench points to the Lady Techsters' 17, their most since a 42-point effort from the reserves on Jan. 25 vs. FIU.
Turning Point
Aaron tallied eight points during a 12-3 run which cut Liberty's lead to 18-16 at 2:03 of the opening period.
It was then that the Lady Techsters suffered their 10:34 drought between made field goals.
Before Isla Airey knocked down a perimeter jumper 1:29 before halftime, Liberty had outscored the Lady Techsters 17-2 to bolster its lead to 17 (35-18).
LA Tech got no closer than nine during the remainder of the contest.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames (25-6) won their 10th game in a row by holding the Lady Techsters to 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the field and scoring 17 points off LA Tech's 14 turnovers.
Liberty's third consecutive conference tournament championship game appearance and its 25th in the last 29 years will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, live on CBS Sports Network. The Lady Flames will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee and No. 3 seed Western Kentucky.
Louisiana Tech, the most recent team to defeat Liberty (67-66 on Feb. 6), falls to 16-15. The Lady Techsters got a second consecutive big game from freshman Averi Aaron (16 points, 7 rebounds). But they went 10:34 between made field goals in the first half, enabling Liberty to break things open.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Avery Mills – 17 points, 3-4 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 13 points, 7 rebounds; Emma Hess – 8 points, 4 assists; Emmy Stout – 8 points, 4-4 FT; Asia Boone – 7 points, 5 assists.
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Aaron – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4-6 3FG; Paris Bradley – 11 points, 4 assists, 5-6 FT; Jianna Morris – 9 points, 3-5 3FG; Jordan Marshall – 8 points, 4-4 FT.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot better than LA Tech from all three levels, connecting on 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field, 40 percent (8-of-20) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. For the first time in three matchups this season, Liberty won the rebounding battle (32-25). The Lady Flames also had the upper hand in points in the paint (15-6) and second chance points (15-6). Liberty racked up 41 bench points to the Lady Techsters' 17, their most since a 42-point effort from the reserves on Jan. 25 vs. FIU.
Turning Point
Aaron tallied eight points during a 12-3 run which cut Liberty's lead to 18-16 at 2:03 of the opening period.
It was then that the Lady Techsters suffered their 10:34 drought between made field goals.
Before Isla Airey knocked down a perimeter jumper 1:29 before halftime, Liberty had outscored the Lady Techsters 17-2 to bolster its lead to 17 (35-18).
LA Tech got no closer than nine during the remainder of the contest.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty raced out to a 15-4 lead midway through the first period, sparked by seven Elisabeth Aegisdottir points.
- Averi Aaron came off the bench for eight points, helping LA Tech battle back to within two (18-16).
- But the Lady Flames emerged with a six-point lead (22-16) after a first period where both teams shot well. Liberty made 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the field, while the Lady Techsters hit half of their field goal attempts (6-of-12).
- Liberty held LA Tech without a made field goal for 8:31 to begin the second quarter, extending to the aforementioned 35-18 lead when Avery Mills closed out a 17-2 run.
- The Lady Flames took an 11-point advantage (37-26) into the intermission despite a 13-point, five-rebound opening half by Aaron.
- Liberty's strong defense continued into the third quarter, as the Lady Techsters managed only six points on 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from the field.
- As a result, the Lady Flames were able to extend their advantage to 21 points (53-32) heading to the fourth.
- After being limited to 16 points during the middle two quarters, Louisiana Tech posted 21 during the fourth.
- But Liberty countered with 27 of its own, including eight apiece from high school teammates Mills and Stout. One year after leading Liberty Christian Academy to its first state title, they will have a chance to help Liberty University chase its first CUSA crown on Saturday.
- Mills (17 points) finished just two off her career high. The freshman has now reached double figures in three straight games for the first time in her career, shooting 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from three-point range during that stretch.
- Two days after not attempting a shot during the quarterfinal win over Sam Houston, Aegisdottir (13 points) tallied her best offensive showing since scoring a career-high 17 against Randolph on Dec. 11. She also collected a team-best seven rebounds.
- Asia Boone (7 points) was held to single digits for the first time in five career CUSA outings but matched her season high of five assists.
- Claudia Acin dished out five assists (one shy of her career high) and did not commit a turnover in 14 minutes off the bench.
- The Lady Flames' 27-point margin of victory was larger than the total point spread (24 points) in the first four Liberty-LA Tech contests over the last two seasons.
- Liberty improved to 22-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
- The Lady Flames are 10-1 this season and 164-6 under Carey Green when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
- Liberty has scored more bench points than its opponent in 11 straight games.
- The Lady Flames' 10 turnovers equaled their fewest against a Division I opponent this season (also March 1 at Kennesaw State).
- Liberty will attempt to cut down the nets on Saturday for the first time since 2018, when the Lady Flames won the Big South Championship.
- The Liberty men's basketball team will also play for a CUSA title on Saturday. The last time both the Flames and Lady Flames won conference tournament titles the same year was 2013 (Big South).
Team Stats
LATech
Lib
FG%
.378
.509
3FG%
.389
.400
FT%
.750
.824
RB
25
32
TO
14
10
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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