Saturday, March 15
Huntsville, Ala.
5:30 PM ET/4:30 PM CT
Liberty University
26-6,16-2CUSA
53
vs
48
Middle Tennessee
26-8,16-2CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
16
9
12
11
48
Liberty
20
10
11
12
53
Photo by: WeRunRacePhotos.com
No. 1 Seed Liberty Holds Off No. 2 Seed Middle Tennessee 53-48 for 1st CUSA Title
3/15/2025 8:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In a rematch of the 2024 CUSA Women's Basketball Championship title game, No. 1 seed Liberty turned the tables on two-time defending champion No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee. The Lady Flames came out victorious in a 53-48 defensive struggle for their first CUSA title, Saturday evening at Propst Arena.
Liberty (26-6) will take an 11-game winning streak into its 18th NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship appearance but its first since 2018. Emma Hess scored a team-high 14 points, including the Lady Flames' last five of the contest. Meanwhile, Tournament MVP Bella Smuda (10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and All-Tournament Team member Asia Boone (11 points, 3-6 3FG) joined her in double digits.
Middle Tennessee (26-8) got 23 points and 10 rebounds from All-Tournament Team pick Ta'Mia Scott. But the Blue Raiders shot just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) and were outrebounded 42-30.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-7 3FG; Smuda – 10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks; Boone – 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 5 points, 8 rebounds.
Other Middle Tennessee Individuals: Anastasiia Boldyreva – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks; Courtney Blakely – 7 points, 3 assists, 3 steals.
Key Team Stats: Liberty made only 29.8 percent (17-of-57) from the field, but more than half of the Lady Flames' made field goals (9) were three-pointers. Liberty shot 10-of-10 from the foul line. Middle Tennessee turned Liberty's 14 turnovers into 15 points and outscored the Lady Flames inside the paint, 24-14. But Liberty scored 12 second-chance points off 13 offensive boards and tallied all 10 of the game's bench points.
Turning Point
Boldyreva scored four straight points for the Blue Raiders, helping them pull within three (48-45) with 2:12 to play.
Hess hit what proved to be the dagger, an NBA-range three-pointer from just in front of the Liberty bench, doubling the Lady Flames' advantage to six (51-45) at the 1:10 mark.
The senior then knocked down two free throws to ice it with eight seconds remaining.
Game Summary
First Quarter
Join the Flames in finding out where they are going for March Madness on Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. at Liberty Arena for a selection show viewing party! Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. for this free event. NCAA ticket information will be available at LibertyFlames.com/MarchMadness.
Liberty (26-6) will take an 11-game winning streak into its 18th NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship appearance but its first since 2018. Emma Hess scored a team-high 14 points, including the Lady Flames' last five of the contest. Meanwhile, Tournament MVP Bella Smuda (10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and All-Tournament Team member Asia Boone (11 points, 3-6 3FG) joined her in double digits.
Middle Tennessee (26-8) got 23 points and 10 rebounds from All-Tournament Team pick Ta'Mia Scott. But the Blue Raiders shot just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) and were outrebounded 42-30.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Hess – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-7 3FG; Smuda – 10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks; Boone – 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Jordan Hodges – 5 points, 8 rebounds.
Other Middle Tennessee Individuals: Anastasiia Boldyreva – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks; Courtney Blakely – 7 points, 3 assists, 3 steals.
Key Team Stats: Liberty made only 29.8 percent (17-of-57) from the field, but more than half of the Lady Flames' made field goals (9) were three-pointers. Liberty shot 10-of-10 from the foul line. Middle Tennessee turned Liberty's 14 turnovers into 15 points and outscored the Lady Flames inside the paint, 24-14. But Liberty scored 12 second-chance points off 13 offensive boards and tallied all 10 of the game's bench points.
Turning Point
Boldyreva scored four straight points for the Blue Raiders, helping them pull within three (48-45) with 2:12 to play.
Hess hit what proved to be the dagger, an NBA-range three-pointer from just in front of the Liberty bench, doubling the Lady Flames' advantage to six (51-45) at the 1:10 mark.
The senior then knocked down two free throws to ice it with eight seconds remaining.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- In a battle between two defensive-minded teams, the first 10 minutes were unusually high-scoring. Liberty emerged with a 20-16 advantage, aided by three triples.
- Liberty did not score a point for 5:15 to begin the second period, enabling Middle Tennessee to briefly take a 21-20 advantage on a Scott triple.
- Sparked by three-pointers from Hess and Boone, Liberty closed the half with a 10-4 run that gave them the lead for good. The Lady Flames led 30-25 at the intermission.
- Pien Steenbergen's three-pointer punctuated an 11-2 Liberty run, extending the Lady Flames' advantage to 11 (41-30) at the 2:59 mark of the third quarter.
- But Middle Tennessee countered with a 7-0 run, getting back within 41-37 heading to the final stanza.
- Middle Tennessee pulled within three twice during the fourth quarter. However, Liberty held on largely due to rebounding (six offensive boards), strong defense (four Middle Tennessee turnovers) and continued clutch foul shooting (3-of-3) over the final 10 minutes.
- Hess scored eight of her team-high 14 points during the fourth quarter.
- Boone (11 points) scored in double figures for the fifth time in six career CUSA Championship contests. She led Liberty's balanced attack with 11.3 ppg for the tournament.
- Smuda (10 points, season-high equaling 13 rebounds) notched her fourth double-double in six career meetings with the Blue Raiders including her second straight in the CUSA title game. She posted 9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 2.7 bpg during Liberty's three wins in Huntsville.
- Smuda got to cut down the nets for the first time after falling in three previous championship games (2021 ASUN, 2023 ASUN and 2024 CUSA).
- Hodges' eight rebounds matched her season high. She also became the 15th Lady Flame to make 100 career triples.
- The Lady Flames completed a dominant tournament run, outscoring its three opponents by an average score of 70.3 to 50.7.
- Liberty outscored its opponents in bench points, 88-21, during its three triumphs in Huntsville.
- After losing its first four meetings with Middle Tennessee by 15 points or more, Liberty recorded its second win over the Blue Raiders in the last 10 days.
- Liberty made all 10 of its free throws on Saturday, finishing the tournament at 90.9 percent (30-of-33) from the line.
- The Lady Flames improved to 18-6 all-time in conference finals, snapping a four-game losing streak.
- Carey Green is now 61-10 in conference tournament games, including 15-6 in title contests.
Join the Flames in finding out where they are going for March Madness on Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. at Liberty Arena for a selection show viewing party! Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. for this free event. NCAA ticket information will be available at LibertyFlames.com/MarchMadness.
Team Stats
MTSU
Lib
FG%
.333
.298
3FG%
.278
.346
FT%
.636
1.000
RB
30
42
TO
10
14
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballF
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