SPORTS
JANUARY 28, 2014
Liberty Champion/B2
Lady Flames tower over Lancers Points in the paint prove to be pivotal for Liberty in a blowout win, solidifying their place atop the standings Jeremy Jefferson jjefferson3@liberty.edu
The Liberty University Lady Flames (11-7, 7-2 Big South) forced their will early against the Longwood Lancers (6-12, 3-6 Big South) to remain first in the Big South standings with a 74-41 win Thursday, Jan. 23. Liberty opened the game on a 24-9 run, forcing four turnovers during the stretch. Although the Lady Flames held a size advantage in the post, they were also balanced in their scoring, hitting five three pointers from the perimeter in the first half. “We recognized (the size advantage) from a scout, and we knew our strength was trying to capitalize on our height advantage,” Liberty Head Coach Carey Green said. Unlike the Lady Flames, the Lancers were never able to effectively score. The Lancers struggled
from the field, shooting only 24 percent in the first half. In the first 20 minutes, forward Ashley Rininger led the way for the Lady Flames with her presence in the paint. She went 3-10 in the half. “My team has a lot of confidence in my ability to score, and they just consistently looked to give me the ball, which also helped to get open shots too,” Rininger said. Rininger also had her way on the glass. The Lancers were unable to keep her from grabbing rebounds over smaller defenders for the entire half. Despite having developed a big lead, the Lady Flames let up on the pressure and let the Lancers cut into the margin on a long-range shot. But the Lady Flames held onto a 37-26 lead going into the locker room, behind seven points each
REBOUNDS continued from B1 Layer said. “You’ve got to pick your poison a little bit. Carey got 40 on us last time we were here. … Woodhouse had a career game here tonight. When you overemphasize one thing, another thing is left.” The Flames gained a sevenpoint lead to start the game behind 12 points from Gielo. However, toward the end of the half, Liberty could not hold onto the cushion and went into halftime up by four with the score 36-32. In the second half, turnovers and poor shooting plagued the Flames. After shooting 53.8 percent in the first half, Liberty only shot 35.7 percent in the second. They also committed seven turn-
from Rininger and guard Mickayla Sanders. Coming out of halftime, Liberty opened up a 25-point margin by the 12:11 mark in the half. Sanders erupted early in the second half with two three pointers and a three point-play that came the old-fashioned way. Her energy sparked the Lady Flames offense. “Normally, when I am not very good the first half, I continue to not play well,” Sanders said. “I get down on myself, but I remembered our devotional speaker talking about attitude and how you can control your attitude. So I came out with a different fire and energy, and it paid off.” The Lady Flames only allowed 15 points in the second half, keeping the Lancers scoreless for the final 3:49 of regulation. With a 68-41 lead, the bench added more points to the tally.
overs, bringing their total to 15 and leading to 18 Longwood points. “We are addressing (turnovers),” Layer said. “We’re benching guys, we’re watching tape and we’re putting them in situations that mimic the game. … It’s no question that it’s been the Achilles’ heel of this team.” Toward the end of the game, Burrus hit a jumper to put the Flames up 63-58. However, turnovers and a 5:24 scoring drought hurt Liberty. Woodhouse hit three threes in the final 2:44 to seal the victory. “(Woodhouse) made big shots,” Layer said. “We had a 6-foot-9-inch guy on him, and (shots) were challenged. You’ve got to give him credit.” Gielo tied his career high with 20 points and added 10 rebounds
“I am really pleased with the contribution from the bench,” Green said. “They played actively, achieving and playing for a purpose instead of being in the game (just) for resting people” The Lady Flames bench finished with 34 points. Guard Jaymee Fisher-Davis came off the bench and scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half. Rebounding was also key in the Lady Flames victory, as they out-rebounded the Lancers 51-27 in the game. The margin led to 16 secondchance points. Sanders finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while Rininger added nine points and eight rebounds. The Lady Flames will be in action next as they host the High Point Panthers Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. JEFFERSON is a sports reporter.
as well. Center JR Coronado also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Burrus added 13 points and six rebounds. Liberty 65, Presbyterian 53 The Flames bounced back from two straight losses with a 65-53 win over the Presbyterian College (PC) Blue Hose at home Saturday, Jan. 25. “There’s nothing like a win,” Layer said. “(In past games we have been) struggling down the stretch, struggling with turnovers that allow us to not be the team we need to be. And to limit those tonight and to get a win, I think, allows us to feel a little bit better about ourselves.” In the first half, Liberty jumped out to an 8-4 lead behind two three pointers from se-
Leah Stauffer| Liberty Champion
LOOKING FOR AN OPENING — John Caleb Sanders looks for space against Presbyterian.
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
HEIGHT — Liberty used its size to score points.
nior guard Davon Marshall. However, the Blue Hose answered with a couple threes of their own from the game’s leading scorer Jordan Downing. His second three went through the net with 12 minutes left in the half to give PC a 14-13 lead. “Now (Downing is) the go-to guy,” Sanders said. “…You can try to contest (his shots), but … it’s almost like he doesn’t even feel you there.” Only 30 seconds later, Sanders took back the Flames lead with a three, spurring a 12-3 run. But the Flames defense faltered on the next several possessions. The nine-point lead quickly dwindled to one after an 8-0 PC run. The two teams traded baskets to end the half with the Flames clinging to a 33-31 lead going into the locker room. Although Liberty only shot 37.9 percent in the half, the Flames were able to hold onto the lead because of their ability to rebound. With 21 rebounds, the Flames more than doubled the Blue Hose rebounding total of eight in the first half. Liberty’s ability to grab offensive rebounds led to 11 second-chance points for the Flames. Also in the first 20 minutes, Burrus contributed five points and became the 24th Flame in history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career. To start the second half, Gielo provided a spark for the Flames with a layup and two three pointers. Three minutes into the half, Liberty had stretched the lead out to 44-35. “(Gielo’s) threes were the daggers in the second half that allowed us to extend the lead, and that’s what we missed the first half,” Layer said. By the second media timeout of the half, the Flames increased the margin to 10 with a
triple from senior guard Casey Roberts. Despite their best efforts and 24 total points from Downing, the Blue Hose never trailed by less than 10 for the remainder of the game. The Flames held the Blue Hose to 22 points on 34.6 percent shooting in the second half. The Blue Hose finished 41.7 percent for the game. “Defensively, we were much better second half than in the first half,” Layer said. “We limited them to contested jumpers, which they were making them, but it’s hard to live on them.” The stingy defense also led to offense for the Flames, who converted seven Blue Hose turnovers for 11 points in the game. Liberty finished with a 43.6 shooting percentage. Rebounding was also a determining factor in the Liberty win. The Flames out-rebounded the Blue Hose 41-18 on the night, and Liberty scored 16 total points off 17 offensive rebounds. The Flames received contributions from their bench as well. Roberts scored eight on the night with two threes, and Burrus finished with a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds. Starters Sanders and Gielo each added 13 for Liberty. Sanders added 10 assists to complete the double-double. “I think if I have more of a mindset of a point guard, not a scoring point guard, but really pass first, I think that’ll help us,” Sanders said. “And maybe late in the game, if I need to go get some buckets, I can do that.” Liberty will head to Conway, S.C., to take on conference rival Coastal Carolina Wednesday, Jan. 29. BATTLE is the sports editor. BROWN is a copy editor.