LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty freshman Devon Brown scored a game-high 26 points and the Lady Flames took advantage of a cold-shooting UNC Greensboro squad to take a 60-42 win at the Vines Center on Tuesday.
Lakiah Hyson scored nine points to lead the Spartans (1-1), who shot just 28.8 percent (15-for-52) from the floor for the game. Amanda Leigh had eight points, while Monique Floyd had five points and a team-best seven rebounds for the second game in a row.
After trailing by 11 at the half, 32-21, UNCG cut its deficit to just seven points in the second frame three times, but could not complete the comeback. The Lady Flames (2-0) got a Kylee Beecher layup after the break to briefly push their lead to 13, but the Spartans answered with 7-1 run to make things interesting. Hyson's 3-pointer capped the spurt, making it a 35-28 contest with 16:51 left.
Amber Mays' layup on the other end pushed Liberty's lead back to nine before UNCG freshman Brey Dorsett answered with a layup of her own to again make it a seven-point game.
Liberty stretched its lead back into double digits on a pair of LaKendra Washington free throws that made it 41-31 with 13:20 to play, but Spartan freshman Dayshaun Richbow hit a 3-pointer to again cut it to seven.
That was as close as UNCG would get, however, as the Lady Flames rattled off a 13-4 run over the next six minutes to essentially put the game out of reach.
Leigh hit a 3 with 5:19 left in the game to make it 54-41, but that was UNCG's final field goal of the day. Sophomore Agneta Morkunaite hit a free throw with 21 seconds left for the final score of the evening, snapping a UNCG scoring drought of nearly five minutes.
UNCG struggled to find its shooting touch in the first half, as well, going just 5-for-20 (25 percent) from the floor to open the game and enduring scoring droughts of 5:12 and 5:28. The Spartans also struggled from the free throw line in the first half, going 0-for-6 before a pair of Floyd free throws with 15 seconds left before halftime.
The Spartans missed their first eight 3-point attempts before Amanda Leigh buried a triple with just under two minutes left in the first half. UNCG finished the game 4-for-24 from behind the arc.
The Spartans finally got their offense going in the closing minutes of the first half, finishing the frame 4-for-5 from the floor to keep their deficit at 11.
Brown did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 18 points before the break. After Leigh's jumper gave UNCG its only lead of the day at 2-0, Liberty answered with a 10-0 run that saw Brown score six straight points.
Brown finished just one rebound shy of a double-double and matched her career high in points, set Friday against Winston-Salem State. Beecher and Mays finished with 11 points apiece.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they make the short trip to High Point, N.C., to take on High Point at 4 p.m.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro vs Liberty
11-17-09 7:05 p.m. at Lynchburg, Va. (Vines Center)
LIBERTY 60, UNC GREENSBORO 42
UNC GREENSBORO (1-1)
Lakiah Hyson 4-11 0-2 9; Amanda Leigh 3-12 0-0 8; Brey Dorsett 1-7 3-4 5; Monique Floyd 1-3 3-6 5; Agneta Morkunaite 2-3 1-2 5; Dayshaun Richbow 1-3 0-2 3; Amy Clapper 1-1 0-0 2; Kendra Smith 1-7 0-0 2; Sarah Folwell 1-3 0-0 2; Agne Girstautaite 0-1 1-3 1; Dee Corbett 0-0 0-0 0; TaShama Banner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 8-19 42.
LIBERTY (2-0)
Devon Brown 11-15 3-7 26; Amber Mays 4-7 2-6 11; Kylee Beecher 4-8 3-7 11; Dymond Morgan 3-5 0-0 6; Carra Coy 1-2 0-0 2; Rachel Mcleod 1-7 0-0 2; LaKendra Washington 0-2 2-2 2; Avery Warley 0-0 0-0 0; Danika Dale 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 10-22 60.
UNC Greensboro 21 21 42
Liberty 32 28 60
3-point goals--UNC Greensboro 4-24 (Amanda Leigh 2-9; Dayshaun Richbow 1-2; Lakiah Hyson 1-5; Agneta Morkunaite 0-1; Kendra Smith 0-2; Sarah Folwell 0-2; Brey Dorsett 0-3), Liberty 2-9 (Devon Brown 1-2; Amber Mays 1-1; Dymond Morgan 0-1; Rachel Mcleod 0-3; LaKendra Washington 0-2). Fouled out-UNC Greensboro-None, Liberty-LaKendra Washington. Rebounds--UNC Greensboro 35 (Monique Floyd 7), Liberty 40 (Devon Brown 9). Assists--UNC Greensboro 10 (Lakiah Hyson 3), Liberty 10 (Amber Mays 4). Total fouls--UNC Greensboro 21, Liberty 17. Technical fouls--UNC Greensboro-None, Liberty-None. A-786
- UNCG -
