Lipscomb women’s basketball took on the Liberty Flames Tuesday night in Allen Arena and saw its losing streak extend to 17 games in a 77-60 defeat to the ASUN newcomer.
The Lady Bisons (2-18, 0-7 ASUN) won the tip-off and slowly found their rhythm after Taylor Clark scored the first points for Lipscomb. Jane Deason then quickly followed with a three-pointer to put the Lady Bisons ahead.
The team hit a streak of three-point shots in the first half with the first four shots all coming from beyond the arc. The Lady Bisons ended the first quarter with a 17-10 lead thanks to another three-pointer from Deason.
“They’ve worked hard opening up shots on their own and then just shooting it with confidence and they did,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “We did a good job of making the extra pass and finding that [girl] that was open inside.”
Lipscomb held a steady ten-point lead in the beginning of the second quarter, however, Liberty closed the gap midway through the second quarter. After Liberty (8-12, 4-3 ASUN) took the lead, Clark shot a buzzer-beating layup to cut their advantage to 39-37 at halftime.
“We knew they were physical,” Brown said. “We knew they like to play inside and attack like that. We knew we should be able to have chances to reverse the ball and get open looks, which we did. So I mean it played out a lot preparation-wise – everyone was prepared for that and handled that part of it.”
Lipscomb started the second half on a rough note, and they did not make a basket until hitting a free throw three minutes into the quarter. The Lady Bisons picked up speed after a Liberty turnover and a breakaway layup from Anna Hammaker. However, Liberty ended the third quarter with a 16-point lead.
In the fourth quarter, Lipscomb struggled to make baskets and get rebounds, and Liberty held on to their lead to win the game, 77-60.
“Our ball movement was very good and we put a lot of time in the last week,” Brown said. “They did a really good job of getting themselves open and knocking down the opens in the first half.”
Despite the streak of open shots in the first half, Brown said it wasn’t enough to offset their inability to get rebounds in the second half.
“We’ve got to continue to shoot the ball better and more consistently, and then it’s obvious that rebounding is critical and that was the difference in the game,” Brown said.
The Lady Bisons play again Saturday, Feb. 2nd against North Alabama at 1:30 p.m. in Allen Arena.