Flames blaze past Winthrop, Eagles lose 2 straight

By David Thackham

thackhamd@mytjnow.com

The Liberty Lady Flames lived up to their high preseason expectations, already looking like Big South champions in a 70-33 demolition of Winthrop on Saturday. 

Behind their hot shooting guard Devon Brown, Liberty flew out of the traps early, setting up a 21-5 run within the first nine minutes while holding the Eagles to just 19 percent field goal percentage in the first half. Although Winthrop improved their shooting after the break, the Flames only got hotter, shooting 10-16 in the second half while creating 11 steals, dooming the Eagles to a 3-4 record in the Big South Conference. 

“We definitely need to pick it up.” head coach Bud Childers said.

The bookmakers would have put very long odds on Winthrop winning this home encounter. Winthrop (fifth in BSC) came into the game with a mediocre 3-3 conference record, including an overall record of 4-6 inside Winthrop Coliseum. Meanwhile, Liberty (third in BSC) was undefeated on the road while playing conference opposition. 

History also heavily favored the visitors: Liberty was 7-1 in the last eight games against Winthrop. The last 31 times the Flames and the Eagles met, Liberty came out victorious 30 times. The all-time record between the two is currently 40-7 in favor of Liberty. 

Although Mary Hathaway’s early 3-pointer kept the score level at 5-5 at 18:05, the Winthrop offense was effectively snuffed out for the following seven minutes and 23 seconds. The Eagles could not score a single point in that span, thanks to the imposing presence of 6-foot-3-inch Liberty junior center Avery Warley, the current Big South Player of the Week. 

Poor play also dominated the stretch for Winthrop. Dequesha McClanahan, reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, was uncharacteristically abysmal, getting into early foul trouble and turning over the ball four times in the span of just over a minute of action. She would finish with no points.

Childers noted that the turnovers were very costly in a game against such a highly touted squad. 

“We were very sloppy with our passing decisions, and the way we readied ourselves to catch a pass. When you turn it over out front, it’s difficult to have good defensive floor balance in transition. It was a huge factor tonight.”

The rest of the squad was no better, taking just three open shots within the drought, while going 1-4 from the free-throw line in the first half. 

Even after Ashley Cox drained a jumper to give the home crowd something to cheer about, Liberty wasted no time in extending their early lead. Redshirt sophomores Tolu Omotola and Devon Brown combined for 13 of the last 17 Liberty points scored in the first half of play, leaving Winthrop with a mountain to climb at 37-10.  

Winthrop seemed more alert coming out of the locker room, creating a 4-1 spurt in the first two minutes, but Liberty’s Dymond Morgan disrupted the smooth passage of play, stealing the ball from Hathaway to extend the lead further to 30 points. 

 “Our defense in general the past three games, including tonight, has been poor,” Childers said.

The offense was also seriously lacking. Benched because of struggles in the beginning of games, Winthrop’s junior Lacey Lyons made very little impact on the game, finishing with 0 points and a single steal. Lyons ranks eighth in Big South history for 3-point leaders. 

However, the offense for the Eagles did improve slightly due to the efforts of TaQuoia Hammick. The junior out of Minneapolis tied her record of most points in a Big South game, with 12 in the night. Despite posting four personal fouls, Hammick led the Eagles as they played for pride on a night that wasn’t going well for them. 

Winthrop was able to keep pace with Liberty in a 9-12 run with 9:43 left in the second period, but any hope for a comeback had long since evaporated. The Lynchburg natives claimed victory by 37 points. 

Childers remains determined to pull Winthrop out of its two-game slide. He and the team will have the opportunity on Monday. “Simply put, we have to be ready to play against Coastal [Carolina University]. We need to come out like we do on the road, with a sense of urgency, which we have lacked repeatedly at home this season,” he said.