Liberty and Middle Tennessee play for CUSA Championship

Middle Tennessee Raiders (25-7, 18-2 CUSA) vs. Liberty Lady Flames (24-6, 18-2 CUSA)

Huntsville, Alabama; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Liberty plays Middle Tennessee in the CUSA Championship.

The Flames are 18-2 against CUSA opponents and 6-4 in non-conference play. Liberty scores 72.3 points and has outscored opponents by 12.0 points per game.

The Raiders’ record in CUSA action is 18-2. Middle Tennessee is 23-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 12.7 turnovers per game.

Liberty averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.2 more made shots than the 5.9 per game Middle Tennessee gives up. Middle Tennessee has shot at a 41.6% clip from the field this season, 4.4 percentage points greater than the 37.2% shooting opponents of Liberty have averaged.

The teams meet for the third time this season. Liberty won 61-42 in the last matchup on March 7. Bella Smuda led Liberty with 21 points, and Anastasiia Boldyreva led Middle Tennessee with 16 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Smuda is scoring 12.1 points per game and averaging 6.6 rebounds for the Flames. Asia Boone is averaging 11.8 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Jalynn Gregory averages 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Raiders, scoring 13.5 points while shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc. Ta’Mia Scott is averaging 18.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 9-1, averaging 69.8 points, 32.5 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.6 points per game.

Raiders: 9-1, averaging 62.6 points, 30.9 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 7.8 steals and 6.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 47.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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