Lynchburg, Va. – Despite another incredible performance from Carly Hooks, Liberty triumphed in the 74-39 win over Kennesaw State (8-11, 3-5 CUSA) Thursday evening.
 
A monstrous second quarter run gave the Flames enough gas to get through the rest of the game, maintaining their CUSA best record (14-5, 7-1 CUSA).
 
FIRST HALF
Kennesaw State threw the first punch as a Carly Hook's floater fell after the guard went coast-to-coast in transition off the rebound. KSU maintained their prowess on defense from the field, holding Liberty scoreless through the Flames first six field goals.

Prencis Harden drilled her first shot from the right baseline from 12 feet out with 6:30 left in the first quarter, lifting the Owls by four. Less than four minutes into the quarter, Keiara Griffin notched her second foul, sending her to the bench for a majority of the half. Going into the first media break, KSU held a narrow 8-6 advantage over the top team in CUSA.

Harden nabbed the first points out of the break, canning a deep two from the right side of the key, earning her sixth point in six minutes. Three minutes remained in the first saga and the Owls maintained a 11-6 lead.

The first three of the game came from Liberty's Brooke Moore after the Flames first seven threes went awry. Liberty entered the game seventh in the country in three-point shooting with a 38% clip. Over a minute remained before the Flames took their first lead of the game with a Bella Smuda free throw giving them a 12-11 lead. Another Harden bucket chipped into the first quarter deficit ending 15-13 after 10 minutes played.

To open the second quarter, Hooks sliced through the Flame defense with a backdoor cut to secure the layup and tie the game at 15 apiece. She continued her hot hand from beyond as she sunk a momentous three pointer off a deflected Harden jumper. The guard racked up eight straight points as she earned the and-one opportunity after knocking down a pull-up mid-range jumper, yanking the game to within one. The score secured her third straight double-digit scoring performance.

A 10-0 Liberty run forced a KSU timeout with five minutes left showcasing a 29-21 LU advantage. Berry added two points after a period of silence from the Owls' offense. On the back of several offensive boards, the Flames sprung the run to 24-2 over the final seven minutes of the second stanza, ending the first half with a 43-23 score in favor of the home team.
 
SECOND HALF
Hooks slashed through the paint and kissed the runner off the glass to collect the first points of the second half and her 15^th point of the evening. Some jostling back-and-forth sent the Flames into the first media break with a 47-29 lead. Harden secured her 16th double-digit scoring effort on the season with a right-handed layup with 3:30 left in the third quarter.  Going into the final quarter of play, LU remained atop with a 56-31 lead.
 
With six minutes remaining, Hooks registered another three extending her tally to 18 points, her second highest total of the season. Kailyn Fields snagged her first points with a layup int eh finals seconds.  The Flames held onto their Conference USA best record advancing to 8-1 in league play with a 74-39 final score.
 
HEAD COACH OCTAVIA BLUE POSTGAME

"We will definitely have to flush this one," Coach Blue said. "We did a poor job on closing out on Emma Hess, one of the best sharpshooters in the conference and we couldn't keep Bell Smuda off the glass. That was the name of the game, allowing open shooters to get free and not crashing the glass like we should. That's a really good team over there."
 
GAME NOTES

• It's the second time this season Carly Hooks has strung together three consecutive double digit scoring games
• The Black and Gold held a top NCAA long-distance shooting team to two of their first 11 from behind the three-point line
• KSU took care of the basketball as they went into the final quarter with just nine turnovers
• Harden and Hooks combined for 30 points and 13 rebounds
• Hooks has totaled 53 points over her last three games

 
UP NEXT
The Owls remain on the road as they travel to face FIU Saturday with a 1 p.m. ET tip-off.