Liberty Rallies to Second Win of the Season at ETSU

Photo Credit: Jamie Hall

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- Tuesday night was a huge night for Liberty, as the Lady Flames won their second game of the season, an 89-86 triumph over ETS. The Lady Flames struggled in the opening minutes of the first period. ETSU took a 14-8 lead over Liberty with 5:12 to go. However, the Lady Flames went on an 8-3 run beginning with a layup scored by Emily Lytle at the 4:43 mark of the opening stanza. Liberty led by a point (18-17) with 1:54 to go, but ETSU’s Sadasia Tipps scored a layup to give the Bucs the one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 19-18.

Liberty began a 12-2 run to lead ETSU 34-24 in the second quarter. The Lady Flames scored seven second chance points and nine points off turnovers. Liberty was also dominant in the paint, scoring 16 points in both the second and third quarter. The Lady Flames led the Buc 49-40 at halftime.

 At the 1:34 mark of the fourth quarter, ETSU’s Erica Haynes-Overton made a layup to the cut the Liberty lead to eight points at 88-80. Things got interesting in the final seconds when Liberty got called for a technical because of a sixth player on the court. ETSU sunk both free throws to cut the lead to two points at 88-86. Liberty was under pressure in the final seconds until Lytle was fouled Amaya Adams. The Memphis sophomore, who was one of the players playing in her second homecoming game, made 1-of-2 free throws. Haynes-Overton attempted a 3-pointer to tie the game to force overtime but missed it, and Liberty won its first game on the road and second overall of the season. The Lady Flames also improve to 6-7 in the series against the Bucs. Lytle was the leading scorer for the fifth time this season after scoring 21 points in the game. Other players who scored in double digits were Ashtyn Baker (18 points), Bridgette Rettstatt (16 points) and Ria Gulley (10 points).

ETSU drops to 1-10 overall on the season. Lexus Spears led the Bucs with 19 points while Carley Lytton had a strong showing with 17 points. Kaia Upton scored 14 points, while Erica Haynes-Overton and Britney Snowden combined for 24 pts.

Game Stat Leaders

Liberty

Points: Emily Lytle (21)

Rebounds: Bridgette Rettstatt (9)

Assists: Ashtyn Baker (4)

Steals: Mya McMillian (2)

Blocks: KK Barbour (1), Bridgette Rettstatt (1), Ashtyn Baker (1), Lizzie Moore (1)

ETSU

Points: Lexus Spears (19)

Rebounds: Sadasia Tipps (6)

Assists: Kaia Upton (6)

Steals: Erica Haynes-Overton (6)

Blocks: Lexus Spears (3)

Player Achievements

Liberty

•         This is the third time Emily Lytle has scored 20 or more points in a game, this season.
•         Ashtyn Baker achieved a career-high eight rebounds and season highs of 18 points and four assists.
•        Bridgette Rettstatt tallied a career high 16 points.
•         Mya McMillian’s eight points were a career high.

ETSU

• Lexus Spears scored in double figures for the second consecutive game.
• Carley Lytton scored a career-high 17 and made a career-best five three-pointers in the contest. Coming into the game, Lytton had made only five triples in ETSU’s first 10 games.
• Kaia Upton finished with a career-high 14 points. 
• Britney Snowden scored in double figures for the third time this year.

Up Next

• Liberty will be back on the road on December 13 as the Lady Flames travel to play East Carolina. Tipoff will be at 11:30 a.m.