NASHVILLE - The Lipscomb women’s basketball team fell 79-70 to Liberty on senior day despite a valiant effort by the Lady Bisons on Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. 

“The biggest thing that I thought we had to do a better job of was keeping control of the ball and not giving them extra possessions,” Lipscomb women’s basketball head coach Lauren Sumski said.

“We kind of knew we were going to give up some extras on second shots because they’re big and athletic, but we want to control the turnovers a little bit better than we did.”

Lipscomb scored 20 or more in the first, third, and fourth quarters, but a seven-point second quarter and an 11-0 Liberty run bridging the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half gave the Flames a lead that the Lady Bisons were unable to overcome. 

“We had a rough stretch late in the second and early in the third, but we have to be better in those situations,” Sumski said. “They had 18 more shots than us, but everything else was even. A large part of that is the turnovers and the rebounding.” 

A late-game rally brought the Purple and Gold within five with 3:37 left to play, but Liberty held onto the win down the stretch. 

Junior Taylor Clark was in top form during the final game of the regular season, pouring in 28 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting, including 5-8 from three-point range and 7-9 from the free throw line. She also tied for the team lead with five rebounds and led the team in steals and blocks with two each. 

Freshman Jalyn Holcomb scored 14 points with three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. 

Senior Carleigh Short notched nine points, all on three’s, in her final home contest in the Purple and Gold, while fellow senior Emily Kmec had six points, tied Clark with five rebounds, dished out three assists, and had one steal.

“I’m not sure if I can state eloquently enough how much the seniors have meant to the team this season,” Sumski said. “This is probably the best group of seniors I’ve ever had as a coach. Definitely the best group of seniors I’ve had in terms of taking on leadership roles and responsibility.” 

Lipscomb falls to 7-22 (4-12) with the loss, while Liberty improves to 17-11 (10-5). 

HERD NOTES:

• Three Flames scored in double-figures: Emily Lytle (17), Keyen Green (16), and Ashtyn Baker (16). 
• Lipscomb shot 17-19 from the free throw line, with three Lady Bisons hitting all their free throws. 
• Freshman Casey Collier collected eight points, three rebounds, a team-high four assists, and one steal. 
• Seven Lady Bisons to enter the game played 20 or more minutes. Clark logged the most with 38 minutes played. 
• Liberty out-rebounded Lipscomb 36-21 and had a 15-12 assists advantage. 

UP NEXT: Lipscomb will head down to Fort Myers to take on FGCU in the first round of the ASUN Tournament on March 7. Tip time will be announced soon. 

“They’re a talented team, but we have some stuff in mind that we haven’t shown them yet,” Sumski said. “I thought we played them pretty well for the first half here, and we just know the things we have to execute and lock in on.”