Liberty women’s basketball coach Carey Green revealed two games of his team’s 2020-2021 non-conference schedule on Friday that will make seniors Bridgette Rettstatt, Ashtyn Baker and Emily Lytle happy.
The Lady Flames will play in Rettstatt’s home state at Ohio on Nov. 24 and will visit Baker and Lytle’s stomping grounds (Memphis) on Dec. 6.
Rettstatt hails from Galena, Ohio, approximately a 90-minute drive from Ohio’s campus in Athens. Lytle is from Memphis, while Baker’s hometown of Nesbit, Miss., is located about 20 miles south of the city center.
Ohio is coming off a 19-11 season which featured an 11-2 mark at the Convocation Center. Like Liberty, the Bobcats saw their conference tournament halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ohio had reached the MAC semifinals before the remainder of the tournament was cancelled.
The 2018-2019 Ohio squad won a program-record 30 games, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Postseason WNIT. The Bobcats have averaged 23 wins per season over the last six years, reaching the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and a trio of Postseason WNITs during that span.
Liberty’s first-ever meeting with Ohio will mark the Lady Flames’ first visit to the Buckeye State in 13 years. The Lady Flames went 3-0 to win the National City Xavier Invitational in Cincinnati, Nov. 23-25, 2007.
Liberty is 4-1 all-time versus MAC opponents, including a 65-53 neutral-site victory over Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 29, 2019 at the Miami Thanksgiving Classic in Coral Gables, Fla.
Memphis posted a 14-17 record in 2019-20, advancing to the American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinals for the second season in a row.
Liberty will be squaring off against the Tigers on the hardwood for the first time. However, the Lady Flames are familiar with Head Coach Melissa McFerrin. They went 3-0 versus American during her time as the Eagles’ head coach (2004-08).
The Lady Flames will be seeking their fourth consecutive win in the Volunteer State, a streak which began Dec. 4, 2018 at ETSU.
Liberty is 1-3 all-time against American Athletic Conference opponents, picking up its first win over a conference member this past season. The Lady Flames recorded an 81-66 home triumph over East Carolina, Dec. 3, 2019 at the Vines Center.
Liberty’s other nine non-conference matchups, headlined by the team’s first-ever contests at Liberty Arena, will be announced during the coming weeks and months.
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