50 2008-09 Liberty Women’s Basketball

OUTLOOK

Eggs, flour, baking powder and vanillaextract, when consumed by themselves, are notvery tasty foods. However, when combined inthe correct proportions, these elements serve asvital ingredients in baking a delicious cake. Thisunlikely, but effective recipe is tried and true.

Similarly, 10th-year Liberty head women’sbasketball coach Carey Green notices aninteresting blend of personnel on his 2008-09Lady Flames roster. His team possesses both awealth of experience, in the form of six seniors,and an abundance of new faces anduncertainty, as Liberty’s lineup features sevennewcomers. In fact, the makeup of this year’ssquad is similar to that of the 2004-05 LadyFlames, who advanced to the “Sweet 16” of theNCAA Tournament.

The 2004-05 Liberty women’s basketball teamwas spearheaded by a five-member senior classhighlighted by current WNBA player KatieFeenstra. However, the Lady Flames alsoreceived key contributions from precociousfreshmen like Allyson Fasnacht and CourtneyWatkins.

The abilities and merits of this year’s seniorclass are unmistakable. Megan Frazee has beentabbed the Big South Preseason Player of theYear for the third time in a row, while sisterMoriah Frazee is also a Big Southpreseason all-conferenceselection. Three of this year’sseniors already find themselvesamong Liberty’s top 40 scorers inprogram history and four seniorsare listed within the Lady Flames’all-time top 50 rebounders.

In order for the six seniors toclose out their time at Liberty withtheir best season, though, they willneed to follow the same recipewhich worked for the 2004-05 LadyFlames and find the proper mixture ofseasoned experience and youthfulexuberance. Green is excited aboutthe ingredients at his disposal, asLiberty aims to defend its Big SouthConference title and return to theNCAA Tournament for the 12th time inthe last 13 seasons.

“Enthusiasm best describes the atmosphereregarding this year’s team,” noted Green, the2008 Big South Coach of the Year. “Our teampossesses a unique blend of skills, talents andexperience. The six seniors are especiallyanxious to defend the Big South championship,return to the NCAA Tournament and experienceadvancement into the tournament.”

Around the conference, Liberty is considereda heavy favorite to again capture this season’sBig South crown. The Lady Flames captured 17of 19 possible first-place votes in the preseasoncoaches and media poll.

Before Liberty begins its newly-expanded 16-game conference schedule, though, the LadyFlames must navigate one of the most dauntingnon-conference slates in program history.

Liberty is scheduled to play four 2008 NCAATournament participants and four of lastseason’s WNIT squads. Those numbers couldgrow, depending on the Lady Flames’performances in the Preseason WNIT, GWThanksgiving Classic and Hokie HardwoodClassic.

“Without question, this season’s challengesare unique,” stated Green. “However, this teamis also unique and capable of meeting thosechallenges.”

A position-by-position team preview follows.

Point GuardFor the first time since the 2003-04 campaign,

Allyson Fasnacht will not figure into the LadyFlames’ plans at the point guard spot. Shecompleted her eligibility last season, afterstarting 95 games during her four years atLiberty. Fasnacht played an integral role onthree Big South championship-winning teams,and it will be difficult for any one player to fill hershoes. (Interestingly, none of Liberty’s 15players on the 2008-09 roster will wearFasnacht’s No. 10 uniform.)

Rachel McLeod, a 5-10 sophomore, is oneof three players who

figures to seeplaying time at the floor general spot

this season. She not only had the opportunity tolearn under Fasnacht’s tutelage a year ago, butalso made some immediate contributions in keysituations.

In only her second collegiate game, McLeodcontributed nine points, five rebounds, threeassists and four steals in a four-point win atNorth Carolina A&T. Later in the season,McLeod scored five points in the final 1:28 of ahard-fought Big South road win at High Point.During the year, the rookie from Houston, Texasdisplayed both the ability to protect thebasketball (66-60 assist-to-turnover ratio) and adeft shooting touch (46.3 percent field goalshooting).

“Rachel continues to challenge for playingtime at both the point guard and shooting guardpositions,” explained Green. “She possesses all

of the necessary skills and has worked veryhard at refining those skills. She will be a majorcontributor this season.”

A pair of newcomers, junior college transferAmber Mays and incoming freshman DeAnnaFuqua, also figure into the equation at pointguard.

Mays, who stands 5-6, enters her juniorseason after a garnering a pair of honorablemention NJCAA All-America selections duringher two years at State Fair Community College.She is perhaps best known for defense,averaging more than three steals per contestduring each of her seasons at State Fair.

“Amber will be the most explosive, excitingnew personality on the court for us this season,”Green observed. “She loves to play defense.Amber will be counted on to provide highenergy throughout the season, and bringsexperience with an unsurpassed desire to win.”

Fuqua, a 5-8 guard, comes to the LadyFlames from Nashville, Tenn., and Whites CreekComprehensive High School. She was a four-time All-Region IV selection who averaged 15.0ppg, 5.0 rpg, 6.0 apg and 4.0 spg as a high

school senior.“DeAnna is an explosive guard with a

great shooting touch and exceptionalpassing skills,” said Green. “Shehandles the ball with authority.However, her contributions will bedirectly impacted by current injuries.”

Shooting GuardWhereas the Lady Flames are a

bit inexperienced at point guard, witha sophomore and two newcomersrunning the show, the team is muchmore experienced at the shootingguard spot.

Liberty has a pair of seniorshooting guards in RachelHammond and Alexandria Bream,a luxury which will help offset thegraduation of Courtney Watkins.

The Big South’s all-time games played leaderwith 127 contests, Watkins was a second-teamAll-Big South honoree during a breakout seniorcampaign, which saw her average 8.6 pointsper outing.

The 5-9 Hammond looks for a similarbreakthrough during her fourth and final seasonin a Liberty uniform. A natural scorer, she hasdisplayed flashes of potential throughout herLady Flame career, including a Big South all-tournament team mention as a freshman.Hammond, a Florida native, has drained 40career three-pointers.

“Rachel is one of the most explosive scoringguards on our team,” noted Green, who ranks10th among active NCAA Division I women’sbasketball coaches with a .758 career winningpercentage. “She has continued to improvethroughout her career and will be counted on asa leader this season. Rachel possesses anunsurpassed intensity level.”

Rachel McLeod

Like Hammond, Liberty’s other fourth-yearshooting guard is also an effective outsideshooter. Alexandria Bream connected on nine ofher 16 three-point attempts in 2007-08, shootingat a .563 clip. For her career, more than half (13of 24) of her made field goals are triples. Breamalso contributes to the team in other, lessnoticeable ways, according to Green.

“Alex is a scoring threat from the perimeter,”stated Green. “She also demonstrates self-sacrificing effort from a leadership position. Herintangible contributions add so much to ourteam.”

The Lady Flames’ other two primary shootingguards are freshmen who played high schoolbasketball within the Commonwealth, 5-11Brittany Campbell and 5-10 Devon Brown. Infact, Campbell attended Brookville High School,literally down the street from the Libertycampus. She helped the Bees go 98-11 duringher high school hardwood career, scoring 1,202career points.

“Brittany is an exemplary Liberty player,”Green observed. “She has a winning desire andintensity, along with the skills of a champion.She is a scoring threat who understands thegame very well. Brittany will be a positivecontributor throughout her career.”

Brown joins the Lady Flames after one of themost prolific high school basketball careers inCommonwealth history. She ranks second onthe all-time Virginia high school scoring list, with2,728 points during her four years atWaynesboro High School, and is third on the listwith 1,329 rebounds. As a senior, Brown helpedthe Little Giants go 26-4 and claim state runner-up honors, earning the co-state player of the

year distinction. She is a candidate to redshirther freshman season.

“Devon is very talented, but her role on thisyear’s team is currently in question due toinjury,” noted Green. “She has a tremendousunderstanding of the game and will be a majorcontributor when the opportunity is presented.”

Small ForwardAnother of Liberty’s six freshmen, 6-1 Danika

Dale, will be able to look up to two talented,versatile senior small forwards, Megan Frazeeand Rebecca Lightfoot. All three players willlikely see time at numerous positions for Greenthis season.

Frazee, who stands 6-3, is coming off herbest season. She led the Big South with 18.6ppg and ranked second with 9.5 rpg, capturingBig South Player of the Year and Big SouthChampionship MVP honors. The latter awardcame after Frazee tallied 20 second-half points,including the game-winning hoop with 0.3seconds left, in the Big South Championshipgame against Radford.

Frazee presents a myriad of matchupproblems for opponents, as she is strongenough to play under the basket, but stillpossesses a nice outside shooting touch, asevidenced by her .351 three-point field goalpercentage last season. One of the most highly-decorated players in program history, Frazeewill play a major role in whatever Liberty is ableto accomplish as a team during her seniorcampaign.

“Megan has improved amazingly during theoff-season,” asserted Green. “She experiencedinternational play over the summer, when shetoured with Athletes in Action. Meganpossesses the skills and strength to play onanyone’s team in America. She’s a high-caliberplayer.”

Frazee made a complete recovery from ACLsurgery in time to enjoy a solid sophomoreseason in 2006-07. This year, her classmateRebecca Lightfoot is aiming to make a similarrecovery from an ACL injury. Last season, theathletic 6-2 guard/forward averaged career-hightotals for both scoring (5.6 ppg) and rebounding(4.6 rpg). She also established herself as astrong second half player, often tallying most ofher statistics after the intermission. For example,Lightfoot posted all 11 of her points in the LadyFlames’ first-ever triumph over James Madisonduring the final 20 minutes of play.

“Becca is a starter who is currently recoveringfrom injuries,” noted Green. “She will becounted upon heavily this year as a senior.Becca can play in the post as well as on theperimeter and plays a major role in oursuccess.”

Serving as Frazee and Lightfoot’s understudywill the lanky Dale, of Fort Hood, Texas. The firstgirls’ basketball player at Shoemaker HighSchool ever to earn a NCAA Division I athleticscholarship, Dale averaged a double-double asa senior, consisting of 17.4 ppg and 11.0 rpg.

Based upon Green’s below description, some ofher attributes already sound familiar to those ofher position mates.

“Danika is capable of playing both inside andoutside, but her primary strength lies at thesmall forward position,” said Green. “She bringsathleticism and exciting skills to our team.”

Power Forward/CenterLiberty has ranked among the top five teams

in the nation for rebounding margin for fiveconsecutive seasons. The Lady Flames possessthe size to continue the streak in 2008-09, withfive players listed at 6-3 or taller. Four of themwill see action at either power forward or center.

The play of senior Moriah Frazee in the postwas an invaluable part of Liberty’s success lastseason, especially with Egle Smigelskaiteinjured for most the season and Avery Warleyredshirting. She boosted her scoring averagemore than five points from the previous season,to 13.2 ppg, and lifted her field goal percentagefrom .453 to a Big South-leading .581. As aresult, Frazee joined her sister Megan on thefirst-team All-Big South roster at season’s end.Green hopes for similar contributions duringFrazee’s senior campaign.

“Moriah was a major anchor in the post lastseason,” stated Green. “She will be countedupon to improve and repeat her performance asa senior.”

The final member of Liberty’s triplets, 6-2Molly Frazee, is also coming off a good juniorseason. She posted career-best averages forboth points (8.3 ppg) and rebounds (4.9 rpg)and stepped up her play at the end of theseason. Frazee ended the year with four straightdouble-digit scoring efforts and was named to

LibertyFlames.com

OUTLOOK

Rachel Hammond

Megan Frazee

OUTLOOK

52 2008-09 Liberty Women’s Basketball

the Big South Championship all-tournamentteam. However, she is one of several LadyFlames battling various injuries as the 2008-09season approaches.

“Molly is currently recovering from injury,”said Green. “She was counted upon as a starterat the end of last season, and has the versatilityto play both inside and outside. She led thepost players, making 35 percent of her three-point attempts.”

Frazee’s injury could pave theway for increased playing time for6-4 sophomore Kittery Maine, whoplayed just 7.2 minutes per contestin 2007-08. The Georgia native wasefficient when called upon, hitting73.3 percent of her field goals. Hershooting ability is one of Maine’sgreatest strengths.

“Kittery is one of the best shootingpost players I have ever coached,”remarked Green. “She is also one ofour most improved players and will becounted on as a major contributor inthe post.”

The aforementioned Warleyredshirted her freshman season with theLady Flames, but gained some valuableexperience by participating in practicethroughout the year. The 6-3, athleticpost player from Washington, D.C., isexpected to make an impact this season.

“Avery is a welcome addition to the team,”stated Green. “She will be counted on to fulfillsome definite needs in the post and will be anexciting surprise.”

Rounding out the Liberty roster is 6-4 KyleeBeecher, another Virginia high school product.She hails from Roanoke and led her HiddenValley High School squad to back-to-back statechampionships, as a junior and senior. Thedaughter of former Virginia Tech standoutBobby Beecher, she has grown up around thegame and is a strong fundamental playeraround the basket.

“Kylee comes from a sports family andpossesses exceptional fundamental skills,combined with a championship attitude,” Greensaid. “She is one of the best passing postplayers I have ever coached and excels inpressure situations.”

ScheduleLiberty has 11 games scheduled versus

teams which won 20 or more games during the2007-08 campaign. The number could grow,depending on the Lady Flames’ latter-roundmatchups in the Preseason WNIT, the GWThanksgiving Classic and the Hokie HardwoodClassic.

The Lady Flames will tip off the 2008-09season on Nov. 14, when Commonwealth foeVCU visits the Vines Center for a first-roundPreseason WNIT tilt. The Rams went 26-8 andadvanced to the second round of the WNIT in2008.

Liberty, making its second Preseason WNITappearance, and first since the 2003-04 season,is guaranteed at least three games. If the LadyFlames defeat VCU, they will meet the winner ofthe North Carolina/Western Carolina contest inthe second round. If the Rams prevail, Libertywill play a pair of consolationcontests in the

16-team tournament,which wraps up with the championship

game on Nov. 23.The Lady Flames will return to action the day

after Thanksgiving with a trip to Washington,D.C., for the GW Thanksgiving Classic. Liberty’sfirst-round opponent on Nov. 28 will be Hartfordof the America East Conference. A newopponent on the Lady Flames’ schedule thisyear, the Hawks have played in the NCAATournament three of the past four seasons.

Liberty will play in either the championshipor consolation game the following day. Hostteam George Washington, which has madeback-to-back NCAA Tournament “Sweet 16”appearances, and South Alabama, coming off a20-11 season, are the Lady Flames’ possibleday two opponents.

The month of December opens with Liberty’sfirst non-tournament game of the 2008-09season, a Dec. 2 trip to James Madison. TheDukes went 24-10 last season and made it tothe WNIT “Sweet 16.”

Liberty plays its final two home games of2008 in succession, on Dec. 7 and Dec. 13. Thequick, two-game homestand includes SEC foeAuburn’s first-ever visit to Lynchburg. The Tigerswent 20-12 and competed in the 2008 NCAATournament.

Two weeks later, the Lady Flames will travelto Nashville, Tenn., for a Dec. 22 matinee versusperennial national power Vanderbilt. Lastseason, the Commodores posted 25 wins andreached the NCAA Tournament “Sweet 16.”

On Dec. 29-30, the Lady Flames willparticipate in their third and final regular-seasontournament of the season, Virginia Tech’s Hokie

Hardwood Classic. In the first round, Liberty willtake on North Carolina A&T. The Aggies arecoming off a 25-8 season which saw them reachthe WNIT.

The next day, the Lady Flames will competefor either first or third place in the four-team

tournament. Liberty will be matched upwith either the host Hokies or Lafayetteof the Patriot League.

Liberty opens the new year with itsBig South opener, as Gardner-Webbinvades the Vines Center on Jan. 3. Thecontest will be the Bulldogs’ first-everBig South Conference game and willbe the first of 16 conference matchupsfor the Lady Flames, including twogames each against new Big Southfoes Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian.

Liberty will be back home on Jan.13 for its final non-conference outingof the season. Its opponent will beEast Tennessee State, an AtlanticSun squad coming off its first-evertrip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Lady Flames will wrap uptheir 12-game home schedule witha Feb. 28 contest against UNCAsheville, which will serve as

Liberty’s “Senior Night,” and a March 2 visit byPresbyterian.

Liberty’s regular-season finale will be playedat High Point, on March 9, and the Lady Flameswill become quite familiar with High Point’sMillis Athletic Center, as they return on March 13for the start of the Big South Women’sBasketball Championship. The Panthers willhost the entire tournament, which continuesthrough the March 15 championship tilt.

The winner of the Big South Championshipwill earn the conference’s automatic bid to theNCAA Division I Women’s BasketballChampionship, which begins with first-roundcontests on March 21 and 22.

Big South Conference2008-09 Preseason All-Conference Team

Megan Frazee, Liberty – Preseason Player of the Year

Moriah Frazee, LibertyAshley Fann, WinthropPamela Tolbert, Charleston SouthernJohnette Walker, Radford

Preseason Predicted Order of Finish (First-place votes) – Total points

1) Liberty (17) – 1692) Winthrop (1) – 1433) High Point – 1294) Radford (1) – 1165) UNC Asheville – 756T) Coastal Carolina – 736T) Gardner-Webb – 738) Charleston Southern – 559) Presbyterian - 22

Moriah Frazee