Third place in the conference will be on the line. Liberty (5-11, 4-2 Big South) is tied for third in the Big South standings with Winthrop (7-9, 4-2 Big South). The winner of Saturday's contest will earn the No. 3 seed for the 2017 Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship, while the loser will finish in the No. 4 slot.
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| Liberty will face Winthrop at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. |
Series History
The Eagles have taken four of the five all-time meetings from the Lady Flames. Winthrop claimed a 17-6 victory over Liberty the last time the two schools met on March 30, 2016 in Lynchburg.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats for the contest, courtesy of Winthrop Athletics, will be available on the lacrosse schedule/results panel on LibertyFlames.com. Also, be sure to follow @LUGameday on Twitter for updates from Eagle Field.
Senior Night Recap
The Liberty lacrosse program honored its seven seniors prior to the start of Wednesday night's contest against Radford. The senior class helped deliver a 13-10 Senior Night victory for the Lady Flames over the Highlanders.
Senior defenders Victoria Tickle (6 ct, 6 gb) and Melanie Via (2 ct, 4 gb) led the defensive unit to 25 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls, which were both the second-most in a single game in Liberty lacrosse history. Senior Courtney Brown scored three first-half goals, including the final two goals of the first half to put the Lady Flames ahead, 7-4, at intermission.
Liberty led 10-9 with 14:52 remaining before scoring three goals, two from Brianna McCaffrey, and one from Carly White, to put the game out of reach.
Other seniors and their statistics:
Paige Britton: 1 goal, 3 ground balls, 1 draw control
Ashlyn Altieri: 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover
Eden Bayuk: 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover
Casey Thate: 2 ground balls
2017 Big South Update
Here's a look at the current conference standings:
| Team | Conference | Overall |
| High Point | 6-0 | 12-3 |
| Campbell | 5-1 | 8-7 |
| Winthrop | 4-2 | 7-9 |
| Liberty | 4-2 | 5-11 |
| Longwood | 2-4 | 6-10 |
| Radford | 2-4 | 6-9 |
| Presbyterian | 1-5 | 2-13 |
| Gardner-Webb | 0-6 | 0-16 |
Lady Flames News and Notes
- Liberty places No. 4 in the country in ground balls per game (24.25) and No. 4 in caused turnovers per game (12.50). The Lady Flames are first in the conference in both categories. The Liberty defense recorded 25 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls on Wednesday against Radford. Both marks are the second highest totals in a game in program history.
- Last Saturday vs. High Point, sophomore attacker Kayla Foster joined the 100-point club, needing just 33 career games to do so. Foster became the sixth Lady Flame in program history to reach 100 points. Foster is currently sixth in program history with 104 points.
- Foster paces the squad in assists (30, No. 25 in nation) and points (53). Her eight-assist, three-goal, 11-point performance last Wednesday at Gardner-Webb set new Liberty program records for both assists and points.
- The Lady Flames are averaging 14.67 goals per game in six Big South Conference contests.
- Sophomore midfielder Brianna McCaffrey leads Liberty in goals (30), draw controls (70) and shots (99). McCaffrey is fifth in the league and 39th nationally in draw controls per game (4.38) and third in the conference in shots per game (6.19).
- Liberty senior defender Victoria Tickle paces the team with 49 ground balls and is 26th in DI in ground balls per game (3.06) and third in the Big South. Tickle is seventh all-time in program history with 98 ground balls and eighth all-time in caused turnovers (53). She had a career game on Wednesday vs. Radford, compiling six caused turnovers, second-most in a game in Lady Flames history, and six caused turnovers.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Katherine Widrick places third in the Big South in goals-against average (12.54) and fourth in save percentage (.397). She was selected as the Big South Defensive Player of the Week on April 4.
- Liberty freshmen have stepped up, this season. Grace Fletcher and Carly White pace the first-year group with 17 goals apiece, while Hannah Quast (11), Jenna Joyal (8) and Nikki Stumpf (3) have all made their marks as first-year players.
- Liberty attempted 47 shots on Wednesday vs. Radford, the third-most in any game in school history. The Lady Flames are 5-3 this year when they outshoot their opponents.
- White has recorded 15 goals over the past seven matches, while Paige Britton has notched 16 goals during the last six contests.
Three-time Big South Women's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Nicole Beatson (46 g, 28 a) leads the conference with 74 points in 16 games (4.62/game). Beatson is seventh in the nation in points and ranks first in DI in free position percentage (.789). Katherine Judge (36 g), Katie Clark (31 g, 8 a) and Kristen Shriver (30 g, 24 a) all have 30 or more goals for the Eagles.
Judge has accounted for 81 draw controls, good for third-best in the Big South and 26th in the country in draw controls per game (5.06). She also checks in at No. 29 in the country in caused turnovers per game (1.94), pacing the squad with 31.
Goalkeeper Chloe Wormsley leads the squad with 44 ground balls (2.81/game, No. 42 in the nation). Wormsley has played every minute in net for Winthrop, going 7-9 with a 12.12 goals-against average, a .342 save percentage and 101 saves.
The Eagles won the Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship in both 2015 and 2016. Winthrop is led by first-year head coach Julika Blankenship.
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