LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty became the first Big South team to start the season 7-0 in conference play since the 2011-12 season, as the Flames shot lights out from beyond the arc to defeat visiting Longwood Tuesday night at the Vines Center, 70-48.

The Flames – who have won five straight games since an 84-44 defeat against top-ranked South Carolina – improve to 11-5 on the season and 7-0 in the Big South. Longwood falls to 2-15 and 2-6 in conference play.

"I was pleased with our effort this evening," said head coach Bill Reinson. "Liberty is a very good team and their size always gives us problems. Tonight, we did a pretty good job of containing them down low and they shot lights out from three point range. I thought we played hard for 40 minutes."

Liberty came into the game averaging 4.67 three-pointers per game – fifth in the Big South this season. However, the Flames hit 9-of-14 (.643) treys in the opening 20 minutes and finished the night with 11 triples. Mikayla Sanders went 3-of-3 in the half, as Karly Buer and Jaymee Fisher-Davis joined Sanders with three treys. The 11 triples for the Flames equaled the most three-point field goals in their home arena.

Raven Williams paced the Lancer offense, scoring a game-high 18 points to mark the ninth time in the last 10 games that the junior co-captain has finished with 16 or more points. Kyndal Skersick finished with 10 points to mark her third straight game in double figures.

"Raven continues to produce offensively, but we're going to need to get her more help," Reinson said. "Others need to step up on offense if we're going to continue to progress."

The Flames attacked the offensive glass early and often, as Liberty posted 26 offensive rebounds in the game and out-rebounded the Lancers, 62-23. However, Liberty held a slim 22-18 advantage in the paint.

Ashley Rininger recorded a double-double, as she finished the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rininger was one of three Flame forwards to finish the night in double figures, as Simone Brown added a team-high 12 points and Catherine Kearney finished with 10 points and nine boards.

With Liberty shooting the ball at a .401 clip for the season – fourth in the Big South – the Lancers held the Flames to .358 shooting in the game and just a .333 percentage in the second stanza to mark the best defensive performance of the season for Longwood in conference play.

The Lancers will play their second straight road game Saturday evening at Presbyterian. The game is set for a 5 p.m., tip inside the Templeton Center.

#GoWood