Box Score Box Score

LYNCHBURG, VA— The Winthrop women's basketball win streak came to an end at four games as it fell 74-49 at Liberty, Monday evening at the Vines Center.
Winthrop falls to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the Big South as it was led by Dequesha McClanahan's game-high 20 points. Liberty improved to 11-7 overall and 6-1 in the league.
McClanahan also dished out eight assists and pulled in six boards. Diana Choibekova finished the game with 14 points. With her eight assists, McClanahan passed the 250 career mark.
The Lady Eagles never got into a flow offensively and couldn't get open looks to fall as they finished the game shooting 25 percent. Liberty showed why it leads the country in rebounding as it took advantage on the glass. The Flames turned in 21 second chance points on 19 offensive boards. The Flames also finished with 44 points in the paint and finished the game shooting 43 percent.
Winthrop had not been turning the ball over a lot this season, but committed 19 in the loss, which led to 22 points for the Flames. Winthrop was coming off a season-high 24 turnovers in the win over Radford on Saturday and entered the weekend averaging only 13.8 (which ranked among the top 40 in the country).
After trailing by 22 points early on in the second half, Winthrop cut the lead down to 11 points twice, the last time with 9:47 to play. Tolu Omotola's tip-in at the 16:50 mark made it 47-25 in favor of Liberty, but then Winthrop scored eight straight points and the deficit was down to 14. Choibekova hit two threes during the run.
Devon Brown came right back with a bucket for a 16 point lead and the lead reached 17 with 12:51 to go after a Danika Dale put back, but then Winthrop went on another run of six straight points to pull within 11. Liberty pushed the lead back to 13, but Winthrop responded with a basket inside from TaQuoia Hammick. Winthrop forced a turnover on the other end and had a chance to cut the lead to single digits. However, Winthrop turned the ball back over to Liberty that led to a Dale lay-up and the Lady Eagles never recovered. The Lady Eagles managed six points over the final 9:47.
Winthrop got out to an early lead at 6-2 after three-pointers by Samiya Wright and McClanahan.
Liberty settled down quickly and went on a 15-2 run for a 17-8 lead with 13:23 to go in the half.
Choibekova ended the run on her first three-pointer of the game and Winthrop reeled off seven straight points to pull within two points at 17-15 with 11:04 on the clock.
An Avery Warley put back on the Flames next possession made it a four-point game, but Choibekova knocked down another triple to make it 19-18 in favor of Liberty at the 10:51 mark.
From that point, Liberty worked its way to a 41-25 lead at the half. The Flames shot 46 percent and scored 26 of their 41 points in the paint. Winthrop struggled from the field, shooting 24 percent from the field and committed 10 turnovers that led to 15 points for Liberty.
Brown led Liberty with 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Avery Warley recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Dale finished in double-figures with 12 and Terika Lunsford added 11 points. Omotola finished with nine points, six of which came on offensive put backs.
Choibekova finished with four threes in the game and now has 81 in her career. She's beginning to threaten the Big South Conference record of 107 set by Charleston Southern's Katie Tull. Choibekova has 12 guaranteed games the remainder of the season and will need to average 2.3 per game to break the mark.
Winthrop returns home for three straight games as it begins the home stand on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. against High Point. The game is part of a double-header with the men's basketball team, which will also face High Point at 4 p.m.