Basketball Game Preview: Liberty Leopards vs. Bristol Panthers

The Liberty Leopards will face off against the Bristol Panthers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Liberty is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Southeast on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Liberty had to suffer through a 62-17 loss at the hands of Southeast. The Leopards were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-8.

Meanwhile, Bristol came up short against Harvey on Thursday and fell 37-29.

Despite the defeat, Bristol saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Lauren Church posted 16 points in addition to eight boards and five steals. Church has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 20 times she's played. Sammy Mansfield was another key player, putting up seven points.

Even though they lost, Bristol smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Bristol's loss dropped their record down to 12-9. As for Liberty, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-19.

Liberty beat Bristol 28-18 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Will Liberty repeat their success, or does Bristol have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.