SMU Women's Basketball: Mustangs Cruise Past LIU 69-50 at Moody to Reach 4-0 for the First Time Since 2013-14

DALLAS — SMU led from the opening tip and never looked back on Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum, cruising past LIU 69-50 to improve to 4-0 — the program's first 4-0 start since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, SMU Athletics reported. The Mustangs' defense set the terms immediately: LIU scored nine points in the first quarter, the fourth time this season SMU has held an opponent under 10 points in a quarter, and the Sharks finished the night with 30 turnovers, the most SMU has forced since it took 33 from Western Michigan on November 12, 2024.

Theresa Hagans Jr. ran the offense and the scoring. The New York native put up 10 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting with two 3-pointers, reached double figures for the 21st time in her career, and finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 4-of-6 from three, plus a team-high six assists — her second 20-point game of the season and the sixth of her career. LIU's one push came late in the second quarter, closing to 25-22, before SMU closed the half on a 9-4 run — one of Shania James's two first-half threes and an Izela Arenas jumper at the horn — to lead 34-26 at the break.

James ended the suspense early in the second half, knocking down back-to-back triples to stretch the lead to 47-32. The freshman finished with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 4-of-5 from downtown, her third double-figure scoring game of the season. The team numbers describe a Moody rout in every category that travels: SMU shot 44.1 percent with 18 assists, outrebounded LIU 40-33 — Adja Kane's eight rebounds led the glass work — turned 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, scored 34 points off turnovers, and got 30 points from its bench against LIU's 18. Zahra King scored her 500th career point in the win, and the result moved Coach Barnes to 182-135 in her career.

LIU falls to 0-4, and SMU is 1-0 all-time against the Sharks. The larger fact for the Metroplex is the start itself: four games, four wins, and a defensive identity — four sub-10-point quarters and two games forcing 28 or more turnovers — that has held against every visitor Moody has seen this month. A 4-0 start for the first time in a dozen years is still November basketball, but it is the kind of November that changes what a home crowd expects by December.