Fanning the Flames

Hmmm.

What about Roli-Ann Nikagbatse or Karolina Piotrkiewicz? Or the Frazee triplets — Megan, Molly and Moriah?

Still drawing a blank? All right, I’ll make it easy for you: Jerry Falwell.

That’s right — Liberty University!

(It never fails. As a Liberty alumnus, name-drop the school’s famous founder/chancellor, and blank stares suddenly vanish.)

The first six names, if you’re wondering, are players on Liberty’s women’s basketball team. This weekend — and this is not a misprint — you’ll have a chance to see the Flames in person during the Terrapin Classic at Comcast Center. Liberty takes on Marist Friday at 3:30 p.m., with the winner facing the Maryland/UNC-Greensboro winner Saturday at 6 p.m.

You might be asking yourself, “Why am I reading about a women’s basketball team from Lynchburg, Va., in the Baltimore Examiner?” How foolish. That’s like saying, “Why should I read Homer if I’m not Greek?” Well … not really. But you get the point.

Anyway, bet on the Flames playing in Saturday’s title game. Why am I so confident? Oh, no reason, really … other than the fact that Liberty is a 10-time defending conference champion!

No, not in the ACC … or the SEC … or the Big Ten — in the Big South.

Go ahead and laugh. But the fact that Liberty was one of three teams (out of 325 Division I nationwide) invited to the defending national champion’s holiday tournament says something. And don’t forget: Only one women’s team (Old Dominion, with 15) has enjoyed a longer stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances than Liberty’s 10. What’s more: Two years ago, behind current San Antonio Silver Stars center Katie Feenstra, the Flames shocked Penn State and DePaul to advance to their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16.

For a rigorously conservative Baptist school, Liberty athletics ain’t too shabby. The football team has produced a handful of NFL products, including current Houston Texans running back Samkon Gado. The men’s basketball team yielded Julius Nwosu, a former backup to David Robinson, and Peter Aluma, who played briefly for the Globetrotters. And you can count Sid Bream, Randy Tomlin and Lee Guetterman as Liberty baseball alumni.

Back to this weekend. The Liberty women are 6-5, but don’t let the mediocre record fool you. Four of their losses came against Virginia Tech, James Madison, George Washington and Pittsburgh — all significantly bigger schools. And on Nov. 20, the Flames handed Virginia (8-3 as of Wednesday) a stunning 75-71 defeat. (Excuse me, that bump you just felt is just my chest swelling with pride.)

Most of you are probably just shaking your heads in wonder, disbelief or pity. I’m not offended. It’s tough for outsiders to understand my Falwell fetish — the special bond one feels to a university that imposes curfews, dress codes and music/movie restrictions on its students.

Feenstra summed it up best in an ESPN interview following the 2005 NCAA win over DePaul. When asked why she chose Liberty, she looked at the reporter and simply answered, “Why not Liberty?”

Joshua Cooley is the sports editor at The Examiner. You can reach him at jcooley@baltimoreexaminer.com.