Wake Forest University
Marshall
Women's Hoops Uses Defense to Defeat Marshall, 67-56
11/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2002
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to top Marshall, 67-56, on Tuesday evening at Joel Coliseum. It was the home opener for the Demon Deacons, who improve to 2-1 on the season. Marshall also owns a 2-1 record with the loss.
Wake Forest led 38-29 at the half, but both teams showed signs of sloppy play in the opening stanza. Marshall committed 17 turnovers before the break, while the Deacs shot just 33 percent (14-of-43) from the floor. Wake did tally 12 steals in the first half, led by freshman Cotelia Bond-Young (Landover, Md.) with four.
Wake got off to a slow start in the second half, not scoring until the 15:31 mark on a short jumper by junior guard Tonia Brown (Roanoke, Va.). Marshall cut its deficit to two points, 40-38, at the 12:42 mark, but would get no closer the rest of the night. The Deacons began to pull away with an 8-0 run midway through the period, then increased its lead to 15 in the closing minutes.
The Thundering Herd finished the night with 28 turnovers, with the Deacs scoring 26 points off those takeaways. Wake, which relied heavily on its perimeter play in the first two games of the season, scored 38 of its 67 points in the paint and had 19 fast-break points against the Herd. Marshall, however, won the edge on the boards, 47-39.
"I thought we really got after it defensively," said Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis. "I liked that we got our hands on a lot of balls and deflected a lot of passes. But in looking at things that need to improve, we have to get better at rebounding, shot selection and finishing around the basket."
As she did in the first two games of the season, Wake Forest junior forward Eafton Hill (Boone, N.C.) led the team in scoring, tallying 21 points. It was her third straight 20-point game. Hill entered the 2002-03 season with just two 20-point games during her career. She also came up just two rebounds short of her third straight double-double, finishing with eight boards. Tonia Brown also posted double-figures, scoring 16 to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Senior forward Tiffani Listenbee (Clinton Township, Mich.) picked up her pace in the second half, scoring all six of her points after the break. Listenbee also tallied a career-best five steals.
Two members of the Deacons' freshman class contributed in the win. Bond-Young scored six points to go with five steals. Forward Liz Strunk (Chattanooga, Tenn.) dished a game-high six assists in 22 minutes of action.
Marshall was led by junior guard Cassie Hackworth, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior forward Catie Knable tallied a game-high 12 rebounds while also scoring 10 points. Senior center Amy Reed also finished with 10 points.
The Demon Deacons return to action on Sunday, Dec. 1, hosting Appalachian State at Joel Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. with the game being broadcast locally on WBRF 98.1 FM.
