Wake Forest University
Appalachian St
Women's Basketball Topples the Mountaineers, 88-59
12/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2002
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead, fell behind, then overtook the lead and ran away with the score in an 88-59 victory over Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon at Joel Coliseum. With the win, the Demon Deacons improve to 3-1 on the season, while the Mountaineers fall to 1-3.
Wake's win gives them the edge in the series with Appalachian State, 11 games to 10. The 29-point victory was also its biggest win over the Mountaineers since an 81-42 showing in the 1984-85 campaign.
Wake Forest appeared to have control of the game from the outset, jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. But the Mountaineers got right back into it, taking over the lead at 20-19 midway through the first period. Appalachian State then controlled the momentum for the next several minutes, leading by as much as five points, 33-28, with 6:32 left in the half.
It was then that Deacon freshman Cotelia Bond-Young (Landover, Md.), seemed to take matters into her own hands. Coming off the bench, Bond-Young scored 11 points, dished an assist and had a steal over the next four minutes to give Wake a 42-37 lead. Included in that stretch were back-to-back three-pointers by the rookie.
The rest of the Deacon squad fed off Bond-Young's momentum, as Wake held the Mountaineers to just two points over the final 3:21 of the half and took a 10-point lead, 49-39, into the lockerroom at the break.
The second half picked up where the first one left off. The Mountaineers committed 10 turnovers in the first six minutes of the period and were held scoreless until the 12:03 mark on a free throw by Aisha Bryant. Wake meanwhile, went on a 12-0 run to open the second stanza. The Deacs' biggest lead came at the buzzer, with the 88-59 final score.
"We started the game out well," said Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis. "They found a solution for what we were doing, but part of that was the fact that we had a lack of discipline for a stretch."
Wake Forest's 88 points were the most scored by a Demon Deacon squad since it put up the same amount at Florida State on Jan. 20, 1996.
Deacon junior Tonia Brown (Roanoke, Va.) was impressive in the second half, not missing a shot (5-of-5). She finished the day with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Bond-Young also put up 24, converting on 8-of-11 from the field with three treys in addition to dishing a game-high seven assists.
Another junior guard, Bianca Brown (Montclair, N.J.) set new career-highs in both assists (6) and steals (6).
Wake senior Tiffani Listenbee (Clinton Township, Mich.), celebrating her 21st birthday on Sunday, led the charge on the boards, pulling down a game-high eight. She also scored eight points, two steals and a block.
Appalachian's Jessica Jank led the Mountaineer scoring effort with 13 points, while Bryant added 12 and Tiffani Johnson posted 10 points. Jank also had a team-high eight rebounds for ASU. The Mountaineers shot over 51 percent from the floor (22-of-43), but committed 31 turnovers.
The Demon Deacons turn right around and return to action tomorrow, Dec. 2, versus High Point. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Joel Coliseum.
