Women's Basketball Hosts IUPUI at Reynolds Gym
12/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Dec. 4, 2002
WAKE FOREST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME NOTES
Game 6
Thurs., Dec. 5, 2002
Wake Forest (4-1) vs. IUPUI (2-3)
Reynolds Gymnasium (2,000)/Winston-Salem, N.C.
Tipoff: 7:00 pm
Broadcast: None
Records: Wake Forest is 4-1 and has won three straight at home over the last week. After opening the season with two straight overtime losses, IUPUI is now 2-3, defeating Evansville in its last outing.
The Series: Thursday's game marks the first meeting between Wake Forest and IUPUI.
The Coaches: Deacon coach Charlene Curtis begins her sixth season at WFU, where she has compiled a 46-98 record. Her 16-year career has produced a 208-248 mark. Jaguar coach Kris Simpson is 84-110 in her eighth season as a head coach, all at IUPUI.
Noteworthy: A win over IUPUI will give Wake Forest a four game win streak, something the Deacs have accomplished against non-conference opponents in each of the last two seasons.
Up Next: The Deacons will break for exams, returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 15 at home versus UAB.
Wake Forest Moves On Campus to Host IUPUI Jaguars
In the middle of a six-game homestand, the Wake Forest women's basketball team switches venues to host IUPUI. The Deacons will take on the Jaguars at Reynolds Gym on the WFU campus on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
The Deacs enter the game on a three-game win streak in which they've averaged a 30-point margin of victory. Thursday's game will be the first-ever meeting with IUPUI.
Wake Forest, under sixth-year head coach Charlene Curtis, is 4-1 in the young season and looking to continue its steady improvement of the last few years. The Deacons posted a 12-16 record last year, their best mark in six seasons.
The 2002-03 campaign marks the 32nd season of women's basketball at Wake Forest University. The program owns an all-time record of 331-454.
Deacons Dominate In-State Rivals In Last Two Outings
Wake Forest improved its record to 4-1 with big back-to-back victories over regional rivals Appalachian State (88-59) and High Point (82-32) earlier this week.
The Deacons' 29-point win over the Mountaineers was its biggest win over ASU since the 1984-85 season. Freshman Cotelia Bond-Young paced the Deacon effort, showing some impressive moves and posting 24 points.
Wake Forest's 50-point win over High Point was its biggest margin of victory over an opponent since the 1990-91 season, and the 32 points allowed were the fewest in over 12 years. Wake used a strong defensive presence to overpower the Panthers, while five Deacs put up double-figures in scoring, led by Johanna Bjorklund's 14.
Deacs Set School Records in Three-Pointers, Attempts
Wake Forest started off the new season with a bang, breaking the school's single-game record for three-pointers in the 2002-03 opener against La Salle. The Deacs drained 15 treys (25 attempts) against the Explorers, shattering the previous school record of 13 set on Dec. 3, 1993 against Butler.
Wake's best performance from beyond the arc in all of last season was nine against FSU.
The Deacs followed the La Salle game with nine three-pointers versus SMU, and tied the school mark of 27 attempts, originally set against Georgia Tech in 1999.
Through five games, Wake is one of the ACC's top three-point shooting teams, averaging 8.0 three-pointers a game and shooting nearly 39 percent (40-104) from beyond the arc.
Scouting the Jaguars
IUPUI is 2-3 this season, with their three losses coming by a combined 16 points. The Jaguars started off the season with two overtime losses to Iowa and Murray State before posting their first victory over Eastern Illinois. Following a three-point loss to Illinois State, IUPUI defeated Evansville in its last outing.
A look at the Jaguar personnel has to start with senior forward Tiffany Kyser, who is averaging a double-double with 20.4 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. Freshman 6-2 forward Brooke McAfee is second on the squad with 10.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and has an impressive 20 blocks (4.0 per game) so far this season.
As a team, IUPUI is shooting just under 35 percent from the floor, scoring 63.6 points per game. The Jaguars are pulling down 42.8 rebounds an outing.
Freshman Put Up Big Numbers Early
Two players of Wake Forest's four-member freshman class have made an immediate impact in the early goings of the season. Guard Cotelia Bond-Young has been particularly impressive. In her collegiate debut, she scored 18 points against La Salle, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. She tallied five steals against Marshall, scored 24 points versus Appalachian State and 12 against High Point. She's currently the team's third-leading scorer (12.2 ppg) and is shooting a team-best 44 percent from beyond the arc (10-23).
Guard/forward Liz Strunk scored nine points -- all three-pointers -- versus La Salle, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. She played more of an all-around role against SMU, pulling down six rebounds and two assists while scoring seven points. She dished a team-high six assists versus Marshall and tied her scoring high with nine points against High Point.
Pouring in the Points
One of Wake Forest's keys to success this season is to put more points on the board. The Deacs averaged just 60.8 points a game last year, and have not averaged more than 64 points in a season since the 1995-96 campaign.
What a difference a year makes -- Wake Forest currently leads the ACC in scoring (tied with Maryland) at 79.0 points per game. The Deacs have already scored at least 80 points in three of five games, after not reaching the 80-point mark at all last season.
Wake's 88 points against Appalachian State on Dec. 1 were the most posted by a Deacon squad since the 1995-96 campaign.
Twenty Points Times Five
Through five games this season, Wake Forest has already tallied five 20-point games -- three by Eafton Hill and one apiece by Tonia Brown and Cotelia Bond-Young.
The Deacs have already tied their 20-point game total from all of last year. In the 2001-02 season, Brown posted four 20-point games while Bianca Brown tallied one.
Trivial Tidbit
With the IUPUI game on Thursday, Wake Forest will have played its first six games all on a different day of the week. For the record, Saturday is the only day that has produced a loss this season.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest will have a 10-day break from games as the team will take final exams. The Deacs return to action on Sunday, Dec. 15, hosting UAB in a 1:00 p.m. tip at Joel Coliseum.