Wake Forest University
Nicholls St (Central Florida Tournament)
Women's Basketball Races Past Nicholls State, 79-47
11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
ORLANDO, Fla. - Wake Forest placed four players in double figures as the Demon Deacons raced past Nicholls State, 79-47, in women's college basketball action from the UCF Golden Knight Classic Friday night. With the victory, Wake Forest opens the season 3-0 for the first time since 1990-91.
After falling behind 4-0 just moments into the game, the Deacs answered with a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to take a nine point advantage (16-7) at the 12:34 mark. Liz Strunk provided much of the attack early. The sophomore scored seven of the Demon Deacons first 14 points.
Wake Forest would extend the lead to as many as 17 points in the first half, but the Lady Colonels (1-2) managed to cut the deficit to only 10 points, 36-26, with 1:45 left in the opening 20 minutes. Wake Forest pushed the lead back to 14 points, 40-26, at halftime.
The Deacs would put the game away with a 17-5 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half, increasing the lead to 57-31 with 11:05 left in regulation. Wake Forest would push the lead to as many as 35 points, 74-39.
The Demon Deacons finished the night a season best 50.8% (32-for-63) from the field, while the Lady Colonels managed only 30.4% (17-for-56) from the floor. In fact, Nicholls State connected on a 3-pointer in the waning seconds to become the first Wake Forest opponent to eclipse the 30% mark from the floor.
Strunk finished the evening with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting, while Keila Evans also added 12 points. Evans was an efficient 5-for-6 from the field and also grabbed a seven rebounds. Cotelia Bond-Young and Erin Ferrell each added 11 points off the Demon Deacon bench. Bond-Young added a game high five assists, while Ferrell corralled seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
Wake Forest had 11 different players score on the night. Tonia Brown chipped in seven points, six rebounds and three assists, while Melissa Washington and Bianca Brown each added six. Brown also registered three steals. Meredith Bell capped off the victory with 3-point heave from half court as time expired.
The Deacs return to action Saturday night against #8/11 Purdue. Tip-off is scheduled at UCF Arena for 3 p.m. Wake Forest will look for its first 4-0 start since the 1988-89 campaign when the Deacs opened the season 5-0.
