Wake Forest University
Purdue (Central Florida Tournament)
Women's Basketball Falls To No. 8 Purdue, 76-57
11/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2003
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A steady defense made up for Purdue's erratic offense.
No. 8 Purdue held Wake Forest to 25 percent shooting in the second half and forced 19 turnovers for a 76-57 victory in the Golden Knights Classic on Saturday.
Shereka Wright scored 19 points, Beth Jones and Erika Valek had 12 and Erin Lawless added 11 for the Boilermakers (4-1), who closed the game on a 14-4 run.
"The second half, we came out and finished strong," Jones said. "We really picked up our defense, and that really helped us."
Purdue was streaky throughout. The Boilermakers opened the game with a 10-0 run, then used a 12-0 burst midway through the second half to open a 15-point lead with 7:41 left.
Liz Strunk had 14 points and Cotelia Bond-Young added 14 for Wake Forest (3-1). Erin Ferrell added 13 for the Demon Deacons, who were denied a chance at their first 4-0 start in 16 seasons.
For the game, Wake Forest shot only 35.4 percent and committed 25 turnovers. Purdue outscored the Demon Deacons 33-16 after halftime.
"They made us stand still, and we're not a good team when we're still standing still," Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis said. "That had a lot to do with their pressure."
The Demon Deacons trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, yet rallied to tie the game at 43 when Strunk hit a 12-footer with 19:27 remaining.
Wake Forest didn't have another field goal for 7:37 and turned the ball over nine times during the stretch.
Valek made seven steals for the Boilermakers, whose starters outscored the opposition's first team 57-28.
"Any game is going to be a game of runs. ... As long as ours is better and ours is longer, then that's all that matters," Jones said.
Bond-Young scored 13 points in the first half, including a driving layup with two seconds remaining to pull the Demon Deacons within 43-41 at the break. Wake Forest managed only five field goals the rest of the way.
"I wasn't happy at halftime," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "Our bench killed us in the first half. It was just better effort and energy in the second half."
