Women's Hoops Faces Marshall
12/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2003
Wake Forest Game Notes
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Game #5
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (3-0)
Tuesday, Dec. 2 / Cam Henderson Center (9,043) / Huntington, W.Va.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Radio: The game can be heard live by logging on to www.marshall.edu/wmul.
Records: Wake Forest is 3-1 after its 76-57 loss to #8 Purdue this past Saturday in Orlando, Fla. Marshall is 3-0 following a trio of routs over Morgan State, High Point and Radford.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis (Radford, 1976) is 58-113 in seven seasons with the Deacons, 220-228 in 19 seasons overall. Marshall coach Royce Chadwick (Southwestern Oklahoma State, 1980) is 24-36 in his third season with the Herd and 424-168 in 20 seasons overall.
SID Contacts: Wake Forest assistant media relations director Michael Bertsch; Marshall women's basketball SID Brandon Parro.
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; Marshall -- herdzone.com.
The Series: Tied, 1-1.
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest hosts #2 Duke Friday evening at 7 p.m. Marshall entertains Morehead State this Friday as well.
Wake Forest Travels To Marshall
The Wake Forest women's basketball team hits the road for a non-conference matchup with Marshall University from the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday night. Tipoff with the Thundering Herd is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Demon Deacons will be playing its third game in five days, all away from the friendly confines of Joel Coliseum. Wake Forest split its two games at the UCF Golden Knight Classic this past weekend in Orlando, Fla. The Deacs opened the tournament Friday night with a 79-47 rout of Nicholls State. WFU then battled #8 Purdue on Saturday. The Demon Deacons trailed by just three points with 11:43 remaining, but the Boilermakers pulled away late for a 76-57 victory.
Scouting Report On The Thundering Herd
Marshall enters the game with a 3-0 record. It is the first time since the 1991-92 season that the Thundering Herd has started a season with three consecutive victories. Marshall has routed each of its three opponents (Morgan State, High Point, Radford) by an average of almost 35 ppg. The Herd gets a balanced scoring effort. While only two score in double figures, eight others average 5.0 ppg or better. Sikeeta Shepard-Hall leads the attack at 14.0 ppg and 4.7 apg. Amy Smith scores 10.0 ppg and grabs a team best 8.0 rpg.
A Wake Forest Win Would ...
Make the Demon Deacons 4-1 on the season ... Give Wake Forest a leg up in the all-time series, 2-1 ... Be the second straight over Marshall as the Deacs were victorious 67-56 in Winston-Salem last season ... Improve the Deacs to 16-6 in the month of December over the past three years ... Up Curtis' all-time record to 221-228 ... Give Curtis a record of 59-113 at Wake Forest ... Improve the Demon Deacons all-time record to 343-470 ... Improve the Deacs' to 4-3 against the Mid-American Conference (MAC) all-time ... Extend the Wake Forest winning streak over MAC foes to 3 (previous loss to MAC foe was on Nov. 25, 2000 vs. Western Michigan).
A Wake Forest Loss Would ...
Make the Demon Deacons 3-2 on the season ... Give Marshall a leg up in the all-time series, 2-1 ... Improve the Deacs to 15-7 in the month of December over the past three years ... Drop Curtis' all-time record to 220-229 ... Give Curtis a record of 58-114 at Wake Forest ... Drop the Demon Deacons all-time record to 342-471 ... Drop the Deacs' to 3-4 against the Mid-American Conference (MAC) all-time ... Snap the Wake Forest two game winning streak over MAC ( previous loss to MAC foe was on Nov. 25, 2000 vs. Western Michigan).
Noteworthy
~ In the 76-57 loss to #8 Purdue, the Deacs still managed to place three players in double figures. Wake Forest has registered at last three players in double figures in each of their first three games. In fact, the Demon Deacons have already had six players score 10 or more points in a single game.
~ Cotelia Bond-Young torched the Boilermakers in the first half for 13 points, but the sophomore did not register a field goal in the second half and finished with 14 for the afternoon.
~ Wake Forest continued its struggled from the free throw line against Purdue. The Deacs finished 17-of-26 (65.4%) from the line. WFU is shooting only 58.9% (63-107) from the charity stripe on the season.
~ The Deacs committed a season high 25 turnovers against the Boilermakers. In fact, 19 of the turnovers happened in the second half.
~ Senior Tonia Brown needs just one 3-pointer to move into third on the WFU all-time list with 119 three-point field goals. The guard will also move into third for career attempts with two more shots from behind the 3-point arc.
~ Erin Ferrell drilled a career best three 3-pointers, all in the second half, against Purdue. They were the first 3-pointers from the forward this season.
~ The Demon Deacons have forced 20 or more turnovers in three of their first four games. Wake Forest forced 23 against Loyola on Nov. 21, 22 against Hampton on Nov. 24 and a season high 28 versus Nicholls State on Nov. 28.
Last Time Out
WINSTON-SALEM --- Wake Forest sophomore Liz Strunk paced four players in double figures with 14 points, while the Demon Deacons limited Hampton to just 22.8% shooting from the field en route to a 64-43 rout on Nov. 24.
Strunk finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, falling just shy of her career high of 16 points set last season against UAB on Dec. 15. The forward also grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists, picked up a pair of steals and blocked one shot. Strunk, who scored all 11 of her points against Loyola on Nov. 21 in the second half, scored 12 of her 14 points after halftime.
Erin Ferrell chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, while Tracy Alston and Cotelia Bond-Young added 11 and 10 points respectively. Alston also continued her strong effort on the glass. The senior grabbed seven boards. Porsche'' Jones was the team's leading rebounder. Listed at 5-foot-3, Jones collected eight rebounds, six of which came on the defensive glass. Bond-Young also dished out a team best four assists.
Holding just a six point lead at halftime, the Demon Deacons put the game away with a 27-4 run over the first 10 minutes of the second stanza. Wake Forest extended its lead to as many as 29 points, 52-23. The Deacs held the Lady Pirates scoreless over a stretch of 5:41. Hampton would not recover.
Lynetta Sullivan led the Lady Pirates with 15 points, while Nicole Brathwaite added 10. Tiffani Williams corralled a game high 13 rebounds.
Hampton hit just 13 of its 57 shots from the floor, including 1-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc. The Lady Pirates did shoot 88.9% (16-of-18) from the free throw line.
Wake Forest slowly pulled out to an 11 point lead, 21-10, with 4:09 remaining in the first half, but Hampton chipped away at the lead. The Deacs went cold from the floor in the final five minutes of the half, scoring just four points. In fact, the Lady Pirates narrowed the deficit to just six points, 25-19, at halftime thanks to their efficiency from the free throw line. Hampton was able to hit seven of eight from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes.
While free throw shooting kept the Lady Pirates close in the first half, it was the same that discipline where Wake Forest struggled. The s managed to shoot only 50% (9-for-18) from the free throw line.
Last Meeting With Marshall
WINSTON-SALEM --- The Wake Forest women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to top Marshall, 67-56, on Nov. 26, 2002 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 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. 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.
As she did in the first two games of the season, Wake Forest junior forward Eafton Hill 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 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 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.
Nicholls State Snaps Streak
After holding its first two opponents (Loyola and Hampton) under 30% shooting from the field, Nicholls State managed to eclipse the 30% mark. The Lady Colonels hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds to finish the night at 30.4% (17-for-56).
Deacs Finally Win Battle Of Boards
After losing the battle of the boards in their first two games, Wake Forest out-rebounded Nicholls State, 40-36, and #8 Purdue, 36-34, in their two games at the 2003 UCF Golden Knight Classic.
Miscellaneous Notes From Nicholls State Victory
~ The Deacs also set season highs with 16 assists and 13 steals. ~ Wake Forest had 11 different players score. ~ The 32-point victory was the largest for WFU since the 78-46 rout of NC A&T on Feb. 19 of last season.
Brown Leads WFU Over Loyola
Tonia Brown recorded game highs in points (16), rebounds (9) and assists (5) in the Deacs?? 66-51 victory over Loyola College on Nov. 21. It was the first time one player led Wake Forest in those three categories since Olyvia Dardy turned the task with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Duke on Mar. 2, 2001.
Four Straight Season Openers
The victory over Loyola on Nov. 21 was the fourth straight season opening win for the Demon Deacons.
Impressive In The State Of Maryland
With the victory over Loyola, Wake Forest extended its winning streak over non-conference foes from the State of Maryland to eight.
Wake Forest Signs A Pair
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- Wake Forest women's basketball coach Charlene Curtis announced Thursday that Christen Brown and Tara Tate have signed national letters of intent to play women's basketball for the Demon Deacons in 2004-05.
Brown, a 6-2 native of Dalton, Ga., can play either the guard or forward positions. Brown averaged 12.1 ppg and 10.0 rpg last season. She was selected to the 2002-03 Atlanta Journal Constitution Preseason All-Area squad. Brown was also chosen as a Gatorade Will to Win Athlete. This past summer, Brown competed at the adidas Top Ten Camp and was listed as the 47th best center in the most recent All-Star Girls Report.
Tate, a 5-6 guard, attends Freedom H.S. in Morganton, N.C. Tate averaged 17.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 5.1 apg last season. She has been awarded all-tournament team selections in her conference each of the past two seasons. This summer, Tate participated in the Youth Basketball of America Tournament and helped her team capture the National Championship. She was named the Most Valuable Player.
