Wake Forest University
*Virginia
Women's Basketball Falls To Virginia, 75-61
2/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2004
Virginia raced out to a 17-point first-half lead which was enough to hold off Wake Forest and sophomore Liz Strunk's game-high 25 points, including 17 in the second-half, for a 75-61 victory in ACC women's basketball action from University Hall Thursday night.
After seeing a 17-point first-half lead dwindle to only seven points right before halftime, Virginia (13-14, 6-9 ACC) pushed the lead back out to 14-points, 46-32, with 15:06 left in regulation.
However, Struck brought the Deacs (10-16, 3-12) back. The forward scored eight consecutive points over a two minute span to narrow the gap to just six points, 46-40, with 13:15 left. The Cavaliers extended its lead back to 14 points, 54-40, with 10:20 to go, but Wake Forest would climb back in one more time.
The Demon Deacons again drew within six, 59-53, with 5:36 to go, but could not get over the hump as the Cavaliers drilled 12-of-15 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the victory.
Strunk went 9-for-14 from the field, including a career-best five 3-point field goals. Strunk also grabbed nine rebounds. It was the 20th time this season that the sophomore eclipsed double figures, 12th time she lead WFU in scoring and third 20+ point game.
Sophomore Cotelia Bond-Young was the only other Demon Deacon in double figures. She added 12. Wake Forest was out-rebounded 46-39, including surrendering 19 on the offensive glass.
Jocelyn Logan-Friend led the Cavaliers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Anna Prillaman scored 16 points.
Virginia came out of the gates on fire. The Cavaliers knocked down four 3-point field goals in the game's first 10 minutes to race out to a 27-13 lead with 8:37 remaining in the first-half. Prillaman and Brenna McGuire buried two 3-pointers apiece. Virginia extended its lead to as many as 17 points, 35-18, with 2:43 left before halftime.
The Demon Deacons climbed back into the game over the final three minutes of the half. Wake Forest answered the Cavalier explosion with an 10-0 run of its own, capped off by Strunk's 3-point field goal with 33-seconds left to narrow the Virginia lead to only seven, 35-28.
Safiya Grant-Fairley closed the half with a running one-hander from the right block to give the Cavaliers a 37-28 lead at intermission.
Virginia shot 48.5% (16-for-33) from the field, while the Demon Deacons knocked down 33.3% (11-for-33) from the floor. The Cavaliers controlled the paint in the opening 20-minutes, outscoring the Demon Deacons 20-10 in the paint.
Wake Forest returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 29 against Georgia Tech. Tip-off with the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Joel Coliseum. The Demon Deacons captured the first meeting in Atlanta, 57-55, in overtime.
