Wake Forest University
Towson
Wake Forest Wins Fourth Straight, 58-45, Over Towson
11/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest jumped out to a big first-half lead and held off a late Towson rally in the second period en route to a 58-45 non-conference win over the Tigers Wednesday evening at Joel Coliseum.
The victory was the Demon Deacons' fourth straight, moving them to 5-2 this season. Towson lost for the first time this year, as the Tigers dropped to 5-1.
Sophomore Corinne Groves, who played all 40 minutes of the contest, posted her third double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Fellow sophomore Yolanda Lavender scored a game-high 16 points. Lavender, who entered the night third in the ACC in scoring, also dished out three assists and recorded two steals.
Freshman Mekia Valentine proved tough on the defensive end, upping her team-leading block total to 16 with three on the night. Valentine also had a season-best two steals.
Junior Christen Brown and freshman Courteney Morris came off the bench to score seven and five points respectively.
The Deacons had their hottest shooting night of the season, hitting at a 51.9 percent (23-of-45) clip from the floor. Wake took just six three-point shots but made four of them.
Towson, on the other hand, shot just 29.3 percent (17-of-58) from the field and was 1-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Wake Forest got out of the gate quickly in the first half, jumping out to a 13-2 lead 6:25 into the contest. Towson found their rhythm and followed with a 12-6 over the next 7:20 to pull within five at 19-14.
However, the Demon Deacons quickly responded with a three-point play from freshman Jessie Cain to go up by eight. Cain's conversion propelled Wake to a 12-2 run, putting the home squad up 15 with 2:11 to play in the period.
The margin remained the same at halftime, as the Deacs took a 33-18 lead into the locker room.
Towson came out in the second period and turned up the defensive pressure. The Tigers used a half-court trap to force 12 Wake Forest turnovers in the period.
The tactic worked, as Towson was able to climb back into the game. With the Deacons holding a 39-24 lead at the 13:40 mark, the Tigers went on a 17-8 run to cut the Wake Forest lead to six at 47-41.
With less than five minutes to play the Demon Deacons' lead appeared to be in jeopardy. However, a free throw from Morris and a jumper from sophomore Alex Tchangoue put Wake back up by nine, 50-41, with 2:47 remaining.
The Deacs made that lead hold up as Brown, Morris and Lavender combined to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute of play.
Wake Forest pulled out the victory despite committing 21 turnovers to Towson's 15. The Demon Deacons out-rebounded the Tigers 36-34.
The Wake Forest defense held Towson's two leading scorers Shanae Baker-Brice and Holly Mahan to just nine points each. Not one Tiger scored in double digits. Baker-Brice led Towson on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds.
The Deacs return to action on Saturday when they host Charleston Southern at 7:45 p.m. The game will be played as the back end of a doubleheader with the Wake Forest men's squad, which hosts Georgia at 5:10 p.m.
