Wake Forest University
Charleston Southern
Demon Deacons Cruise to 69-56 Win Over Charleston Southern
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest cruised to its fifth-straight win, putting three players in double figures scoring, as the Demon Deacons earned a 69-56 victory over Charleston Southern Saturday evening at Joel Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons have won five straight games, moving them to 6-2 on the year. The loss snaps Charleston Southern's two-game winning streak and drops the Buccaneers to 2-5 on the season.
Sophomore Corinne Groves turned in her second straight and fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Groves also added a career-high three steals on the defensive end.
Sophomore Yolanda Lavender led Wake in scoring for the sixth-straight contest, pouring in a game-high 18 points. Lavender finished the night with four assists.
Classmate Alex Tchangoue joined Groves and Lavender in double figures, tallying 13 markers. Tchangoue just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. The Orleans, France native also tied her career-high with three blocks and had a pair of steals.
Freshman Tiffany Roulhac dished out a game-high six assists and recorded two steals.
Fellow freshman Mekia Valentine continued to rack up the blocked shots, finishing the game with three. Valentine also chipped in seven points off the bench.
The game never seemed to be in doubt for the Demon Deacons, as Wake Forest used an early run to distance itself from Charleston Southern. With the Buccaneers holding a 7-6 advantage just three minutes into the contest, the Deacs went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:32 to take a 16-7 lead.
Wake steadily increased its margin to as much as 18 in the first half when it led 28-10 at the 8:08 mark.
CSU cut that lead in half with an 11-2 run over the next 3:40 to pull within nine, 30-21. However, the Deacons out-scored the Buccaneers 10-4 the rest of the period to take a 40-25 lead into the break.
Wake Forest increased its lead to 19 early in the second half before Charleston Southern used a 14-3 run to pull within eight, 57-49, with 8:22 remaining.
The Demon Deacons quickly stifled the rally, as Lavender drilled a three from the top of the arc. Valentine followed with a block on the defensive end and then put in a fastbreak layup to give the home squad a 62-49 lead.
The Buccaneers never came closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Wake Forest shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the floor but made just 25 percent (4-of-16) of its three-point attempts. The Deacons went 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first half.
Charleston Southern was more accurate from the beyond the arc at 45.5 percent (5-of-11) but finished at 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field.
The Demon Deacons out-rebounded the Buccaneers 45-33 and doubled up the visitors in offensive rebounds 18-9.
The Deacs had their lowest turnover total of the season, committing just 10. CSU ended the evening with 13 turnovers.
Wake Forest will have a 12-day layoff for semester finals before traveling to Dayton, Ohio to face Wright State on Dec. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
