Wake Forest University
Longwood
Deacons Bridle Lancers 57-26
12/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team shut the door on 2007 in style, with a 57-26 win over the Longwood Lancers at the Joel Coliseum on Sunday.
With the win, Wake Forest improves to 12-2 and will enter Atlantic Coast Conference play with a three-game winning streak. The loss set the Lancers back to 6-8 for the season.
If you had to sum up Wake's non-conference season with two words, they would probably be Scoring Defense, with Sunday's win marking the lowest opponent score yielded in 2007. Wake Forest leads the league in the category, limiting opponents to an average of just under 49 points per game.
The game was a Wake Forest WBB record in the Joel Coliseum for opponent points yielded, the closest mark coming in 2005 when Morgan State only picked up 33 points. The Lancers' 26 points was the third lowest opponent mark in Wake Forest program history, the other two lowest totals occurring in 1971 and 1972.
Junior Alex Tchangoue put up 17 points to lead the Deacons in scoring on Sunday, while classmate Corinne Groves and senior Christen Brown led the Deacs on the glass with seven a piece. Cierra Barker was the high scorer for Longwood with points.
Courteney Morris broke a 2-2 tie by picking the pockets of Lancers' leading scorer Keiva Small in the game's opening minutes. Morris then drew a foul on the fast break shot to put the Deacons up 4-2 with her free throw buckets. On the next Longwood possession, Tchangoue mirrored the same play, stripping the ball from Courtney Dyer and converting on one charity stripe shot.
Together, Morris and Tchangoue combined for seven steals during the contest.
With a 5-2 lead Wake Forest charged ahead and didn't look back, stretching the advantage to 15-2 by the 12:30 mark. The Deacon defense held the Lancers to a microscopic shooting percentage of 15 percent during the first half, including an 0-8 mark during Wake's 10-0 run.
The arc was a cruel force for both teams on the eve of New Year's Eve, with Wake putting up just 20 percent in 3-point shots, while the Lancers were 13.3 percent shooting 2-for-15. Neither team was able to net any 3-point buckets during the first half.
Sophomore Mekia Valentine shined in the second half, grabbing five boards and four points during the final 20 minutes. Valentine also had monster block on a Lancer layup with 4:29 to play, her 26th block of the season and 76th career block.
Wake Forest will open 2008 and ACC action on January 3, when it plays host to the Maryland Terrapins at 7 p.m.
