Wake Forest University
Charlotte
Deacons Stop Charlotte Rally to Take 75-67 Win
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - UNC Charlotte sliced Wake Forest's 18 point lead in the second half to a single possession advantage in the final 30 seconds, but four key free throws from Alex Tchangoue kept the Deacons in front with a final score of 75-67.
Senior Corinne Groves netted 20 points, her highest mark of the season, to lead the Deacons in scoring. Charlotte's Aysha Jones had the game-high of 29 points. 49er Danielle Burgin was the leading rebounder with 12 grabs. Wake Forest's Brittany Waters and Secily Ray had each had seven rebounds for the Demon Deacons.
The 49ers shot 83.3 percent from the charity stripe, shooting a perfect 11-11 in the first half.
Foul trouble forced three Deacon starters to remain on the bench after halftime, including point guard Tiffany Roulhac who picked up her third foul with more than six minutes to play in the first half. Brooke Thomas came off the bench to fill in at the point, scoring 12 points and adding six assists through 22 minutes of play.
The first half was extremely close, with both teams tying in points ten times.
With less than six remaining in the half Waters drew a foul on a jumper, giving the Deacons a chance to take a 2-point lead. After making the first shot she missed the second attempt to put Wake Forest ahead 16-15. With 5:07 in the first half, Aysha Jones scored on the next UNCC possession, giving the 49ers the lead for the first time since the 12:33 mark.
Waters came up big on Wake's next offensive play, knocking down a 3-pointer. Brooke Thomas picked up a turnover by UNCC's Erin Floyd and Corinne Groves added a basket to gave Wake Forest its first two-possession advantage of the half (21-17) with 4:15 on the clock.
The score tied five more times in the final four minutes, but Wake Forest freshman Secily Ray made a fast break with two seconds before the halftime buzzer and nailed a layup to give the Deacons a 32-30 edge at the half.
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, Brooke Thomas made a huge steal at half court and netted the fast break layup to give Wake Forest a five point lead at the 14 minute mark. Courteney Morris followed up with a 3 pointer at the top of the circle to push the Deacons ahead 44-36 with 13:11 remaining and with the momentum in the Wake Forest favor the Deacons racked up an 18 point lead by the 8:26 mark.
With just under seven minutes to play UNC started a 20-7 run that lasted into the final 40 seconds that left the Deacons clinging to a 69-67 lead. Wake Forest then added six free throws, including four from Alex Tchangoue to stay on top.
Wake Forest will return to Winston-Salem to host Miami of Ohio on Saturday, November 29 at 12 p.m.
