Wake Forest University
Duke
No. 11 Blue Devils Sink Deacs 71-36
2/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - The Cameron Indoor Stadium proved to be unkind to the Wake Forest women's basketball team who fell 71-36 to the No. 11/12 Duke Blue Devils in Durham.
Duke (18-6, 7-2) defensive pressure shutdown the Demon Deacons (14-12, 1-10), who saw their worst shooting campaign of the season, hitting just under 23 percent from the floor. The Blue Devils took advantage of the WFU off-night and grabbed 34 defensive rebounds to Wake's 11 from the offensive glass.
"Duke is a very good defensive team," Wake Forest head coach Mike Petersen said. "They pressured us right out of our game plan. But between our turnovers and rebounds, we also made it hard on ourselves."
Mekia Valentine led the Demon Deacons with eight points, while Alex Tchangoue had a team-high seven rebounds. Duke's Carrem Gay posted a game-high 15 points and Joy Cheek led Sunday's contest with eight rebounds.
Wake Forest had a slow offensive start, staying scoreless until Courteney Morris broke through the Duke defense at the 12:39 mark to put the Deacons on the board (14-2).
In the first half, both teams were sore from beyond the arc, with Wake Forest shooting just under ten percent (1-11) and the Blue Devils acing only 2 of 13 baskets. Despite the bricks, Duke junior Abby Warner completed two 3-point field goals which helped her surpass her 1,000 career point mark in the opening period.
Facing a 35-18 deficit at halftime, freshman Brittany Waters quickly got the Demon Deacon numbers going with a jumper in the opening minute, but the Blue Devils continued to stretch out the lead.
With 2:10 in regulation, Karima Christmas grabbed the rebound from Sarah Riddle's missed layup and sent the ball to Joy Cheek to give Duke its largest lead of the game (68-33).
"This is the first game I've seen this season where we really lost our competitive fight," Petersen said. "Duke took it out of us."
The Demon Deacons will have a week to recover before returning to competition. On February 17, Wake Forest will host NC State at 1:30 p.m. for the annual "Think Pink" event. Fans are encouraged to wear pink attire to raise awareness for breast cancer.
