Wake Forest University
Miami
Wake Forest Tames Hurricanes 50-45
2/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Junior Alex Tchangoue led the Wake Forest women's basketball team to a 50-45 win over the Miami Hurricanes with a game-high 18 points at the WFU home-season finale in the Joel Coliseum on Sunday.
Demon Deacon junior Corinne Groves added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the 2007-08 season, while Maurita Reid was the high Miami scorer with 15 points. The Demon Deacons improved to 15-13 for the year and 2-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Miami stands at 9-18 and 2-10.
Wake Forest raced out to a 6-0 lead with an opening basket from Tchangoue and back-to-back jumpers from Groves. Reid was the first Hurricane to penetrate the Demon Deacon defense, landing a layup at the 14:34 mark to put Miami on the board 2-6.
With the help of nine points from Tchangoue, Wake Forest held an 11-point lead with six minutes to play in the half. At the halftime buzzer, the Demon Deacons had a 27-18 edge, despite Miami's 14-2 advantage in the paint.
The Hurricanes whittled away at the Wake Forest lead at the start of the second half, getting a boost from 3-point baskets from Reid and Briyana Blair. LaToya Drake drew a foul from WFU's Brittany Waters and netted one free throw to cut Wake's lead to one-possession at 38-35. Drake then snagged a defensive rebound and brought the ball back to Miami possession where UM head coach Katie Meier called a timeout. On the inbound play, Diane Barnes hit a layup to cut the Wake Forest lead to just one point (38-37) with 8:53 remaining in the contest.
Wake's Groves added a basket but Miami's LaToya Drake hit a free throw to keep the game uncomfortably close at 40-38 with 7:47 on the clock.
After back-to-back turnovers from both teams, Wake Forest head coach Mike Petersen called a time out with 6:33 to play. When the clock started, Waters darted straight for the goal and put up an uncontested layup to give Wake a two-possession lead (42-38).
Four free throw baskets and last chance points from Tchangoue and Groves allowed the Deacons to hold on through the final minutes of the contest and grab their second ACC win of the season.
Wake Forest will face its final regular season contest on Sunday, March 2 as they take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Va.
