Wake Forest University
Howard
Women's Hoops Falls To Howard 63-59 in Overtime
12/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2011
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) 
| 
Photo Gallery
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest junior Sandra Garcia scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds but Howard overcame a 21-point second-half deficit and pulled-out a 63-59 overtime victory Sunday night at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The loss drops the Deacons to 7-3 on the season while Howard wins its fourth-straight and is back to .500 at 5-5.
Garcia recorded her first double-double since Dec. 4, 2010 when she scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Georgetown. Junior Lakevia Boykin and senior Secily Ray also finished in double-figures for the Deacs as Boykin finished with 11 points and Ray totaled 10 points and nine boards.
The difference maker in the game was Howard junior Saadia Doyle. Doyle had nine points at halftime but when the Bison got down by 21 points early in the second-half, she took over and scored 19 of the team's final 38 points. Doyle finished the game with a season-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting and she was 8-of-9 from the free throw stripe.
Tamoria Holmes was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe and finished with 14 points for the Bison while Cheyenn Curley-Payne chipped-in with 10 points and six steals.
Howard was a solid a solid 21-of-23 from the free throw line as a team and had just six turnovers after halftime. The Deacs were just 10-of-35 from the floor and had 15 turnovers after the break.
Four quick points by Garcia helped Wake build an early 8-2 lead and Wake would take a 19-7 lead at the under eight minute media timeout. The Deacs then extended the lead to 21-7 but Howard scored four-straight points to pull to within 10 at 21-11 with just over five minutes to play in the half.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Asia Williams sparked a 9-2 Wake Forest run that saw the Deacs take their largest lead of the half at 30-15. Wake would take a 30-17 advantage into the break.
Garcia led the way with seven points and four rebounds for the Deacs while Ray and Boykin each had six points at the break.
Just like the first half, Garcia led the Deacs on a run to open the second half. The Hollywood, Fla., native scored seven points and Wake would take a 44-23 lead at the first media timeout. The Bison came out of the timeout and took advantage of a couple of Wake Forest missed shots and would go on an 8-2 run over the next three and half minutes to cut the margin to 46-31 with 12 minutes to play.
Both teams struggled to score the next three minutes until three-pointer from Curley-Payne broke the stalemate and brought Howard to within 12 at 46-34 at the 9:35 mark. The run continued with a jumper Zykia Brown and a pair of free throws by Holmes to trim the margin to eight at 46-38.
Another Wake turnover led to a Doyle jumper and all of a sudden, Howard was within six at 46-40 with just over six minutes to play. A long jumper from the top of the key by Garcia broke the 15-0 Howard run that spanned over seven and half minutes. Garcia then made three more free throws and the Deacs led 52-42 with 4:10 to play in the game.
After the media timeout, Doyle made a pair of jumpers and once again, the lead was back to six at 52-46 with two minutes to play. A pair of Doyle free throws made the score 52-48 and after another empty possession for the Deacs, Doyle got a friendly roll on a jumper from the baseline and it was a one possession game with 44 seconds to play.
Garcia missed a three-pointer from the wing and Howard had a chance to tie the game with 24 seconds left. The Bison worked the ball to Doyle on the baseline and she was fouled by Williams with 11 seconds to go. She made both free throws to tie the game at 52-52 and the Deacs would take timeout with five seconds left.
The struggle continued for Wake as Brooke Thomas tripped on the inbounds play and the ensuing pass led to a backcourt violation for the Deacs. Howard then had the ball at midcourt with 3.7 seconds to play. A long desperation three pointer by Brown was off the mark and the teams headed to overtime tied 52-52.
The Deacs got the first points of the extra session on a free throw by Chelsea Douglas but Howard answered with a Brown three-pointer from the corner and the Bison took their first lead of the game at 55-53 with 3:34 left. After an illegal screen by Douglas on the Deacons' end, Doyle got another nice roll from the LJVM rim and extended the Howard lead to 57-53 with 2:43 to play.
Both teams traded missed-shots for the next couple of possessions until a free throw by Curley-Payne gave Howard a five-point edge at 58-53 with just 42 seconds to play. Ray then drove down the lane and made a lay-up but couldn't convert the three-point play. Doyle was then fouled immediately on the rebound but hit only 1-of-2 free throws and the Bison led 59-55 with 33 seconds remaining.
Mykala Walker was fouled as she drove the baseline on the other end and would hit both free throws to make it a one-possession game at 59-57 with 21 seconds to go. After a couple of tentative inbound attempts by Howard, Curley wound-up with the ball and was fouled. She made both free throws to once again put Howard up by four but Williams answered for the Deacs with a lay-in to cut the margin to 61-59 with just six seconds left.
Holmes was then fouled on the inbounds pass and made both free throws at the other end to seal the game and a 63-59 victory for the Bison.
The Deacons will head out on the road for the second time this season when they travel to SMU on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The game is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. EST and can be heard live on WakeForestSports.com.
