Wake Forest University
Belmont
Strong Defensive Effort Propels Deacons Past Belmont 69-49
12/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2013
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF)
By Gary Petit, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest broke open a close game with a strong defensive effort in the second half to cruise to a 69-49 victory over visiting Belmont Tuesday night at the Joel Coliseum.
The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Demon Deacons who improve to 5-4 on the season while the Bruins fall to 3-6.
Senior Chelsea Douglas missed the second half of the Nevada game last Saturday with a mild concussion but returned to form on Tuesday as she hit five three-pointers and led all scorers with 27 points.
Junior Dearica Hamby continues to crank-out double-doubles as she finished the night with 16 points and 13 rebounds. She was 7-of-11 from the floor and also blocked one shot. Hamby has notched a double-double in seven of the nine games this season.
Senior Lindsy Wright had her best night of the season as she scored eight points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with a steal and a block. She played a season-high 17 minutes and did not commit a foul.
For Belmont, Jordyn Luffman hit her team-leading average of 15 points but was held in check on the boards as she grabbed just four rebounds.
The Deacons led by just three at halftime and raced out to a nine-point lead early in the second half. But seven Wake Forest fouls in the first five minutes of the second half allowed Belmont to climb back within one a 37-36. The Deacons then committed just three fouls and held the Bruins to just 13 points over the final 15 minutes to run away for the 20-point victory.
Wake Forest shot 48 percent from the floor and held Belmont to 29 percent. The Deacs also dominated on the boards 48-33 and scored 17 points off the Bruins 11 turnovers.
The Deacons raced-out to a 10-2 lead in the early going but Belmont closed the gap and even took a one-point lead on a couple of different occasions. Hamby had a couple of lay-ins in the middle of an 8-0 run for the Deacons that gave them a 29-22 edge with three minutes left in the opening half but again, Belmont closed the gap to three at the break.
Wake Forest shoved the lead to nine out of the locker room at 37-28 but an 8-0 Bruin run cut the deficit to 37-36 with 14:45 to play. The Deacons were reeling at that point, having committed seven fouls and Belmont was getting easy points from the line.
A three-pointer by Douglas ended the drought and the Deacs then got going. Belmont scored just 13 points the rest of the way as the Deacons stepped-up the defensive pressure.
Wake Forest will now break for final exams and won't return to action until hosting UNC Wilmington on Monday, Dec. 16. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m.
