Wake Forest University
Virginia Tech
Deacons Take Down Virginia Tech 65-64
2/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2014
By Gary Petit, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Junior Millesa Calicott sank two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to give Wake Forest a 65-64 victory over visiting Virginia Tech Thursday evening.
Calicott's free throws put a cap on a back-and-forth second half that saw eight ties and seven lead changes between the two teams. The win was the second-straight for the Demon Deacons who improve to 14-11 on the year and 5-7 in the ACC.
Junior Dearica Hamby scored a game-high 24 points and became the 23rd Demon Deacon to record 1,000 career points. She was a career-best 10-of-13 from the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds.
Calicott finished the game with 12 points on two three-pointers and has now made her last 14 free throws over six games.
With senior Chelsea Douglas missing her second-straight game with a foot injury, the Deacons got contributions from a number of players. Outside of Calicott and Hamby, sophomore Kandice Ball scored a career-high nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshmen Jill Brunori and Mykia Jones each chipped-in with eight points while Brunori dished-out a team-high three assists.
For the Hokies (11-13, 1-10 ACC), Vanessa Panousis hit a career-high tying five three-pointers and finished with 21 points and four assists. Hannah Young also added a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Uju Ugoka came into the game averaging over 19 points and 10 rebounds per contest and was limited to just 11 points and four boards.
Wake Forest rebounded from a tough shooting first half to shot 44 percent in the second half. The Deacs also scored 23 points off of 16 Virginia Tech turnovers.
The Deacons came out of the gate a little flat which allowed Virginia Tech to run out to a 7-0 lead. At one point in the opening half, Virginia Tech made seven-straight shots from the floor and took a 28-16 lead with six minutes left in the half.
The Deacs then picked-up on the defensive end and held Tech to just 2-of-6 over the final six minutes and forced five turnovers. That opened the offense up on other end for Hamby who scored nine of the Deacons' 13-4 run to end the half. That run cut the Tech lead to 32-29 at the break.
Wake Forest kept the momentum rolling at the onset of the second half as Ball hit a pair of jumpers and Mykia Jones knocked-down a three-pointer to give the Deacons their first lead of the day at 38-34. Over the next eight minutes, Wake Forest would take leads of six and five points but both times, Tech would comeback to even the score. A Ugoka free throw with 6:08 to play tied the game for the fifth time at 55-55.
Neither team took more than a two-point lead over the next three minutes until Hamby split a pair of free throws to put Wake in front 61-57 with three minutes to play. Panousis then made a jumper and had a steal and lay-in to tie the game once again with 1:35 left.
Hamby canned two free throws to put the Deacons in front with 42 second left but Panousis found herself open and knocked-down her fifth three-pointer of the game with 18 seconds left to put Tech in front 64-63.
Calicott's runner with 5.9 seconds left was short and knocked out of bounds but a Hokie. On the ensuing inbounds play, Calicott was foul as she broke for the ball. Her two free throws put the Deacons in front and Wake would survive a shot at the buzzer to hold on the victory.
The Demon Deacons will now have a week off before hosting No. 2 Notre Dame on Thursday, Feb. 20. That will serve as Wake Forest's Play 4 Kay game and it will also be Jam The Joel night as all tickets will be just $1.
