Wake Forest University
Boston College
Deacs Outlast Boston College For Second-Straight Win
1/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Elisa Penna notched a career-high in points for the second-straight game as Wake Forest women's basketball won its second ACC game in a row Sunday afternoon in topping Boston College 65-59 at Conte Forum.
The victory moves Wake Forest to 11-9 on the season and 2-5 in ACC play. With back-to-back wins in conference play after topping North Carolina on Thursday, Wake Forest has won two ACC regular-season games in a row for the first time since beating Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech in consecutive games during the 2013-14 season. With the loss, Boston College drops to 13-6 overall and 1-5 in ACC play.
In the final 3:10 of the game, Wake Forest hit nine free throws -- eight of which were by Penna -- to help seal the victory as the Deacs closed the game on a 12-6 run. Penna finished with 22 points on the afternoon and went 12-of-12 from the free throw line. As a team, Wake Forest shot an outstanding 87 percent from the charity stripe in hitting 20-of-23 free throws. Ariel Stephenson finished with 13 points off the bench, which included three buckets from long range. Milan Quinn rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Wake Forest started strong in hitting four of its first five shots in the contest. The Deacs led by as many as seven in the first half at 15-8 but Boston College fought back with a 6-0 run to open the second quarter to take a one-point lead at 19-18 with 6:32 to go in the half. Following a Wake Forest timeout, Stephenson hit a three-pointer to regain the lead and the Demon Deacons didn't relinquish it until Emilee Daley hit a three-pointer in front of the Wake Forest bench to go up 28-26 with four seconds to go in the half.
In the first half, the Demon Deacons made 10 buckets with eight of them assisted, including each of the first five. All but one basket in the first quarter for the Deacs came with an assist. The lone field goal that wasn't assisted on came on a fast-break layup by Amber Campbell after a quick-reaction steal at the top of the key.
To open the second half, the two teams traded made shots as neither team led by more than three. With 2:10 to go in the quarter, Daley converted a layup to give the Eagles a 42-39 lead, but Ataijah Taylor responded 12 seconds later by converting an old fashion three-point play after sinking a layup and getting fouled. Neither team led by more than one over the final 1:58 after the Taylor free throw and Wake Forest took a one-point lead to the fourth quarter thanks to two free throws by Penna with 37 seconds left in the quarter.
After continuing to trade buckets through the first few minutes of the final frame with BC leading 48-47, the Deacs' defense came up big in forcing a string of empty possessions that helped result in a three by Penna and a free throw by Milan Quinn that gave the Deacs a 52-48 lead with 5:57 to play. Boston College responded with a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead with 3:45 to play, but clutch free-throw shooting by the Deacs down the stretch helped ice the game from there with the 12-6 run.
Boston College was led by Mariella Fasoula's 20 points and Daley's 16. No other players scored more than eight in the contest, as Nicole Boudreau notched eight points and Kelly Hughes finished with seven points.
The Demon Deacons return to action on Thursday, Jan. 28, for a matchup against No. 14/13 Florida State. First tip between the Deacs and Seminoles is set for 7 p.m. inside LJVM Coliseum. The contest marks the third home game in the last four contests. In recent years, Wake Forest has had success against the Seminoles as the Deacs have won three of the last four meetings. In last year's matchup between the two, Wake Forest fell 110-80 in Tallahassee, Florida.
