Wake Forest University
Florida Gulf Coast
FGCU Ends Wake Forest's Season in WNIT
3/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
FT. MYERS, Fla. -- Wake Forest women's basketball's 2015-16 season came to an end Monday night in the second round of the WNIT with a 67-48 loss at Florida Gulf Coast inside Alico Arena.
The Demon Deacons finish their best season under fourth-year head coach Jen Hoover at 17-16 overall. Down the stretch of the season, Wake Forest went 8-7 in its final 15 games after starting ACC play 0-5. The 17 wins overall and six in conference play mark the most in a season under Hoover, while the six ACC victories are the tied for the third-most in program history. Florida Gulf Coast's season continues, now standing at 30-5 overall. FGCU has now won 30 games in back-to-back seasons and for the fourth time overall in program history.
Though Wake Forest scored on its first possession with a floater by Ariel Stephenson, the 2-0 lead stood until Kaneisha Atwater scored eight points in a row for FGCU to give the Eagles an 8-2 lead with 5:37 to go in the quarter, forcing a Wake Forest timeout. From there, Florida Gulf Coast continued to build its lead with an overall 20-5 run after the first bucket to take a 13-point lead to the second quarter.
After shooting 8-for-19 in the first quarter, FGCU cooled off in the second quarter as the two teams combined for 19 points, but the Eagles still extended their lead to 19 at multiple points throughout the quarter. It wasn't until the last minutes of the frame that Wake Forest went on a mini run to cut the lead to 31-15 at halftime thanks to a mini 4-1 run in the last 83 seconds fueled by a three from Stephenson and a free throw from Destini Walker.
Out of the break, Wake Forest hit six shots in the third quarter after only five in the first half, but FGCU matched the effort in hitting six shots while knocking down three from long range. Though the Eagles extended their lead to a 22 with 7:36 to go in the quarter, Wake Forest went on a run to cut the lead to 13 in the final seconds of the quarter, leading to a 15-point deficit entering the fourth.
At the start of the final quarter, Milan Quinn hit a layup to pull the FGCU lead back to just 13, but the Eagles went on a 14-2 run to build a game-high 25-point lead with 6:30 to play that ended Wake Forest's comeback chances.
The Demon Deacons were led by 14 points and a career-high-tying 15 rebounds from Quinn, who notched her third double-double in four games and her fourth in the last six dating back to Feb. 25 against Virginia Tech. She finishes the 2015-16 season with 11 double-doubles overall. The 15-rebound night marks the second time in four games she's had 15 rebounds. Stephenson was the only other Deacon to hit double-digits, scoring 12 points in the contest. She finishes her freshman season scoring in double figures 24 of 33 games.
Atwater led all scorers in the game with 23 points on 8-for-19 from the floor. She was followed by a 18-point night from Stephanie Haas on 8-of-13 shooting. Overall FGCU shot 40.3 percent in the game on 25-for-62.
