Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Notre Dame
Demon Deacons Fall to No. 6/7 Notre Dame in ACC Opener
1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Wake Forest went on the road for its ACC opener Thursday, Jan. 5, as the Demon Deacons fell to No. 6/7 Notre Dame, 92-72. Ariel Stephenson led the Deacs in scoring with 17 points while Elisa Penna added 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Amber Campbell and Alex Sharp each reached double figures in the game, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Milan Quinn fell one point shy of her second-straight double-double as she scored nine points and brought in 10 rebounds. Quinn also dished out a team-best five assists on the night.
Wake Forest (9-5, 0-1 ACC) outscored Notre Dame (14-2, 2-1) over the course of the second half, 40-37, and the Deacs' 72 points marked just the third time this season that the Fighting Irish had allowed more than 70 points to an opponent.
The Deacs had one of their best shooting nights of the season, as their 48.1 percent (25-52) shooting percentage from the field was the fourth-highest of the year.
Penna opened the Demon Deacons' scoring Thursday evening, as her jumper pulled the Deacs within one at 3-2 early in the opening quarter. Sharp connected on a triple the next trip down the court to give Wake Forest the lead over the Fighting Irish.
After Notre Dame evened the score up at 5-all, Stephenson put the Deacs back in front for the second time in the first with her first bucket of the night. The sophomore would go on to score eight points in the first quarter and 11 in the opening half.
Notre Dame took command of the game in the second quarter, opening on a 10-0 run which forced a Wake Forest timeout. The Fighting Irish would go on to shoot 15-of-17 from the field (88.2 percent) in the second quarter, and outscore the Deacs 34-17, to build a 23-point halftime lead it would not relinquish.
The Deacs return home to take on in-state foe NC State on Sunday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on RSN.
