Raca Leads Deacs to 78-59 Victory Over Dayton

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Wake Forest women's basketball captured its fourth win in the last five games with a 78-59 victory over Dayton on Friday afternoon.

Those four wins have all come in double-digit fashion as it was the Demon Deacons (6-4) second consecutive as beating Campbell on Monday.

The Deacs led nearly the entire way with the help of a 17-0 through the final seven minutes of the first quarter. The run helped them hold a double-digit lead throughout much of the first half.

Just like in the first half, Wake blitzed Dayton (5-7) to start the second half. In the first six minutes of the third quarter, the Deacs went on a 17-4 run to push their lead back to double figures.

Four Demon Deacons finished the game in double figures. Ivana Raca led the way with a game-high 20 points including 14 in the third quarter alone. She was big part of the run to start the third quarter as Raca helped Wake Forest push the lead to as many as 26 points.

"I am proud of this group," head coach Jen Hoover said. "We came out and we really played confidently. We fought for everything. We are locked in on the details, right now. When that's that's the case with this crew, they really feed off each other."

Offensively, Wake Forest was helped by the sharp shooting from behind the arc. In the third quarter alone, the Deacs went 6-of-8 from behind the line with Alex Sharp and Raca accounting for all six three pointers in the quarter.

Wake finished the game 9-of-16 from behind the three-point line. The Deacs also limited the Flyers to just 32.3 percent shooting from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After trailing 4-0 to start the game, Wake Forest went on a 17-0 run to take control of the game. The Deacons held the Flyers without points for the next 8:32 minutes in the game, taking a double-digit edge.
The 17-0 scoring run helped Wake Forest hold a double-digit lead throughout much of the first half as it took a 27-23 edge into the halftime interval. Alexandria Scruggs and Christina Morra combined for 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, the Demon Deacons quickly pushed the lead back to double figures with a 17-4 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter. In the third, they were helped by 14 points from Ivana Raca to help put the game away.
The Demon Deacons secured the 19-point victory at the free throw line, converting on 11-of-13 attempts (84.6 percent).

UP NEXT
Wake Forest closes out play in the West Palm Beach Invitational on Saturday against Florida. The matchup versus the Gators is scheduled to tipoff at 12:15 p.m. (ET) inside of Student Life Center on Massimino Court.

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Team Stats

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Christina Morra

Alex Sharp

Players Mentioned

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Alex Sharp

Players Mentioned

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Alex Sharp

Wake Forest Athletics