Conti Knocks Down Game Winner to Beat Duke, 60-58

DURHAM, N.C. – Gina Conti fought off a defender and rose from the left elbow, knocking down the game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining, lifting the Wake Forest women's basketball team to a 60-58 victory over Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday.

Conti's shot gave the Demon Deacons (8-5, 1-1 ACC) their first win at Duke (7-6, 1-1 ACC) since Jan. 25, 1993 and eighth all-time in Durham in series history.

After a bucket from the Blue Devils' Haley Gorecki with 16 seconds left, the Deacs called their final timeout and set up a side inbounds in the front court. Conti held the ball until eight seconds left in the game before working her way to the elbow for the game winner.

"Coach said, run the offense with eight seconds, wait for the ball screen, come off the ball screen and look to make a play for a teammate." Gina Conti said. "If I have my shot take it. I felt like I had my shot so, I took it, and thank God went in."

The junior from Grove City, Ohio filled out the stat sheet with 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Alex Sharp recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds while Ivana Raca led the team with 15 points to go along with six rebounds.

"At halftime, I told them that if we can take care of the rebounding and take care of the ball that we'd come out on top," head coach Jen Hoover said. "Give our kids all the credit because I thought in the
second half that we really cleaned the glass and limited their second chance opportunities."

For the fourth game in a row, Wake Forest came out of half on fire from field, going on an 11-2 run in the first four minutes. After trailing by four at half, freshman Alexandria Scruggs came up big during the run, including knocking down a three from straight away to tie the game at 31-31.

Raca gave Wake its first lead of the second half on the next possession. Off the feed from Conti, she laid it up and in.

Despite falling behind 10-2 early in the first quarter, the Demon Deacons chipped away at the lead. They went on an 8-0 run to knot up the score with three minutes left in the first quarter. Raca capped off the run with a put-back layup.

The game remained close through the rest of the half as the Deacs battled to stay within a few baskets of the Blue Devils. Duke took just a four-point lead, 28-24 into the halftime interval.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After scoring the opening bucket of the game, the Deacs fell behind 10-2 with 5:59 left in the quarter. With the help of two made buckets from Ivana Raca, Wake Forest went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to square the game at 10-10.
The game remained tight throughout the entire first half. With 25 second remaining in the second quarter, Gina Conti drove the left baseline and laid it off the glass to make it a four-point game. The Demon Deacons trailed 28-24 at the half.
The Deacs charged out of the second half for the fourth consecutive game. Within the first four minutes, they went on an 11-3 run capped off by a Christina Morra layup to make it 35-31 in favor of Wake.
A baseline jumper from Alex Sharp on the final offensive possession of the quarter cut the deficit to 43-42 heading into the fourth. Sharp came up clutch again to start the fourth. She knocked down a three on the right wing, putting the Deacs in front 47-45 with 7:59 left.
Wake Forest maintained a one-shot lead through much of the final eight minutes. With 16 seconds left in the game, Duke's Haley Gorecki drove the left baseline and scored on a scoop layup.
The Demon Deacons had the ball and the final possession of the game. After the Deacs final timeout, Gina Conti took the side inbounds and held the ball until eight second left in the game, she then used a ball screen to get to the elbow, pumping to get her defender out of the way she rose and knocked down the game-winning jumper from the left elbow.

UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons return to LJVM Coliseum for their ACC home opener on Jan. 5 against Georgia Tech. It marks the first home game for Wake Forest since a 74-46 victory over Campbell on Dec. 16.

The game can also be seen on ACC Network with tipoff scheduled for noon (ET).

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Team Stats

Ivana Raca

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Alex Sharp

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Alex Sharp

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Alex Sharp

Wake Forest Athletics