Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Adopt a '200 Feet' Philosophy
1/9/2020 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Les Johns
"This group values pushing each other, and know the hard work is paying off. But we still haven’t played our best basketball. There’s still a lot of things we can get better at.” - head coach Jen Hoover
After a narrow loss at then No. 24 Miami, a game in which coach Jen Hoover said the Deacs did enough to win the game, but also just enough to lose, the Wake Forest women's basketball team continued to stay focused on the task in front of them, employing what Hoover describes as a '200 Feet' philosophy.
"Our goal is to be 1-0," Hoover said after practice Tuesday. "That's all we're going to talk about is that game, what's immediately 200 feet in front of us."
The results have paid off in the last week, as the Deacs (9-5, 2-1) claimed their first victory over Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 26 seasons and have an ACC winning streak for the first time in two years.
"This group gives us everything they've got, whether it's in a game or practice," Hoover said. "They really value pushing each other, and know the hard work is paying off. But we still haven't played our best basketball. There's still a lot of things we can get better at."
Wake has won five of its last six games, including wins over Dayton and Florida in the West Palm Invitational right before Christmas.
"The trip to West Palm before Christmas was critical for us," Hoover said. "I knew the competition we were facing was NCAA Tournament caliber, and would be physical and tough. I thought we responded to that. For us to show that down there gave us a lot of confidence about how tough we could be."
Then, after a narrow three-point loss at Miami in which they were outscored by nine points in the fourth quarter, the Deacs bounced back to grab a signature 60-58 victory at Duke Thursday.
"It's huge," Hoover said about the win. "Those kids were not even born the last time we won there. We want to establish a new tradition at Wake Forest and a new standard."
In a game that saw 10 lead changes, junior Wake Forest point guard Gina Conti sank the game winner with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
"Coming off the ball screen, I was looking to create a play for a teammate, perhaps a dump off to Christina (Morra) or a kick-out to Alex (Sharp) in the corner," she said. "But everybody (the Duke defenders) just kind of flared out, so I figured it was my shot.
"We're happy we beat Duke at Duke. For our program and everybody on this team, it was good in general."
Three days later, the Deacs returned to the friendly confines of LJVM Coliseum, where they defeated Georgia Tech 65-60. The Jackets entered the contest 11-2 overall after knocking off Miami at home Thursday.
"Our kids have been really locked in," Hoover said. "Every one of our kids, 1-14 works as hard as the other, but some of them don't get to see the floor. But they are prepping us and preparing themselves to be ready for when the opportunity comes."
It's still early, but the Deacs are currently tied for fourth in the ACC after being picked dead last in the preseason poll. NC State and Louisville are both undefeated at 3-0, while Florida State is 3-1. All three of those seem to be distinguishing themselves as the elite in the conference early.
"I would like to think we can make a run to be in that top half," Hoover said. "The next game is the most important game. Let's take care of our home court first. We haven't done as good of a job in the past of protecting our home court, and that has to mean something in this conference. If we want to separate ourselves, we have to take care of our home court and steal the wins on the road that we can."
The Deacs are playing confident and together, and have more experience and depth than in recent years. They appear to be a team built to make a run this season. Hoover's squad has three players averaging double figures, led by junior forward Ivana Raca's 15.8 points a game.
"Everything that we worked on since July is coming along," Raca said. "It feels great. It's a great feeling. We feel good, but have to focus on the next game."
Senior guard Alex Sharp is averaging close to a double-double, scoring 12.5 points while grabbing 9.1 rebounds a game.
"We're playing well, but not to our potential yet," Sharp said. "We have to keep working hard and trusting the process.
"Having more people healthy is really great, especially in practice. It's great to have the whole team healthy."
Conti is scoring 11.8 a game, while dishing 71 assists on the year.
"We've prepared and everything has just started to click," she said. "We're playing together and playing with each other. Everything has just come together so far."
Next up for the Deacs are the Clemson Tigers (5-9, 1-2), who visit LJVM Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The key to that contest is to once again take the '200 Feet' approach.
"They are a really close group and celebrate each other's strengths," Hoover said about her squad. "They know they don't have to take a bad shot, because they can pass to their teammate who might have a better shot. They're good about picking each other up when they make a mistake.
"They are confident and believe in each other. Our only limitations are in our own heads."
