Deacs Cruise to Win Over Boston College

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest women's basketball team remained undefeated inside of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a 68-48 victory over Boston College on Sunday afternoon.

With the help of a 31-6 run to head into half, the Deacs (6-3, 3-2 ACC) cruised to the 20-point win. It was Wake Forest's largest win of the season.

Thanks to stifling defense throughout the entire game, the Deacons allowed their fewest points this season while forcing 18 turnovers. It was the fewest points the Demon Deacons had given up since Dec. 16, 2019 against Campbell.

Senior forward Ivana Raca led the Deacs for the second straight game as the senior registered game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (11) to claim her 11th-career double-double and third of 2020-21. All three have come at home this season.

Additionally, the Belgrade, Serbia native continues to climb the Wake Forest all-time scoring list. Her 1,214 career points is now tied for the 15th-most in program history.

Joining Raca in double figures for the Deacs was Gina Conti and Jewel Spear.

Conti added 13 points while dishing out a game-high four assists and grabbing four rebounds. Conti needs just nine assists to move into the top-five in Wake Forest history for career assists.

Spear recorded 12 points, including nine from behind the arc as the freshman connected on 3-of-4 triples.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Boston College opened up the conference contest with the first six points of game action. Freshman Jewel Spear snapped the run and got Wake Forest on the board with a 3-pointer at the 7:06 mark.
The Eagles went on to connect on five of their first nine shots to hold an early 11-5 lead heading into the first media timeout.
Wake Forest came out of the stoppage and put together an 11-0 run over the last 4:49 minutes of the quarter to hold a 16-11 lead at the conclusion of the stanza. Ivana Raca led the Deacs in the first quarter with six points
- Wake Forest claimed their first lead of the game at 12-11 after a made free throw by Christina Morra with just over two minutes left.
- Overall, the Demon Deacons out-rebounded Boston College 12-to-7 in the first quarter, including doubling Boston College on the offensive glass with four.
The Demon Deacons went on the team's second 11-0 run of the half to possess a 27-15 advantage halfway through the second quarter.
- Six different Deacs scored, highlighted by Olivia Summiel converting an and-one off a Wake Forest miss.
- The Deacons held Boston College scoreless for three minutes and 42 seconds before the visitors connected on a pair of free throws.
The Deacs went into intermission with their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 36-17, including a 31-6 run to close the half. In the second quarter, Wake Forest outscored Boston College 20-6 and held the Eagles without a field goal over the last nine minutes of action.
Wake Forest was led in the first half in points and rebounds by Ivana Raca, who tallied 10 points and six boards, respectively.
In the first half, the Deacs' defense held Boston College to 25 percent shooting and 9.1 percent from three point range.
In the third quarter, the two teams found more rhythm on the offensive end, trading baskets throughout the frame. Wake Forest maintained an 18-point edge heading to the final frame.
- Gina Conti led all players in the third period with seven points.
Alexandria Scruggs' free throw with 4:40 remaining gave the Deacons their largest lead of the night at 24, 66-42.
The Deacs held the Eagles scoreless over the final 2:38 of game action to close out the 68-48 victory, Wake Forest's largest victory of the season.

STANDOUT STAT
Ivana Raca is now tied for 15th on Wake Forest's all-time scoring list after registering a game-high 16 points on Sunday afternoon.

She now has 1,214 career points, eclipsing the 1,200 mark with her first two points of the game in the first quarter.

Additionally, Wake Forest outrebounded their opponent for the second straight game as the Deacs pulled down 39 boards compared to Boston College's 25. The Deacs also dominated on the offensive glass, turning 13 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. The Deacs are now 4-0 when registering more second-chance points than their opponents.

FROM HOOVER
"We really came in focused and were able to execute our game plan, both on the defensive end and on the offensive end. Our defense was really good early. We gave up a couple offensive boards right off the bat, but then we fixed that. We really did a good job playing clean. That was our emphasis coming in, to be disciplined on defense and really be in the right position to limit them to tough shots, and then let's get out and see if we can run a little bit. Initially, we got a lot of easy looks inside, we were just missing. Once we settled in and were able to convert some of those baskets, there were lots of big shots, whether it was a three by Jewel, a drive or a pass. Gina Conti did a really good job of getting to the rim and attacking them for layups. We did a good job. We thought we could really execute our offensive plan if we just moved the basketball and took care of their initial pressure."

NEXT UP
Wake Forest is back in action, traveling South Bend, Ind. on Jan. 14 to play Notre Dame.

The game will tip off at 4 p.m. on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Ivana Raca

Gina Conti

Jewel Spear

Alexandria Scruggs

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Wake Forest Athletics