Wake Forest University
8-6,5-5ACC
Florida State
5-4,4-4ACC
Deacs Dominant in Victory Over Seminoles
1/28/2021 8:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior guard Gina Conti crosses a career milestone as Wake Forest halts the Florida State offensive attack.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Led by a strong defensive performance, the Wake Forest women's basketball team captured a 73-59 victory over Florida State Thursday evening in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons (8-6, 5-5 ACC) held Florida State (5-4, 4-4 ACC) to just 39 percent shooting (25-for-64 field goals) while allowing just two Seminoles to reach double figures.
In the Deacs' first win over Florida State since 2014, senior guard Gina Conti reached a career milestone, moving into fifth place in program history in total assists. After a game-high five from the Grove City, Ohio native on Thursday night, she now has 428 in her four years in Winston-Salem.
She also added 14 points to her statline as she was one of three Demon Deacons to finish in double figures.
Fellow senior Ivana Raca led the Deacs offensively with 24 points, one shy of her season-high of 25. The Belgrade, Serbia native also pulled down a game-high six rebounds and dished out four assists.
She now needs just 50 points to enter the top-10 in Wake Forest career scoring. Raca currently sits in 13th with 1,297.
Freshman guard Jewel Spear also had an impressive evening in the win, posting 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Deacs opened the contest with senior forward Ivana Raca and freshman guard Jewel Spear, combining for the first nine points. It helped the Deacs take a 9-7 lead going into the first media timeout.
- Senior guard Gina Conti knocked down two free throws coming out of the timeout to stretch the lead to four before a three pointer by sophomore forward Olivia Summiel gave the Deacs a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- Summiel's three pointer was assisted by Conti giving her two assists in the first quarter.
- Wake Forest kept the hot streak going offensively to begin the second quarter as Spear and Conti continued their efficient shooting.
- The Deacs held Florida State to 9-of-25 shooting (36.0 percent) with 4:45 remaining in the first half.
- With 3:27 left in the second quarter, a basket from Spear followed by an immediate Raca steal and layup gave the Deacs an 11-point lead, their largest of the game at that point.
- Wake Forest never wavered to cap off the first half with lights-out shooting and suffocating defense. They took a 35-24 lead going into the half.
- Florida State shot just 34.5 percent from the field while the Demon Deacons knocked down 48.3 percent of its shots while also netting four three-pointers.
- Raca and Spear combined for 21 of Wake Forest's 35 points in the first half.
- The Deacs' prolific shooting continued in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 19 behind five points from Spear in the first 3:21 of the period.
- She led the team with 15 points going into the under 5:00 media timeout.
- Over the next several minutes, the teams traded baskets before Florida State cut into the lead, narrowing it to 12 at the end of the third quarter.
- The fourth quarter began no different than the other three periods. Wake Forest continued to assert their offense and Ivana Raca inched closer to her season-high (25 vs Davidson on Nov. 28, 2020) with 19 points.
- Despite an effort by the Seminoles to make a run, the Deacs never slowed down offensively, going on to win, 73-59.
- Raca finished the night with a game-high 24 points, a game-high six rebounds and four assists. Spear contributed 17 points as well while Conti added 14 points and a game-high five assists.
- Wake Forest held Florida State to just 39 percent from the field for the game, allowing zero points from the Seminoles bench while also out rebounding them 39-28.
STANDOUT STAT
With five assists, senior guard Gina Conti moved into the top five on the Deacs' all-time assist list with 428, and needs just 86 assists to move into first place.
1. Brooke Thomas (513; 2008-12)
2. Nicole Levesque (488; 1991-94)
3. Cotelia Bond-Young (462; 2003-06)
4. Gretchen Hollifield (453; 1993-96)
5. Gina Conti (428; 2017-21)
6. Amy Privette (424; 1984-87)
FROM HOOVER
"I told them in the pregame that you have to win your individual battle on the boards so we can win the war. I told them at one point, right before we left the locker room, that this game could very easily come down to just rebounding. We have had a couple really good rebounding games. As a staff, we have done a great job emphasizing it since we got back from Christmas. Our kids have locked in and they understand that rebounding and our defense is a part of what is going to help us continue to reach the goals that we have set for ourselves." - Coach Hoover
NEXT UP
The Deacs close their four-game homestand against Clemson on Sunday, Jan. 31, in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The game will tip off at 2 p.m. on ACC Network.
