Deacs Come Up Just Short Against Tigers

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Despite a strong second half shooting performance from beyond the arc, the Wake Forest women's basketball team fell just short against Clemson, losing 69-66 Sunday afternoon in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons (8-7, 5-6 ACC) trailed 54-48 entering the fourth quarter, but held the Tigers (10-6, 5-6 ACC) to just 33.3 percent (5-15) from the floor in the final frame to give themselves a chance in the final seconds with a last-second three that fell just short of the rim.

Freshman guard Jewel Spear led all scorers with a season-high 24 points behind six 3-pointers, tying her season high for threes in a game. The Colony, Texas native finished the game shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-10).

Senior forward Ivana Raca continued her prolific scoring, adding 18 points while leading Wake Forest with six rebounds. She was one of three Deacs to finish in double figures, with junior forward Christina Morra also logging 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Senior guard Gina Conti also flashed her offensive prowess, just missing a double- double by scoring eight points while dishing season-high nine assists. She now has 437 career assists, inching closer to taking over fourth all-time in program history.

The Grove City, Ohio native also showed on the defensive end, leading the Demon Deacons with two steals and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Ivana Raca scored the first point for Wake Forest with a free throw at the 9:48 mark of the first quarter.
Jewel Spear followed with a layup and a 3-pointer to propel the Deacs to an early 6-2 lead at the 8:08 mark in the first quarter.
Raca's layup over a defender with 6:07 left in the first gave Wake Forest a 10-4 lead, forcing an early Clemson timeout.
The Tigers would respond with a 7-0 run to take the lead, 11-10.
Gina Conti powered a 10-4 run with five straight points to end the quarter, scoring an and-1 layup, free throw and jump shot to give the Deacs a 20-15 lead at the end of the first.
- Wake Forest rode great shot selection to a 7-of-11 clip from the field in the first quarter.
Clemson opened the second quarter with a 11-2 run to regain the lead at 26-22.
Spear sparked Wake Forest coming out of the timeout, putting back an offensive board to start a 6-2 run to tie the game 28-28.
Clemson ended the half outscoring Wake Forest 8-5 over the final four minutes to lead 36-33 at the break.
- The Tigers shot 9-of-13 from the field in the second quarter (69.2 percent) while holding the Deacs to just 6-of-16 shooting (37.5 percent)
The Deacs stayed close with 3-pointers from Alexandria Scruggs and Jewel Spear to keep Wake Forest within striking distance at 50-45.
Wake Forest would add another 3-pointer from Spear, but gave up four straight points to the Tigers to enter the fourth quarter and go down 54-48.
- The Deacs shot 50 percent (3-of-6) from three during the third frame.
Spear's fourth triple of the game stopped a 6-0 Clemson run with 5:29 left in the fourth, cutting the Tigers' lead to 60-54.
Two more threes from Spear and a Christina Morra layup would again bring the Deacs back within two at the under four media timeout.
- The Deacs shot 50 percent from three (7-for-14) during the second half, improving at 30 percent clip (3-for-10) during the first
Gina Conti's layup with 22 seconds remaining cut Clemson's lead to one.
After two Clemson free throws, Wake Forest had one final shot to tie the game, but the Deacs came up just short, 69-66.
Clemson more than doubled Wake Forest on the boards, hauling in 37 rebounds to the Deacs' 18.

STANDOUT STAT
Ivana Raca continued her march toward the top 10 of all-time scoring at Wake Forest, passing Lakevia Boykin for 12th on the list after dropping 18 points against Clemson to raise her career total to 1,315 points. The Belgrade, Serbia native is only 32 points behind Lisa Stockton, the current 10th all-time scorer in Deac history.

FROM HOOVER
"I knew that rebounding was going to be the difference maker in the game, and give Clemson a lot of credit, that's part of who they are. They're plus eight on the boards for the season, and they know that they don't shoot the ball well. They have to earn themselves extra opportunities, and you have to give them a lot of credit. I'm disappointed in our lack of execution on boxing out, and the fact that we only had one clean offensive rebound, the other two were team rebounds, which just means we knocked it out of bounds. That's the difference in the game." - Head Coach Jen Hoover

NEXT UP
The Deacs hit the road, traveling to New York for a Thursday night clash with Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

The game will tip off at 6 p.m. on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Jewel Spear

Ivana Raca

Christina Morra

Gina Conti

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Jewel Spear

Players Mentioned

Gina Conti

Christina Morra

Ivana Raca

Alexandria Scruggs

Jewel Spear

Wake Forest Athletics