Wake Forest University
5-0,0-0ACC
East Carolina
2-3,0-0AAC
Deacs Team Effort Leads to Largest Victory of the Season, 73-52
11/21/2021 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
A 16-2 run to start the second quarter helped the Demon Deacons claim control en route to the fifth-straight Wake Forest win to start the season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest women's basketball team captured its largest victory of the season, 73-52, Sunday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum over East Carolina.
The Demon Deacons (5-0) continued to attack and get to the free throw line like they have all season, attempting a season-high 36 free throws in the victory over the Pirates (2-3).
Wake Forest is now off to its best start since the 2009-10 season and the best in the Jen Hoover era.
Sophomore guard Jewel Spear continued her scoring ways as like the team she did a lot of her damage from the charity stripe. The Colony, Texas native knocked down 10-of-11 free throws on Sunday and finished the night with a game-high 19 points.
Christina Morra (nine rebounds), Elise Williams (eight rebounds) and Olivia Summiel (seven rebounds) shouldered the load on the glass as Wake Forest had another dominant performance rebounding the basketball. The Deacs were +12 rebounding and had 39 boards in total on Sunday.
Morra, Williams and Summiel all almost finished the night with double-double performances as they scored seven, 11 and nine points, respectively. Williams also had a team-best two blocks in the winning effort.
The Demon Deacons also continue to hold down their opponents on the defensive side of the floor. In every game this season, Wake Forest has allowed 55 points or less including just 52 against East Carolina.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Demon Deacons worked their way to the free throw line in the early minutes of the first quarter as Jewel Spear knocked down all four of her attempts to help give the Deacs an early 8-6 lead in the opening four minutes.
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Christina Morra established herself on the low block with a pair of layups with the second coming on a stick back to make it 11-10 ECU with 4:23 left in the opening quarter.
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The Demon Deacons attacked the rim early and often in the first quarter, attempting nine free throws in the opening 10 minutes. Wake Forest knocked down seven to account for more than half of their 13 points in the opening frame.
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The Deacs continued to attack the basket to help push in front of the Pirates. In total the Demon Deacons shot 16 free throws in the first 20 minutes of action, connecting on 13 attempts while ECU only attempted two free throws.
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The Deacs also clamped down on defense in the second quarter as the Pirates went just 3-of-12 from the field.
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ECU had just one field goal made until the 1:38 mark of the second quarter as Wake Forest started the second on a 16-2 run to take control of the game. The Deacs held a 30-18 lead at that point.
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Thanks to a Alyssa Andrew three pointer at the buzzer, Wake Forest extended their lead out to a game-high 14 points at the halftime interval, leading 36-22.
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Jewel Spear was in double figures for the 10th consecutive game by the end of the first 20 minutes, leading all scorers with 10 points including seven from the free throw line.
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Christina Morra tallied five boards by halftime to lead the Deacs.
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Wake Forest continued to add to its lead in the third quarter coming out of a 7-2 run to push the lead to 19 points.
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The run was capped off by a Spear layup on the fastbreak with 6:51 left in the quarter.
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The Demon Deacons led by as much as 21 points in the quarter again with the help of a strong defensive effort.
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The Pirates shot just 38 percent in the third quarter
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Through 30 minutes of action, all nine players who played had scored including eight points off the bench from junior guard Alexandria Scruggs.
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Elise Williams was working on another strong performance at that point, tallying nine points and eight rebounds.
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Wake Forest continued its prominence on the glass Sunday owning the advantage throughout and had a +7 advantage in the final two quarters.
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Alyssa Andrews helped close out the game in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 11 points in the final 10 minutes including going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
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Wake Forest cruised to a 21-point victory, it's largest of the season and largest since defeating Campbell on Dec. 16, 2019.
STANDOUT STAT
Wake Forest became the fourth Demon Deacon team since the start of the 1989-90 season to start the season 5-0 or better. Additionally, this is the first time in the Jen Hoover era:
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2021-22 (5-0)
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2009-10 (6-0)
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2008-09 (12-0)
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2004-05 (8-0)
FROM HOOVER
"I love the way we came out here tonight and competed in front of our home fans. This was a complete team win and that is reflected in the box score. It is still early in the season and these games help us learn a lot about the team we have before entering ACC play. Our ability to attack and get to the free throw line was key and we did not settle. We will still have some learning lessons from this one as we continue to grow as a unit and that process continues with a tough road game this week at High Point." - Coach Hoover
NEXT UP
Wake Forest is back on the road on Wednesday at High Point for a 4 p.m. tilt against the Panthers.
Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for more information on the game.
