Wake Forest University
9-1,0-0ACC
ETSU
1-9,0-0SoCon
Historic 40-Point Game from Spear Leads Deacs to 90-58 Victory
12/13/2021 2:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The performance from the sophomore guard tied the second-most points in program history while she also broke the school record with 10 three-point makes.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Sophomore guard Jewel Spear had a historic performance in the Wake Forest women's basketball team's 90-58 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday afternoon.
Spear finished with the second-most points in Demon Deacon (9-1) history, posting 40 points in the victory. This also included a school record 10 three-point makes breaking the previous record of nine tied by Chelsea Douglas (at FIU on Dec. 29, 2013) and Elisa Penna (at NC State Feb. 18, 2018).
Additionally, this was just the fifth 40-point game in program history and the first since Dearica Hamby versus Montana on Nov. 29, 2014.
In the victory over the Buccaneers (1-9), Wake Forest had their third 90-plus point game in the last four outings.
Freshman Malaya Cowles also had a career afternoon, finishing a perfect 9-of-9 from the field with a career-best 20 points to go along with a career-best 11 rebounds. It was the second double-double for a Deac this season.
Three Demon Deacons posted double-figure rebounds with Demeara Hinds pulling down a team-best 12 rebounds and Alyssa Andrews also having 11 boards Monday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Malaya Cowles got the offense going early, netting the Deacs first two baskets on the game as her low post game helped cut through the zone defense of the Buccaneers.
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Her second layup at the 7:55 mark of the opening quarter gave the Demon Deacons an early 4-2 lead in the game.
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The Demon Deacons lead grew to 12-7 when Elise Williams found room in the ETSU defense for a teardrop and her first points of the game at the 1:45 mark of the first quarter.
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The Bucs ended the quarter on a 5-0 run, making it a 12-12 game after one quarter.
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Led by Jewel Spear, the Demon Deacons started to spray from behind the arc.
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The sophomore knocked down three triples in the second quarter, pushing her scoring total to 12 points and achieving her 15th consecutive double-figure game.
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Cowles continued to be crucial for the Demon Deacons in the first 20 minutes of action, knocking down a three from the right wing to push the Wake Forest advantage to 11 points.
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She started 4-of-4 from the field and the three made it 33-22 with 3:30 left until halftime.
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A run from East Tennessee State right before the half shrunk Wake Forest's lead (35-29) to single digits.
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Spear led all scorers with 12 points while Cowles was also in double figures with 10 points through 20 minutes. Demeara Hinds led all players in the game with eight rebounds in the first two quarters.
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The Demon Deacons knocked down six threes in the first 20 minutes, shooting 50 percent from range.
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Wake Forest also got to the free throw line 14 times.
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The Demon Deacons continued to build their lead behind the scoring from Cowles and Spear as the duo netted the first 10 points for Wake Forest in the third quarter.
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A Spear three at the 6:46 mark of the quarter pushed the advantage to 12.
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It also started a 7-0 that saw the Deacs take their largest lead of the game to that point at 49-33 at the 5:12 mark of the third.
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A Raegyn Conley three from the right wing elevated the lead to 20-plus for the first time in the game.
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It was the second 7-0 run for the Deacs in the quarter, making it a 56-35 advantage with 2:57 left in the third.
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Cowles capped off the third quarter with a layup to give the Deacs a 62-41 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
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Cowles had a career-best 16 points to that point and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field.
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Behind Spear, the Deacs continued to score and increase the lead.
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Spear netted 20 of her career-best 40 points in the final quarter while also going 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
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Her 40-point game was just the fifth in program history and the first since 2014.
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She also broke the school record with 10 made threes on Monday, hitting on 10-of-17 attempts.
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Cowles finished a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and had a career-best 20 points and a career-best 11 rebounds in the victory.
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Wake Forest posted its third 90-point game of the season en route to a 90-58 win on Monday afternoon.
STANDOUT STAT
This marked the second-highest scoring performance in Wake Forest history and the fifth time in program history a Demon Deacon has gone for 40-plus points:
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48 Chelsea Douglas at FIU (Dec. 29, 2013)
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40 Jewel Spear vs. ETSU (Dec. 13, 2021)
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40 Liz Strunk at Clemson (Feb. 21, 2005)
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40 Brittany Waters at Clemson (Feb. 24, 2011)
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40 Dearica Hamby vs. Montana (Nov. 29, 2014)
FROM COACH
"I'm so proud of the contributions we got from the entire team today. They played disciplined and together all afternoon and we knew the right time to feed the hot hands in Jewel and Malaya. Jewel showed why she is one of the best in the ACC and in the country today and she was as locked in as I've seen here since she has gotten here. Malaya really stepped up when we needed her today and it's great to see everyone contributing to our success." - Coach Dickerson Davis
NEXT UP
Wake Forest closes the five-game homestand with a matchup with South Carolina State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Grab your spot at LJVM Coliseum at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.
If you are not in attendance on Wednesday, you can see the game on ACC Network Extra.
