Wake Forest University
10-1,0-0ACC
South Carolina State
0-10,0-0MEAC
Wake Forest Captured Largest Victory Since 2019, 94-40
12/15/2021 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Three Demon Deacons finished the night with their first career double-double performances.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest women's basketball team continued to score the ball at a high rate, capturing a 94-40 victory over South Carolina State Wednesday night at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons (10-1), who led by as much as 55 points in the game, finished non-conference play with their best record in the Jen Hoover era and were led to their 10th victory of the season by a trio of first collegiate double-double performances.
Sophomore guard Jewel Spear ended the night with a game-high 25 points while also pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Freshman guard Alyssa Andrews was right behind her in the score column with 19 points and 11 boards. Fellow freshman Raegyn Conley pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds while also contributing 13 points.
Freshman guard Elisa Williams, who led the Demon Deacons with a career-best eight assists, nearly had a double-double of her own with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting including 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
Wake Forest held the Bulldogs (0-9) to just 17.4 percent shooting from the field as just one South Carolina State player managed to hit more than two shots in the entire game. Additionally, the 40 points given up are the fewest since Feb. 28, 2018 when Wake Forest limited Pitt to just 38 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Demon Deacons jumped out to an early advantage and never looked back, holding South Carolina State scoreless for the seven minutes of the first quarter.
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Meanwhile, Jewel Spear continued her hot shooting after Monday's 40-point performance in the win over ETSU. She netted 10 of the first 16 points for the Demon Deacons including a pair of three pointers.
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Within the first four minutes of the game, Wake Forest led by double-digits up 10-0.
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The Deacs also owned the advantage in the paint in the opening quarter, holding the Bulldogs scoreless while having 12 points of their own.
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The Deacs held South Carolina State to just 2-of-14 shooting in the opening frame while Wake Forest was over 50 percent from the field.
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The Deacs led 23-7, entering the second.
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Wake Forest continued to extend its lead in the second stanza, starting the quarter on a 17-2 run to push the lead to 31 points.
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In the midst of the run, the Demon Deacons hit five consecutive threes including the final three from Elise Williams.
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The Deacs maintained the 30-point lead at the halftime break, taking a 46-16 advantage into the locker room.
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Spear led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also having seix rebounds and four assists through 20 minutes.
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Raegyn Conley had the team lead with seven rebounds while Williams added 13 points and four assists at point guard.
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The Deacs held the Bulldogs to just 16 percent shooting in the first two quarters including just 2-of-14 from behind the arc.
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The Demon Deacons were 9-of-18 from three in the opening two quarters.
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Wake Forest maintained a 30-point edge for much of the third quarter.
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Six different Demon Deacons found the scoring column with Conley and Andrews each having six apiece.
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The Deacs lead ballooned to 71-27, the Deacs largest lead of the season to that point in the game.
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Andrews was on pace for her first career double-double performance with 15 points and nine rebounds through the first 30 minutes of action.
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The Deacs opened the final quarter on a 6-0 run to extend the lad out to 49 points with 8:02 remaining in the game.
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Spear also attacked the glass increasing her total to nine midway through the final quarter as at that point she was one away from her first career double-double performance.
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The Demon Deacons had three players complete their first career double-double performances in the fourth quarter with Andrews, Conley and Spear all grabbing their 10th rebound in the final quarter.
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The Deacs grabbed their largest win in the last two seasons and their first 50-point win since defeating College of Charleston 106-50 in 2019.
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Wake Forest finished their fourth 90-plus point game this season, winning 94-40.
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It also marked the Deacs highest scoring output this season.
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STANDOUT STAT
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Wednesday's victory over South Carolina State marked the fourth 90-plus point game of the season for the Demon Deacons, the first season to do so since 2005-06. All four have come in the last five games including three-consecutive.
FROM COACH HOOVER
"I am proud of the way the entire team came out and fought tonight. I thought we shared the ball well and the last four games we have really shown how good of an offense team we can be. We had so many people up and down the team contribute to our first 10 wins this season and we have built great depth within the team. Now, we need to carry that over conference play, starting with a very good Georgia Tech team on Sunday." - Coach Jen Hoover
NEXT UP
Wake Forest is set to open up Atlantic Coast Conference play on the road Sunday when the Demon Deacons travel to No. 18 Georgia Tech. The Deacs captured a 61-52 victory in Atlanta last season.
If you are not in attendance on Sunday in Atlanta, you can see the game on ACC Network and WatchESPN/ESPN App.
