Wake Forest University
10-8,7-7ACC
Pitt
4-8,2-7ACC
Deacs Comeback to Win on Senior Night
2/11/2021 9:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
After trailing by 10 with 5:16 remaining, senior Ivana Raca sparked a 7-0 run to help lead the Demon Deacons to the comeback victory.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- After trailing late in the fourth quarter, the Wake Forest women's basketball team came from behind to defeat Pitt, 64-61, on Senior Night.
Prior to the game, the Demon Deacons (10-8, 7-7 ACC) trio of seniors were honored for their four years of accomplishments. During the game, senior leaders Gina Conti and Ivana Raca willed the Deacs to their fifth home victory of the season.
For the third consecutive game, Conti led the way in the scoring column, finishing with a game-high 18 points including three free throw makes in overtime to help edge Wake Forest past the Panthers (4-8, 2-7 ACC).
Also for the third consecutive game, Raca posted a double-double, posting 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was the 16th of her career moving her into a tie for sixth in Wake Forest history in that category.
Sophomore forward Olivia Summiel tied Raca on the glass, pulling in a career-high tying 11 rebounds including six rebounds on the offensive end. The Deacs 48 total rebounds marked a season-high.
Wake Forest also flexed their defensive prowess on Thursday evening, holding the Panthers to 31.0 percent shooting (22-of-71) from the field. It marked the lowest shooting percentage by an opponent since Campbell on Dec. 16, 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Tonight's Senior Night contest opened with both teams trading baskets before the score settled at 9-6 in favor of Wake Forest at the under-five media timeout.
- The Deacs came out strong defensively after the timeout, forcing a contested three-pointer late in the shot clock and a turnover on back-to-back possessions but were unable to take advantage of the scoring opportunities.
- Despite the early shooting struggles, baskets from junior forward Christina Morra and senior forward Ivana Raca pushed the Demon Deacons' advantage to 15-10 after the first quarter.
- Pitt opened the second quarter with a quick 7-0 run to take the lead but the Deacs responded right back with a 8-0 run of their own. It was sparked by sophomore forward Olivia Summiel, moving the lead to 23-17 with 1:26 remaining in the second quarter.
- The second quarter ended with a made three-pointer by the Panthers to cut the lead to just three.
- Morra led the charge for the Old Gold and Black with nine points and Summiel secured a game-high eight rebounds.
- Wake Forest held Pitt to 8-of-34 shooting and a mere 2-of-15 from behind the arc midway through.
- The second half began no different than the first with traded baskets from both sides.
- Raca scored a layup with 8:06 remaining in the quarter moving her into 10th in program history in career points passing Lisa Stockton (1983-86). It gave the Deacs a 25-23 lead.
- Both teams entered the first media timeout of the third quarter shooting much more consistently than the previous two periods. The score at that point was 31-30 in favor of the Deacs.
- The hot shooting continued to finish out the period, but two missed layups by Wake Forest turned into points on the other end for Pitt giving them a five-point advantage, 41-36, going into the final quarter.
- Senior guard Gina Conti opened up the fourth quarter for the Deacs with a jumper giving her 10 points for the game.
- Scruggs knocked down a three-pointer two possessions later but Pitt's strong scoring continued allowing them to extend their lead to seven.
- With 4:23 remaining in the contest, Ivana Raca knocked down two free-throws to move into ninth on the scoring list in program history, passing Liz Strunk (2003-06).
- Raca needs just 25 points to move into eighth place.
- Despite trailing for most of the second half, the Deacs continued to fight and cut the deficit to three points after an and-one layup from Scruggs with 1:39 remaining.
- With 32.7 seconds left in the game, Gina Conti knocked down a game-tying three pointer to tie the game at 57-57 and ultimately send the game to overtime.
- Wake Forest ended regulation on a 12-2 run.
- Wake Forest opened the overtime by extending their run to 17-2 and taking a five-point lead after Jewel Spear netted a three-pointer with 3:30 remaining.
- Conti knocked down a pair of free-throws with 21 seconds left to ultimately secure an impressive 64-61 comeback victory by the Deacs
- Raca finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double in as many games, and eighth of the season.
- Conti added in a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds, while Morra contributed 11 points.
- The Deacs held Pitt to just 31-percent from the field, a season-best defensive performance.
STANDOUT STAT
Ivana Raca moved into ninth on the Wake Forest all-time scoring list with her 14 points tonight, passing Lisa Stockton (1983-86) and Liz Strunk (2003-06). She is now 33 points away from moving into eighth on the all-time list.
She also secured 11 rebounds giving Raca her third consecutive double-double, her eighth of the season, and the 16th of her career. Additionally, the Deacs are 6-2 this season when Belgrade, Serbia native goes for a double-double.
FROM HOOVER
"With the leadership we have on this team with our seniors, they were saying the right things in the huddle all night. Like 'guys, we got this. We've got to defend and we've got to rebound.' And they never doubted that tonight.
Pitt is really physical, they are aggressive, and at times we did not handle that well, but when it counted in the end, we just said 'you know what, this is our game, our senior night, our Play4Kay night,' which means a lot to a lot of people, and our future. I reemphasized defensively what we needed to do, and that we had to finish it with a rebound. That was the difference." - Head Coach Jen Hoover
NEXT UP
The Deacs are back on the road this Sunday traveling to South Carolina for the second matchup of the season with Clemson.
The game will tip off at Noon ET on ACC Network.
