Wake Forest University
11-11,8-10ACC
Florida State
10-7,9-7ACC
Wake Forest Drops Regular Season Finale
2/28/2021 2:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior forward Ivana Raca led the Deacs with 19 points while senior guard Gina Conti crossed over the 1,000-point barrier.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Despite leading heading into the fourth quarter, the Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped the regular season finale at Florida State, 59-51, on Sunday afternoon.
The Demon Deacons (11-11, 8-10 ACC) were led by early production from senior forward Ivana Raca. The senior from Belgrade, Serbia started hot from the field, netting 11 of the Demon Deacons first 13 points including nine of the 11 Wake Forest first quarter points.
She ended the afternoon with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the defeat to the Seminoles (10-7, 9-7 ACC). No other player on either team had more than 11 points.
Fellow senior Gina Conti also crossed a career milestone on Sunday afternoon, becoming the 29th player in program history to cross over the 1,000-point barrier. She is the third Deac to do so in the last two seasons.
She also finished the afternoon with a team-high tying five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Olivia Summiel also pulled down five rebounds and had three assists on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- All-ACC candidate Ivana Raca got the Demon Deacons rolling early on when she scored on the Deacs first two possessions of the game.
- She got to the free throw line on both possessions including an and-one conversion on the second offensive possession to put Wake Forest up 5-0 within the first minute of action.
- Raca continued to shoulder much of the scoring load early on, netting 11 of the Demon Deacons first 13 points in the game including nine of the 11 Wake Forest points in the first quarter of play.
- After 10 minutes of play, Wake Forest and Florida State were all square at 11-11.
- With the defense collapsing on Raca, it allowed other Demon Deacons to get involved in the offense in the second quarter.
- With the help of a trio of three pointers from sophomore guard Alexandria Scruggs and freshman guard Jewel Spear, the Demon Deacons proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to take a five-point advantage at the 4:53 of the second quarter.
- At this point, Wake Forest led 22-17.
- By the midway point of the second quarter, Wake Forest had forced Florida State to turn the ball over 10 times including five steals and two shot clock violations.
- The Demon Deacons had nine points off those turnovers.
- Wake Forest went on to lead by as much as eight points in the second quarter after Spear's second made three of the quarter.
- The Deacs boosted the lead to 2:54 at that point.
- The Seminoles closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to tighten the Wake Forest advantage to just two points at the halftime interval.
- Raca led all scorers with 13 points through 20 minutes and was the only player in double figures at that point.
- She ended the first half going 5-of-7 from the field while also knocking down all three free throw attempts.
- Wake Forest made the most of their eight offensive rebounds, netting 10 second chance points in the first half.
- Raca led all scorers with 13 points through 20 minutes and was the only player in double figures at that point.
- Senior guard Gina Conti got the Demon Deacons rolling in the third quarter, knocking down a right corner triple at the 7:53 mark.
- The three put Wake Forest up 32-28.
- With the triple, Conti joined the illustrious 1,000-point club, becoming the 29th member in program history to reach the career milestone.
- Despite multiple attempts from Florida State to take the lead in the third quarter, the Demon Deacons clung on to the lead the entire way.
- With less than three minutes remaining to play in the quarter, Spear leaked out on the fast break. When being guarded by Morgan Jones, the freshman spun around her at the basket and took the contact to convert the and-one opportunity.
- The basket gave the Deacs a 41-35 lead at the 2:53 mark of the quarter.
- Wake Forest took a 41-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
- Much like the third quarter, a Gina Conti three pointer got the Demon Deacons offense rolling in the fourth quarter.
- Her three from the left wing knotted the game at 44-44 with 7:42 left in regulation.
- The final quarter was a defensive battle through the first five minutes of play with both teams combining to score just 10 points total.
- At this point of the game, Florida State held a slight 46-44 edge on the Demon Deacons.
- The Deacs were held to just eight points through the first nine minutes of the quarter as Florida State was able to build a 56-49 advantage over Wake Forest with 46 seconds remaining in the contest.
- Wake Forest fell 59-51 at Florida State to end the regular season.
STANDOUT STAT
With her first basket of the game on Sunday afternoon, senior guard Gina Conti became the 29th member of the Wake Forest 1,000-point club and became the third Demon Deacon to reach the milestone in the last two seasons.
Coming into the game, the senior from Grove City, Ohio was averaging a career-best 14.8 points per game, nearly five points better than her average as a junior.
She also ranks third in program history in assists. After the game on Sunday, she has a total of 468 during her four seasons in Winston-Salem.
FROM HOOVER
"It was a physical game, and I just do not think we handled that very well for whatever reason. We got a lot of good looks. Early, we settled for way too many threes, and then in the first half when we finally got into the paint and played inside out we started to knock down some of those threes. Ivana got going early and that was really good, but Christina never got going. I have never seen Gina miss so many right-handed layups. It was just a rough night all around. The game was won by rebounds, bottom line. We could not put the ball in the hole, but if you are going to get outrebounded by 18 you are not going to win." - Head Coach Jen Hoover
NEXT UP
The Demon Deacons open the ACC Tournament in Round Two on Thursday.
The game will tip off time and the network will be announced at a later date.
With a win, Wake Forest will reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the second consecutive season.
