Wake Forest University
12-7,2-6ACC
Clemson
7-11,1-6ACC
Deacs Fall to Clemson While Spear Reaches Milestone
1/20/2022 10:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore guard Jewel Spear finished the game with a team-high 16 points while also cracking into the top 10 in single-season three-point makes.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Despite double-figure scoring from sophomore guard Jewel Spear and freshman guard Elise Williams, the Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped Thursday's contest to Clemson, 66-44, at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Demon Deacon (12-7, 2-6 ACC) duo combined to net 29 points for Wake Forest while Spear also reached a career milestone in the defeat to the Tigers (7-11, 1-6 ACC).
Spear, who ended the game with a team-high 16 points, also reached 58 threes on the season, tying her mark from a season ago and also tying the 10th most three-point makes in Wake Forest single-season history.
Her 116 threes over her first two seasons is just 11 away from tying the 10th most for a Demon Deacon career.
Wake Forest won the rebounding battle for the 13th time this season, grabbing 39 boards to the Tigers 37 on Thursday night. Christina Morra pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in the losing effort while freshman forward Malaya Cowles tallied six rebounds.
For the third-straight game, junior forward Niyah Becker finished the game with three assists, leading the Deacs in that category.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Niyah Becker netted the first points of the game to give the Deacs a 2-0 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
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Wake Forest held Clesmon scoreless until a made jumpshot by Tigers at the the 4:58 mark. The Tigers were 0-of-8 to start the game.
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Elise Williams connected on the first Deacon three pointer of the game with 0:35 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
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She finished the first quarter with seven points as she was well on her way to double figures.
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Jewel Spear and Alexandria Scruggs chipped in two points each in the first quarter to give the Deacs a 13-6 lead going into the second quarter.
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Wake Forest finished the first ten minutes shooting 100 percent from the free throw line while also having a substantial 14-9 lead in the rebounding battle.
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The Deacs held the Tigers to 18 percent shooting in the opening stanza.
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The Demon Deacons continued to maintain their lead they built up in the first quarter throughout much of the second period of play.
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With 2:47 left before the halftime interval, the Deacs clung onto a 15-12 advantage.
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Wake Forest continued to dominate the glass in the first 20 minutes of the game.
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Wake Forest out-rebounded Clemson 27-15 in the first half.
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Five Demon Deacons finished the first half with three or more rebounds with Christina Morra leading the game with seven boards.
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At halftime, Wake Forest held a one point advantage (15-14) over the Tigers.
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Williams led all scorers with seven points at the break.
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Wake Forest limited Clemson to only four points in the paint during the first 20 minutes.
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Wake Forest began the second half with points on their first possession after Olivia Summiel connected on a jump shot.
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The Deacs scored on five of their first six possessions to begin the second half.
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Clemson tied the game for the first time since the beginning of the game at the 5:27 mark of the third quarter, 25-25.
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The Tigers outscored the Deacs 28-14 in the third quarter and held a 44-31 advantage entering the final quarter.
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The Deacs were led by Jewel Spear with seven points and two rebounds in the third quarter.
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Spear and Williams combined for eleven points to lead the Deacon offense in the final period.
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Alexandria Scruggs added a pair of free throws while Morra chipped in a bucket during the final ten minutes of play.
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Wake Forest finished the evening shooting 27 percent from the field while out rebounding Clemson 39-37.
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Spear led the Deacs with 16 points and Williams had 13 of her own.
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STANDOUT STAT
With a pair of three-point makes in Thursday night's loss to Clemson, sophomore guard Jewel Spear equaled her three-point output from a season ago with 58 makes. It is tied for 10th in single-season program history.
Additionally, her 116 three-point makes in her career are just 11 away from cracking into the top-10 in Wake Forest history:
1. Cotelia Bond Young (2003-06) - 267
2. Chelsea Douglas (2010-14) - 257
3. Nicole Levesque (1991-94) - 193
4. Heidi Coleman (1995-99) - 191
5. Lakevia Boykin (2009-13) - 167
6. Tonia Brown (2001-04) - 142
Ariel Stephenson (2015-19) - 142
8. Liz Strunk (2003-06) - 141
9. Alex Tchangoue (2006-09) - 129
10. Camille Collier (2007-12) - 127
Jewel Spear (2020-pres.) - 116
FROM HOOVER
"I thought we had good energy at the beginning of the game and did a good job defensively in the first two quarters but we did not finish the way we needed to in this one. We need to continue to work on being consistent for 40 minutes." - Head Coach Jen Hoover
NEXT UP
Wake Forest is back on the road for a Sunday afternoon battle at No. 3 Louisville with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. ET from KFC Yum! Center.
For those not in attendance on Sunday's game in Louisville, the game will also air on ACC Network.
