Wake Forest University
12-8,2-7ACC
Louisville
16-2,6-1ACC
Despite Strong Start, Deacs Fall to No. 3 Cardinals
1/23/2022 4:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Demon Deacons had a lead over the nationally-ranked Louisville Cardinals after the first quarter, but eventually fell, 72-60 on Sunday afternoon.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Wake Forest women's basketball team started the afternoon strong against the No. 3 Louisville, but eventually fell to the Cardinals, 72-60, on Sunday afternoon at KFC Yum! Center.
Behind a strong shooting performance in the first 10 minutes of action, the Demon Deacons (12-8, 2-7 ACC) held a 22-21 lead over the nationally-ranked Cardinals (16-2, 6-1 ACC) entering the second quarter of play.
In the first quarter, Wake Forest shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 4-of-8 three point attempts including a pair from sophomore guard Jewel Spear. In the first quarter, the 2020-21 Freshman All-ACC selection netted eight points.
She ended the afternoon with a team-high 22 points, crossing over the 650-point barrier for her career in just 45 games played. Her 14.8 point average to start her career in Winston-Salem is tied for fifth in program history and is the highest since Tracy Conner's 17.0 from 1994-97.
Her scoring output, marked the most by any ACC opponent against Louisville this season and the second most by any Louisville opponent this season and the seventh time this season she has scored 20-plus points.
With five threes in the contest, Spear is now six from cracking into the career top 10 in program history. Additionally, her 63 threes this season now ranks seventh in Wake Forest single-season history.
Freshman guard Elise Williams, who finished with 14 points on Sunday, ended the day going 8-of-11 from the free throw line. This marked the most free throw attempts made by a Louisville opponent this season. In total, the Demon Deacons got to the free throw line 27 times, making 19 attempts on the afternoon.
Leading the Demon Deacons on the boards was led by sophomore forward Demeara Hinds with eight while Olivia Summiel tallied seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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After Louisville scored on the opening possession of the game, Wake Forest came down on the other end and tied the game at 2-2 when junior forward Olivia Summiel found fellow junior Kaia Harrison on a backdoor cut.
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The Deacs tied it again on the next possession with a triple from Elise Williams.
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The Deacs took their first lead of the game when sophomore guard Jewel Spear netted her first points of the game on a triple.
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Her first three of the game put the Demon Deacons in front, 8-7, with 7:33 in the first quarter.
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Wake Forest did a great job of sharing the ball from the jump, assisting on four of the first five baskets.
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A Christina Morra look to a left-wing three from Williams, put the Deacs back in front again at 13-12.
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She then knocked down a pair of free throws to add to the Wake Forest lead, 15-12, at the 4:05 mark of the first.
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The Demon Deacons continued to have an answer for the Cardinals on the offensive end, shooting 50 percent from the field in the first quarter while also going 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
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Wake Forest held a 22-21 lead after 10 minutes of play, led by eight points from Spear on 3-of-6 shooting.
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The Deacs continued to shoot well from distance to start the second quarter as Summiel dialed up a triple from the left wing to extend the lead to 25-21.
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Wake Forest continued to lead for the first 2:30 of the second quarter before a run from Louisville put the Cardinals in front for the remainder of the first half.
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The Cards went on a 19-0 run to turn the Wake Forest lead into a 44-26 advantage at the midway point of Sunday's contest.
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The Deacs just managed four points in the second period.
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At the midway point of the contest, Summiel and Spear each had eight points for the Demon Deacons to lead the team.
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The Deacs shared the ball well in their made baskets as six of the nine field goals were assisted on. Five different Demon Deacons had an assist.
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In addition to her team-high eight points, Summiel also pulled down a team-best four rebounds while also adding a steal and assist to her statline.
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The Louisville run ended at the 5:03 mark of the third quarter, as the 32-0 run for the Cardinals saw the Wake Forest lead turn into a 30-point lead for the No. 3-ranked team.
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A pair of Williams' free throws stopped the run as it was a 57-28 game at that point in the contest.
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Despite the deficit, Wake Forest continued to show fight in the third quarter.
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The Deacs ended the third quarter on a 9-2 run, making it a 63-37 game heading into the fourth quarter of play.
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The Demon Deacons continued to attack in the final period of the game as the Deacs opened up the fourth on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit down to 63-42.
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Wake Forest continued to battle in the fourth quarter as the Demon Deacons cut the deficit below 20 points with the help of the free throw line.
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On the afternoon, the Deacs shot 27 free throws, knocking down 19 attempts.
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The Deacs showed fight to the very end of the game, falling 72-60 to the nationally-ranked Cardinals.
STANDOUT STAT
Sophomore guard Jewel Spear finished the game with 22 points including hitting five triples from behind the arc. Her scoring output, marked the most by any ACC opponent against Louisville this season and the second most by any Louisville opponent this season.
This marks the seventh time this season The Colony, Texas native has gone for 20-plus points in a game.
Her five three pointers moved her into seventh in single-season program history with 63 total threes this season. Additionally, she is now just six triples away from entering the top 10 in career threes.
FROM HOOVER
"I am proud of the focus and fight we started and finished the game with, but to come on the road and beat a deep, talented top-5 program, we have to sustain it for 40 minutes. Basketball is a game of runs and we have to get stops defensively to stop runs. We responded in the fourth quarter, getting stops and scores. We will continue to work hard and get better as we prepare for a tough, gritty Miami team on Thursday." - Head Coach Jen Hoover
NEXT UP
Wake Forest returns home to LJVM Coliseum on Thursday as the Demon Deacons play host to Miami (FL) as the Deacs will be in search of the season sweep of the Hurricanes.
Claim your spot at LJVM Coliseum at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.
For those not in attendance on Sunday's game in Louisville, the game will also air on RSN.
