Wake Forest University
Middle Tennessee
Deacs Travel to Middle Tennessee for WNIT Second Round
3/18/2022 11:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wake Forest will look to advance to the third round of the WNIT for the first time since 2005 and the second time in program history.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's basketball team's run in the WNIT continues Monday night in Murfreesboro, Tenn. against Middle Tennessee State.
The Deacs (16-16) will look to advance to the third round of the WNIT for the first time since 2005 and the second time in program history. Additionally, this is a rematch of the 2017 WNIT Second Round game when Wake Forest narrowly fell to the Blue Raiders on the road. The Deacs are coming off their eighth game in the last 10 where they have had four or more double-figure scorers. The Demon Deacons were led by a near career-best 18 points from freshman guard Alyssa Andrews in Thursday's win over Akron.
The Blue Raiders (24-7) claimed an 86-56 opening round victory over Wofford on Thursday evening as five different players finished the game in double figures. Middle Tennessee held the second-best conference record in Conference USA, winning 14 games and the held the best overall record in the league. The Blue Raiders rely heavily on the three ball, ranking second in the nation with 922 three-point attempts and fourth in the country with 306 three-point makes. The Blue Raiders have four players on their team with 130 or more three-point attempts this season.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Murphy Center. For those not at the arena, fans can tune in on ConferenceUSA.com.
Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).
LOOKING TO MAKE POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Demon Deacons have now advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the sixth time in seven appearances.
The Wake Forest women's basketball team is looking to make history on Monday night as they look to advance to the third round of the WNIT for the second time in program history. Their lone trip to the third round came during the 2004-05 season.
The last three appearances in the WNIT have ended in a second round defeat on the road. The Deacs last tournament appearance came in 2017 when Wake Forest fell narrowly at Middle Tennessee. The Demon Deacons were led by a 23-point performance from Ariel Stephenson.
ROAD TO THE TOURNAMENT
For the third consecutive season and the fifth time in the Jen Hoover era, the Demon Deacons were postseason eligible, making their ninth postseason appearance and seventh trip to the WNIT.
Wake Forest has played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation with the No. 57 Opponent Success Rate and the No. 64 Average Opponent NET Rankings in the country. Additionally, 16 of the Demon Deacons 32 games have come against top-100 NET programs.
The Demon Deacons have a pair of top-51 NET wins, coming at Miami and against Florida State.
Additionally during non-conference play, the Demon Deacons defeated three reigning conference champions in Mercer (SoCon), High Point (Big South) and Troy (Sun Belt) with the wins over Mercer and High Point both coming on the road.
LAST TIME
Wake Forest vs. Akron (March 17) - WNIT First Round
Result: W, 71-59
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The Demon Deacons forced Akron to turn the ball over 19 times in the game, directly leading to 20 points on the other end of the floor. Additionally, Wake Forest forced Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Jordyn Dawson to turn the ball over eight times in the game.
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Freshman guard Alyssa Andrews nearly had the best night of her young career scoring, finishing the game with a team-best 18 points in the game, one point off her career high. From behind the arc, the Woodbridge, Virginia native shot 3-of-4 while playing 35 minutes in her first postseason start.
SERIES HISTORY
Versus Middle Tennessee
Series: Middle Tennessee leads 1-0
Last: March 19, 2017
Result: L, 73-66
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Ariel Stephenson scored a team-high 23 points to lead the Deacs while Elisa Penna (17) and Milan Quinn (11) scored in double figures as well for a Wake Forest (16-16) squad that was making its second-straight postseason appearance.
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Quinn capped her career with 129 career games played, tied for second-most in program history and one shy of matching the program record of 130. She ends her time as a Demon Deacon ranking second all-time in career blocks (114), fourth in career double-doubles (22) and fifth in career rebounds with 828.
TALK TO ME TINA
Down the stretch of the season, senior forward Christina Morra has been playing her best basketball of the season. In the First Round against Virginia, she tallied her second double-double performance in the last three games. Morra posted 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the victory over the Cavaliers.
She has tallied double-digit points in each of her last six games. Over the last four games, she has been even more impressive, averaging 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds.
STANDOUT STAT
The Demon Deacons relied on their youth in the opening round of the WNIT. Two Wake Forest underclassmen either notched or tied career-highs during Thursday night's victory:
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Elise Williams - five steals
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Demeara Hinds - 12 rebounds
Freshman Alyssa Andrews, who led the Deacs in scoring, was also one off her career-high in scoring, totaling 18 points in the win.
The Deacs were at their most aggressive defensively, swiping in a season-best 13 team steals. Additionally, the team forced 18 turnovers from Akron. Seven different Demon Deacons recorded a steal in the game.
It marked the most steals in a game since Wake Forest had 14 in a 106-50 victory over College of Charleston (Nov. 08, 2019).
UP NEXT
The winner of the game will face the winner of Vanderbilt (15-18, 4-12 SEC) or Liberty (28-4, 14-2 ASUN). They tipoff at 8 p.m. with the location, date and time of the second round game being determined following the conclusion of all second round games.
