Wake Forest University
16-17,4-14ACC
Middle Tennessee
-257,144 CUSA
Deacs Fall in WNIT Second Round at Middle Tennessee
3/21/2022 9:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wake Forest finishes the 2021-22 season with 16 victories including a Hoover era record 12 victories inside of LJVM Coliseum.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After its seventh trip to the WNIT and the sixth run to at least the second round of the tournament, the Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped its second round game at Middle Tennessee Monday evening, 67-55.
The Demon Deacons (16-17) were led by 18 points from senior forward Christina Morra, marking her seventh consecutive game with double-figure points. The Toronto, Ontario, Canada native was quick to get on the scoreboard, tallying eight points in the first quarter as she had the Deacs' first six points against the Blue Raiders (25-7).
Over the last five games, she has been even more impressive, averaging 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds. In the fourth quarter playing in her 107th game for the Demon Deacons, Morra attempted and knocked down her first career three pointer.
Joining her in double figures were freshman guard Elise Williams and junior guard Kaia Harrison. Williams finished the night with 13 points while Harrison totaled 10 in the road defeat.
Wake Forest showed notable hustle on the glass, evident by the team's 20 offensive rebounds compared to Middle Tennessee's nine. Morra and sophomore forward Demeara Hinds each grabbed six boards while six total players finished with five or more. Overall, the Demon Deacons finished the game with a plus-10 rebounding margin, 44-34.
For the second consecutive game, Harrison led Wake Forest with four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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After winning the tip, the Demon Deacons found senior forward Christina Morra who knocked down a jumper to give the Deacs the early lead, 2-0.
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The senior netted the Deacs first six points of the game with the third made basket coming on another jumper from the free throw line.
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The basket made it 7-6 Middle Tennessee at the 7:21 mark of the first quarter.
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Less than two minutes later, freshman guard Elise Williams earned a trip to the free throw line off a baseline drive. She converted both opportunities to again pull the Deacs within one point of the Blue Raiders, 9-8.
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The Demon Deacons continued to get within one basket of the Blue Raiders as a left wing triple from junior forward Olivia Summiel put Wake Forest within two at 15-13 with 1:27 on the first quarter clock.
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At the end of the first quarter, Wake Forest trailed 20-13.
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Morra totaled eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
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Junior guard Kaia Harrison had three assists on the Deacs' five made baskets.
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Morra continued to provide offense for the Deacs quickly getting into double figures in the second quarter.
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Harrison also filled up the score column, hitting all three of her attempts in the quarter for six Demon Deacon points.
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Despite good defense from the Demon Deacons, the Blue Raiders got hot from the field, knocking down 58 percent of their shots in the second quarter. To that point, they were shooting 51.9 percent overall for the game.
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At the halftime break, Wake Forest trailed, 38-25.
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Morra led all scorers with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.
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The Demon Deacons grabbed nine offensive rebounds, four more than Middle Tennessee.
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Alyssa Andrews led all players with a total four rebounds in the first two quarters.
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Williams led the scoring effort in the third quarter of the game, netting six points in the 10-minute interval.
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Wake Forest trailed 59-36 heading into the final quarter of play.
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Morra had 13 points through three quarters, marking the seventh-straight game.
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Morra continued to score in the final quarter of the game, hitting her first career three on her first career three-point attempt.
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She ended the game with a team-best and game-high tying 18 points.
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The Demon Deacons owned the glass in the second half of the game, winning the rebounding margin by +10 for the game.
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Morra was joined in double figures by Harrison who finished with 10 points and Williams who tallied 13 points.
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After reaching the second round of the WNIT for the sixth time in seven appearances, the Demon Deacons fell, 67-55.
STANDOUT STAT
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 over a three-game stretch. Morra posted 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the victory over the Cavaliers.
On Monday night in the second round of the WNIT, she got off to a quick start, netting the first six points of the game for the Demon Deacons.
She has tallied double-digit points in each of her last seven games. Over the last five games, she has been even more impressive, averaging 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds.
FROM HOOVER
"First and foremost, I want to thank the WNIT for allowing us to play in their tournament this year. For our young team, these two games and this experience will be invaluable going into next season. Although this was not our best performance of the season, I am proud of the way we battled to the very end of the game in the fourth quarter. Christina Morra played really well for us tonight and scored from all three levels. She has been such a huge part of our success since she has arrived on campus, helping our program become postseason eligible each of the last three years. The end stretch of this season was promising and something we will continue to grow on the next few months as we head into the 2022-23 season. I am looking forward to putting the work in with this team as we look ahead to next year." - Head Coach Jen Hoover
Season Highlights
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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.
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With a first round win over Akron on Thursday night, the Demon Deacons have now advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the sixth time in seven appearances.
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Wake Forest 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, 17 of the Demon Deacons 33 games have come against top-100 NET programs.
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The Demon Deacons have a pair of top-51 NET wins, coming at Miami and against Florida State.
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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.
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In postseason play, the Demon Deacons advanced in the ACC Tournament for the third consecutive year, defeating Virginia in the opening round of the tournament. The Demon Deacons moved to 5-3 in the last three ACC Tournaments appearances, nearly defeating No. 25 Georgia Tech in the second round, 45-40.
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Wake Forest boasted the ACC's leading scorer and All-ACC First Team selection, sophomore guard Jewel Spear with 18.3 points per game.
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Spear is the first sophomore leading scorer in the conference since the 2011-12 season and just the third in the last 20 years.
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Additionally, her 90 three pointers ranked second in the ACC and is the second most in single-season program history.
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She had one of the greatest performances in program history against ETSU on Dec. 13, netting 40 points, the second best mark in school history while also breaking the program record with 10 three-point makes.
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Spear went for 30-plus three times this season and 20-plus 10 times.
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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.
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She has tallied double-digit points in each of her last seven games. Over the last five games, she has been even more impressive, averaging 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds.
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