Wake Forest University
11-6,2-4ACC
Georgia Tech
9-7,0-5ACC
Defense Propels Deacs to Victory Over Georgia Tech
1/8/2023 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Demon Deacons held the Yellow Jackets to only 35.3 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 from beyond the arc to improve to 8-1 at home this season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Behind a collective defensive effort, the Wake Forest women's basketball team earned a 51-50 victory over ACC foe Georgia Tech Sunday evening at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons (11-6, 2-4 ACC) used stellar defense holding the Yellow Jackets (9-7, 0-5 ACC) to just 35.3 percent and just 28.6 percent from three. The Deacs have now held 14 opponents to under 40 percent shooting this season and hold a mark of 11-2 when they do so. This includes both ACC victories this season over Pitt and Georgia Tech.
Wake Forest held the Jackets leading scorer in Cameron Swartz to just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
After Georgia Tech got the ball back down one with three seconds left in the game, the Jackets called a timeout to advance the ball to half court. With the help of a staunch defense from junior forward Demera Hinds, Georgia Tech was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer and Wake Forest earned their second ACC win of the year, both coming at home.
Senior forward Olivia Summiel was huge for the Deacs, converting all three of her three pointers while also posting a team-high tying seven rebounds and 11 total points.
Junior guard Elise Williams finished the game as the Deacs' high scorer, totaling 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting while also converting 3-of-3 free throws.
In her third start this year, senior guard Aleandria Scruggs stepped up on both ends of the floor, playing a team-high 36 minutes in the victory while also posting a near season-best 12 points on 6-of-9 from the field.
There are only a limited number of home games remaining at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum this season. Be sure to claim your spot for exciting ACC matchups at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Both teams were held scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of the contest before a Kaia Harrison jumper opened the scoring at the 7:16 mark.
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One minute later, Georgia Tech made a three pointer to take the lead, but Wake Forest immediately responded as Elise Williams finished a layup.
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On the ensuing possession, Georgia Tech drained a jumper, but Demeara Hinds quickly found Alexandria Scruggs cutting to the basket to give the Deacs a 6-5 lead.
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Sunday marked Scruggs' third start of the 2022-23 campaign.
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The Yellow Jackets knocked down their second three of the game to take an 8-6 lead into the under-five media timeout.
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Both sides made a pair of free throws before an Olivia Summiel jumpshot evened the ledger (10-10).
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Kayla Blackshear of Georgia Tech made a jumper with four seconds remaining to give the Yellow Jackets a 12-10 lead after 10 minutes of action.
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Defensively, Wake Forest held Georgia Tech to only 33.3 percent shooting in the first quarter.
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Additionally, the Deacs forced four Yellow Jacket turnovers in the opening frame.
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Georgia Tech made a pair of free throws to open the second quarter, but Wake Forest quickly responded with a blistering 7-0 run over the following minute.
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The Yellow Jackets scored four unanswered to regain the lead before a Hinds layup put the Deacs back in front, 19-18.
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Georgia Tech then went on a 6-2 run before back-to-back layups from Williams.
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The two sides traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter as Wake Forest took a 29-28 lead into the halftime break.
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The Demon Deacons were led by Williams in the first half as she logged a game-high 10 points, while adding four assists.
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Williams also had a solid half defensively as she added a steal and a block during the first 20 minutes of play.
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As a team, Wake Forest held Georgia Tech to only 37.5 percent shooting in the first half, while turning the Yellow Jackets over seven times.
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Scruggs opened the second half scoring 57 seconds into the third quarter as she finished a layup on an assist from Williams.
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Neither team found the basket over the next three minutes until Blackshear of Georgia Tech knocked down a free throw.
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The Yellow Jackets then made consecutive layups to take a 33-31 lead.
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Georgia Tech maintained its two point lead over the following five minutes before making a layup with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter to extend the lead to four.
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Summiel then drained a buzz-beating three from the top of the key to pull the Deacs within one entering the fourth quarter.
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The Yellow Jackets owned a 39-38 lead entering the final 10 minutes of play.
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Scruggs led the Deacs in the third quarter as she tallied four points on 2-of-3 shooting.
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Georgia Tech opened the fourth quarter scoring four unanswered, before a Williams jumper and a Scruggs layup made it a one-point game.
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After a Georgia Tech jumper extended the Yellow Jacket lead to three, Summiel canned another triple from the top of the key to even the ledger, 45-45, entering the under-five media timeout.
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Both teams earned a trip to the charity stripe and made 1-of-2 attempts as the score was tied 46-46 with just over one minute remaining.
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Blackshear drained a pair of free throws to give the Yellow Jackets a two-point lead at the 1:25 mark, but Williams responded by converting an and-one 15 seconds later to give the Deacs a one-point advantage.
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Cameron Swartz of Georgia Tech made a layup with 56 seconds remaining to regain the lead; however, Kaia Harrison knocked down a jumper to put Wake Forest up, 51-50.
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With two seconds left, the Yellow Jackets had one final offensive possession but a swarming defensive effort by Wake Forest prevented Georgia Tech from attempting a shot.
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The Deacs held on for the 51-50 victory, marking their eighth home win of the 2022-23 campaign.
STANDOUT STAT
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Defensively, Wake Forest held Georgia Tech to only 18-of-51 (35.3 percent) shooting from the field and 2-of-7 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while forcing 15 Yellow Jacket turnovers.
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Of note, the Deacs held the Yellow Jackets to just 5-for-15 shooting from the field in the third quarter.
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Individually, junior forward Demeara Hinds led the defensive effort as she logged three blocks and a steal.
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Coming into Sunday's contest, the Demon Deacons were holding their opponents to just 36.1 percent shooting from the field and just 28.8 percent shooting from behind the arc through 16 games this season.
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The opponent shooting percentage ranked 44th in the nation and the Deacs also ranked 56th with 4.2 blocks per game prior to Sunday.
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FROM GEBBIA
"We found a way to win and we did it defensively. Liv really stepped up big from three and Alex had huge minutes in a starting role and had 12 points. This was a gutty win, and I am proud of this group for figuring things out. We never quit and had some hard minutes there at the end to earn this one at home. We took a big step in learning how to win in this league." - Coach Megan Gebbia
NEXT UP
The Demon Deacons hit the road for three-consecutive games starting on Thursday when the Deacs travel to face Notre Dame, who is the highest ranked ACC team at No. 4 in the country. Tipoff for the road clash is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion.
For those who cannot attend, the game will air on ACC Network Extra.
