UNC WILMINGTON FALLS TO WAKE FOREST, 72-58
Wake Forest 72, UNC Wilmington 58
Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Senior Corinne Groves scored a career-high 24 points and senior Alex Tchangoue added 20 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season to lead Wake Forest to a 72-58 victory over UNC Wilmington in collegiate women’s basketball action Thursday at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons increased their school-record winning streak to 12 games as they remained undefeated on the season at 12-0. The Seahawks dropped to 6-5 on the season as they closed out non-conference play.
Groves and Tchangoue were two of four Wake Forest players in double figures as junior Courtney Morris added 12 and freshman Brooke Thomas chipped in 10 points and dished out a career-best seven assists. Tchangoue’s 10 caroms highlighted a 38-33 advantage on the glass for the Demon Deacons as Morris and freshman Secily Ray pulled down eight rebounds each.
Sophomore Brittany Blackwell was the only UNCW player in double figures as she scored 16 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Senior Sahsha Taylor added nine points and junior Greta Luksyte pitched in eight. Luksyte also pulled down a team-best six rebounds while Taylor matched a career-high with four assists.
Leading 50-47 midway through the second half, a jumper by Tchangoue started an 18-4 Wake Forest run that gave the Demon Deacons a 68-51 cushion with 4:42 remaining. Tchangoue and Groves combined to score 10 of the 18 points tallied in the decisive run that lasted more than eight minutes and saw five different Wake Forest players register a point.
The Seahawks scored seven of the last 11 points of the contest to determine the final margin.
Both teams shot the ball well in the second half as Wake Forest connected on 52.8 percent of its tries from the field while UNCW posted a .524 field goal percentage in the final frame. The Demon Deacons took advantage of 14 miscues by the Seahawks in the second half, scoring 20 points of UNCW turnovers. Wake Forest also enjoyed a five-rebound edge in game’s final 20 minutes.
Blackwell and Taylor teamed up to stake UNCW an early 9-4 lead before six straight points by Groves gave Wake its first lead of the contest, 10-9.
Trailing 15-14 later in the frame, the Seahawks put together an 11-2 run to take its biggest lead of the half, 25-17. Simmons paced the run as all five of her points in the contest came during the four-minute spurt.
The Demon Deacons responded to the Seahawks run by scoring seven unanswered points to pull within one, 25-24, with 3:20 left in the half. The two teams then proceeded to trade baskets until the buzzer as UNCW took a 30-29 lead into the locker room. UNCW shot 44.4 percent in the first half while limiting the Demon Deacons to a 34.3 percent shooting from the field.
The two teams continued to battle back and forth early in the second half until five straight points by Wake Forest gave the Demon Deacons a 46-42 advantage.
Both sides traded baskets over the next minute and a half of play until Tchangoue’s jumper at the 12:57 sparked the game-changing run.