Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Communications
Fourth Quarter Surge Propels Wake Forest Over Virginia Women’s Basketball
The UVA women's basketball team (3-20, 0-13 ACC) gave the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-12, 3-11 ACC) all they could handle through the first three quarters, but the Deacs pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 68-53 victory over the Cavaliers on Sunday in Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest jumped out to a fast start in the first quarter, scoring 21 points on 8/13 shooting as a team, including 3/5 from beyond the arc. Olivia Summiel led the team with seven points.
For the Cavaliers, shots weren’t falling early on, but the team only had two turnovers in the first quarter and kept out of foul trouble with just three team fouls. After the first ten minutes, the Demon Deacons led 21-12.
Virginia was able to knock down more shots in the second quarter and the team outscored Wake Forest 17-15. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter and six different Cavalier players scored. Wake Forest led 36-29 going into halftime.
Virginia stormed out of the locker room in the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 38-36 lead, the team’s first lead of the day. Amandine Toi made a three-pointer to make the lead 43-40, capping a 14-4 run that took up the first eight minutes of the quarter.
After that, Wake Forest responded with a 8-2 run to close the third quarter, getting to the line and draining six free throws and making one layup. Wake Forest led 48-45 after three periods.
In the third quarter, the two teams combined for 18 turnovers. The Cavaliers had eight, but forced ten Demon Deacon turnovers with a suffocating trap defense.
The Demon Deacons continued its run in the fourth quarter, with Alexandria Scruggs making two layups and several other players checking in with buckets. In a matter of a few minutes, Virginia went from a three-point lead to trailing 58-48.
After a two-minute scoring drought, Wake Forest made eight free throws to close out the contest. Virginia was able to get to the line as well, but couldn’t make shots down the stretch to cut into the deficit. The Hoos were 2/10 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Wake Forest outscored Virginia 20-8 in the fourth quarter, after the two teams played evenly for the first 30 minutes of play. The final score was 68-53.
Mir McLean had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double and London Clarkson added 11 points and seven rebounds. Wake Forest had four players in double figures with Jewel Spear leading the way with 17 points and Olivia Summiel contributing 14.
With the loss, UVA falls to 3-20 and 0-13 in ACC play. Virginia will host Miami on Tuesday to begin a four-game homestand to end the regular season.
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