The No. 19 ranked Lady Jackets hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Feb. 16. The matchup with Wake Forest is their 81st all-time meeting; the Jackets led the series 51-29. Despite their historic dominance, Tech has won just two of the last four games against the Demon Deacons. The Jackets showed that history does repeat itself with a 73-62 win over Wake Forest.
After dropping a game to the Clemson Tigers last time out, the Jackets looked to return to winning ways against Wake Forest. Tech entered the match- up with a 20-5 record overall and a comfortable 8-5 performance in the ACC, continuing to prove the Jackets are one of the best teams in the country. Wake Forest, in contrast, stood last in the ACC with a 1-13 conference record, their sole win coming against the Boston College Eagles. Alongside their poor in-conference record, the Demon Deacons had an 8-17 overall record and rode a four- game losing streak. Going into the match-up, the Jackets were heavy favorites.
In front of 2,568 rowdy Jacket fans, Tech started fast. Fifth-year forward Zoesha ‘Zoe’ Smith won the jump ball and missed a long jumper, but senior forward Kayla Blackshear secured the offensive rebound and made the layup. After Wake Forest answered with a layup of their own, junior guard Inés Noguero made pivotal plays. Noguero first drove to the basket to regain the Jackets lead. Noguero followed up her bucket with a steal on the inbound which she took to the basket to secure more points for Tech. Noguero continued her relentless defense with another steal, this time in the half court. Noguero pickpocketed the Demon Deacons and made the outlet pass to junior guard Tonie Morgan to extend the Jackets lead to six. Noguero continued to be a nuisance; she stole the ball off the inbound once again, but was fouled before she could get to the basket. Tech mimicked Noguero’s intensity throughout the first quarter, forcing six Wake Forest turnovers. The Jackets led 24-13 going into the second period.
Tech looked to continue their defensive dominance from the first quarter into the second. Junior guard Kara Dunn started the quarter strong for the Jackets, making her second three-point shot of the game. The second period was a back-and-forth affair with the Demon Deacons answering every Tech basket. The Jackets led every second of the quarter despite their sloppy play and finished the first half with a 37-28 lead. Tech had five turnovers while committing the same number of fouls. Dunn was perfect from the field, shooting 3-3 and 1-1 from the charity stripe, scoring eight points.
Tech dominated the first half. The Jackets never trailed, with their biggest lead being 15 points. Dunn led the way for Tech, notching 11 points and shooting 2-3 from behind the arc. Noguero was all over the floor, tallying four points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Tech looked to continue their dominance into the second half.
The third quarter did not start well for the Jackets. Wake Forest chipped away at the Tech lead, at one point trailing by just one point with the score at 40-39. Once the Demon Deacons got within one, the Jackets went on a six-point scoring run to sit more comfortably. The rest of the quarter continued to be a tight-fought affair with neither team pulling away. Morgan conducted the offense for the Jackets, notching four points and three assists. Tech led 50-48 going into the last quarter of play.
Wake Forest tied the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but freshman guard Dani Carnegie answered with a three-pointer. The Demon Deacons scored two jumpers in a row to give Wake Forest their first lead of the game, which led to a timeout from coach Nell Fortner. Blackshear came out of the timeout and regained the lead for the Jackets. Tech continued to pull away for the remainder of the game. The Jackets overcame the Demon Deacons to win 73-62.
The Jackets won the game thanks to their aggressive defense. Tech forced 18 turnovers against the Demon Deacons while securing 15 steals. The Jackets scored 18 points from the turnovers compared to Wake Forest’s nine points. Dunn led the Jackets in scoring with 22 points for the game. Morgan continued to fill up the stat sheet with 14 points, six assists and two steals. Despite Noguero’s seemingly pedestrian stats, she was impactful throughout the game, highlighted by her five steals.
After the win against Wake Forest, Tech improved their record to 21-5 overall and 9-5 playing ACC opposition. The Jackets next play away against Cal this Thursday at 7 p.m.