Game 21 @ Wake Forest

Well we are on the road again, this time in Winston-Salem, NC to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This will be the first of four trips to North Carolina in the next 21 days. A win guarantees us a winning record on the road in the ACC. It also moves us to 6-1 on the season and 19-2 overall. Last year we didn't get win #19 until the first round of the ACC tournament.

Wake is 10-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. Among the similar opponents, they have beaten Coppin State by 29, lost to Duke by 46, beat Virginia Tech in OT by 6 and lost to Georgia Tech by 6. They are 7-2 at home this year. They start 4 guards and an undersized forward. Their tallest player 6'5 Melissa Washington rarely sees playing time and averages 10.8 minutes per game.


They average 69.1 ppg while allowing 66.8. In conference play those numbers are drastically different. They love to shoot the three as they have taken 423 this season and are shooting 32% from that range. From inside the arc, they are shooting 39.7%. They average 37 rebounds per game and only have 49 blocks on the season. With four guards they are able to get in the passing lanes as they have 191 steals, unfortunately they are averaging 18.4 turnovers per game.

Wake is led by the two-headed monster of Cotelia Bond-Young and Liz Strunk. Bond-Young is a quick point guard who does it all. She leads the team in points (17.2), assists (81), steals (42) and is second in 3-pt percentage (33.5%). Strunk is a taller guard who likes to spot up and shoot but can also take people off the dribble. Last year, she scored 40 in a game. She leads the team in rebounding and shoots 40% from the floor. Naughton is a decent three-point shooter, can rebound and collect steals.

Wake Roster | Wake Stats

Keys to the game

Establish inside presence. They have no one who can guard Crystal, Jade or Harper.

Get on them from the start. The last few road games has seen this team come out flat and nearly down double digits before turning it on.

Limit their three-point shooting. They like to shoot it from behind the arc. So we need to get a hand in their face at all times and limit their shooting chances.

Put the game away early. Next week is big with games vs. Miami and Virginia at home. We need to rest some players for down the stretch.

Attack the glass. If we get outrebounded this game, it may be time to work on rebounding drills in practice.


Maryland Game Notes | Wake Forest Game Notes