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Wake Forest is the real deal... at least for now.
This is nowhere near the same team that Syracuse beat 73-62 back in January. The Deacs have played an outstanding two games thus far in the ACC Tournament, equalling their regular season conference wins total. With a second re-match with Duke looming tomorrow, the team is looking pretty darn good, even with two double-digit losses to the Blue Devils earlier this season. We'll find out if they're really ready, then. At least, they seem to be getting hot at the right time...
In the first half, it was a game of runs. First, Syracuse went up 12-5. It looked as though the Orange would be too much for Wake in the early get-go, with four steals of their nine steals of the half in that time frame. The Deacs then went on a 12-0 run of their own to pull ahead 17-12. It would be more back-and-forth for the rest of the half. Briana Day got three fouls within the first 5:18 of the game, Coach Q promptly pulling her from the game to save her for the second half. Alexis Peterson had 15 points for the Orange, helping them bring a 36-33 lead into halftime.
The back-and-forth play continued into the sixth minute of play. Wake pulled away for good with an 18-5 run from the beginning of the eighth minute, all the way through the 13th minute of play. They seriously couldn't seem to miss from the three-point arc. Syracuse tried to stage a comeback, starting with a 16-4 run, but it fell short, the Deacs winning 85-79. Day fouled out with 5:46 still left in the game, ending her day with only four points, her lowest total since February 5th against UNC.
Alexis Peterson took the reins and did all that she could possibly do, having a career game with 34 points, 19 of them coming in the second half. For Wake, it was all about Dearica Hamby and Amber Campbell, with 23 and 21 points for the Deacs respectively. Hamby equalled her point total from yesterday in the game against Boston College.
This will definitely hurt SU's chances to move up a seed in the NCAA Tournament. It will be interesting to see how the committee places them come "Selection Monday" for the women on the 16th of March.