Jan. 23, 2008

Savannah State Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team will play host to Savannah State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. for its final non-conference game of the season.

Savannah State (9-10) is led by senior Ivy Smith, who currently averages 14.6 points per game. The Lady Tigers most recently split road contests, defeating Stetson in overtime 58-56 on January 17 and buckling against Alabama State 56-59 on January 21.

When teams last met in February 2006, former Demon Deacon Deirdre Naughton fueled Wake Forest in a 100-51 victory with a career high 37 points. SSU's then-freshman Antoinette Williams had 22 points for the Lady Tigers.

The game was the most recent match-up where the Deacons reached the 100-point mark.

The Demon Deacons (12-8, 0-6) had a frustrating road trip last week, giving up an 80-54 loss to Florida State and followed with a 66-58 loss at Boston College, after cutting a 19-point Eagle lead to a two-possession game with 20 seconds to play.

Freshman Camille Collier set a career scoring record twice in the last three contests. The first time came against Clemson on January 14, where she topped her former mark of 17 with 20 points. On January 20, Collier netted 21 points against the Eagles for the game-high and another career-high. Collier also set a personal record in playing time, battling the entire 40 minutes against Boston College in her fifth start of the season.

In the Boston College game sophomore Mekia Valentine had her first double-double of the season and third career d-d, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Corinne Groves, Alex Tchangoue and Christen Brown have been the other Deacons to hit the mark this season.

The Deacons still top ACC ranks in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 55.0 points per game. Wake Forest has led the league in the category throughout the 2007-08 season.

Wake Forest will head to Raleigh on Sunday to take on NC State in a game televised on FSN at 12:30 p.m.