Blame It on the 'Brons: Deacs Dump Camels 84-68

"I'm not going to lie. I wore my LeBrons this morning and I said I was going to have a good game during shootaround." - Wake Forest Sophomore Forward Dearica Hamby

Recap:

The Wake Forest Lady Deacons came home from a week-long holiday break Saturday with busy hands and in high gear, causing 27 turnovers en route to a 84-68 victory over a game Campbell squad. Sophomore forward Dearica Hamby recorded her second double-double of the season (and her career), pouring in 25 points and snatching 13 rebounds. The Deacons (6-6) were also led by 19 points and 6 assists from the indispensable Lakevia Boykin along with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 rebounds from Asia Williams.

The Lady Camels (9-3) lost despite dominating the offensive glass and the Deacons' woeful free-throw shooting (13-26). The Deacons negated the rebounding deficit by shooting 53% from the floor and nailing 7 three-pointers. Campbell was led in scoring by senior Tonisha Baker (16 points) and sophomore Kiera Gaines (14 points, 8 rebounds).

The Lady Camels used their rebounding advantage to reach halftime only trailing by 5 points. However, the Lady Deacs came out of the locker room running, quickly pulling out to a 11 point lead in less than two minutes. The lead hovered between 9 and 13 before the Deacons finally put their guests away. Coach Jen Hoover had been clear before the game that she wanted her team to dictate tempo and let the defense start the offense, and her charges closed the game out by doing so in a consistent manner.

Postgame Quotes:

Head Coach Jen Hoover:

"There's definitely growth from the Virginia Tech game. We were able to see ourselves on film and how we weren't pressuring the ball and we weren't jumping to help side so I really thought today we were much more in tune with that. We had more deflections at halftime than we've had at any game thus far this year. Twenty-one assists, 22, steals...you can't ask for any more than that. "

Sophomore Forward Dearica Hamby:

"People don't realize how long I am until they actually have to throw the ball around me, or I have to guard them. So, it helps a lot . They (the coaches) want me to post up hard, but they know that's not necessarily my game. But, I want to post up harder so I've been working on that, getting in the weight room more to build up my leg strength."

Senior Guard Lakevia Boykin:

"We watched film from the last game and noticed that we didn't have enough ball pressure- we weren't active with our hands. We did a lot of good things tonight."

Next up for the Deacs is a date with the Nevada Wolf Pack at Joel Coliseum on Monday afternoon. Tip time is 2:00 p.m. and PARKING IS FREE.