Lady Tigers Top Wake Forest, 65-46 |
CLEMSON - With its NCAA Tournament chances seemingly on the line every game
down the stretch, the Clemson women's basketball team finds itself operating with little - if any - margin for error. Sunday's 65-46 victory over Wake Forest in Littlejohn Coliseum improved the Lady Tigers to 15-10 overall, 7-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. With two regular season games remaining, head coach Jim Davis said his team must finish at least .500 in the conference to extend its streak of 13 NCAA berths in his 14 years at the school. The victory, coupled with Georgia Tech's 71-62 loss at home to North Carolina, puts Clemson in fourth place in the ACC, a half-game ahead of the Yellow Jackets. The Lady Tigers host Georgia Tech Thursday, then close the regular season at N.C. State (6-7), the other team with a chance to knock Clemson out of fourth place. "I've told the girls that and if it puts pressure on them, I'm sorry," Davis said. "This league probably gets four teams in (the NCAAs), and no more. So it's important that we finish at 8-8 and in the top four." Clemson shook off a lethargic first half - the Lady Tigers led just 24-22 at the break - and began to put things together midway through the second. Lakeia Stokes scored 17 of her game-high 21 points after halftime. Marci Glenney, who was benched the first seven minutes of the second half due to poor defense, also got hot and scored 11 of her 13 points after the break. Chrissy Floyd finished with 20, including a 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line, which was indicative of Clemson's second-half improvement. "They did a better job of getting dribble penetration against our zone in the second half," said Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis. "When Floyd gets to the free throw line that often, that means she's getting in too far against our zone." Wake Forest's last lead was 30-29 after a pair of Tiffani Listenbee (12 points) free throws with 16:25 remaining. Clemson outscored the Demon Deacons (10-15, 4-11) 26-13 over the next 14 minutes to take control.
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