By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For a guy who's been named the league's Coach of the Year twice, Jim Davis sure didn't get much respect in his return to ACC country Tuesday night.
Wake Forest (2-0) dealt the third-year Tennessee Tech coach a resounding, 89-62 loss in his first visit back to a league school, 10 seasons after he left his successful 18-year run at Clemson.
It was the first loss of the year for Tech (1-1), which couldn't quite match up with the size and physical play of the Deamon Deacons.
Wake Forest coach Jen Hoover, who was an all-ACC player in 1990 when Davis won his first Coach of the Year award, turned loose her all-American center, Dearica Hamby after benching her in the team's season opener last Saturday.
Hamby went 7-for-10 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free throw line to lead all scorers with 20 points. She finished with a double-double with 12 rebounds and added four assists for a solid all-around game.
She was one of four WFU players to score in double digits, as the team improved from 32 percent shooting last week with Hamby to 53.4 percent shooting against the Golden Eagles. The Deamon Deacons, who had 60 rebounds Saturday, owned the glass once again, topping Tech 50-28 in rebounds.
Mykia Jones added 16 points, Taylor Gordon had 11 points and Nicole Floyd scored 10. Ataijah Taylor and Millesa Calicott scored nine apiece while Jill Brunori chipped in with five points, fivbe rebounds and six steals.
Tech, which shot 36.7 percent for the game, was led in scoring by junior Samaria Howard with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Hannah Goolsby added 13 while senior Candace Parker had seven points and four rebounds.
Tech forced Wake Forest into 25 turnovers, and built a 28-21 advantage in points off turnovers. The Deamon Deacons, however, held a 42-28 edge in points scored in the paint and a 19-8 lead in second-chance points.
A jumper by T'Keyah Williams opened the scoring and Tech held a 2-0 lead for 25 seconds. The Deacons tied it, then moved on top 4-2 on baskets by Hamby down low. From there, the Deacons used a 12-2 run to open a 16-4 lead and never let up.
Tech stayed within a dozen for the next 10 minutes, then crept within nine on a 3-pointer by freshman Asia Harper with 3:32 to play in the first half.
But Wake Forest close the half on an 8-0 run to open a 45-28 lead.
The Golden Eagles pulled within 13 in the second half, and were down by 15 points, 56-41, with 13:35 remaining. A 13-2 Wake Forest run opened the difference to 26 points and the Deacons emptied the bench. The widest margin was 30 points in the final two minutes.
Next up for Tech, which opens the season with four straight road games, is a contest Saturday night at Valparaiso. The contest was originally scheduled for 1:35 p.m., but this week was moved by the host team to 7:05 p.m. CT. The broadcast, on the Golden Eagle Sports Network on 106.1 The Eagle, begins at 6:50 p.m.
