Winston-Salem, N.C. – Behind 29 points from Jewel Spear, Wake Forest overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to down Clemson, 69-64, in overtime inside Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum. The win moves the Demon Deacons to 14-10 on the year, 5-8 in the ACC, while the loss drops the Tigers to 13-12, 4-9 ACC.
Brie Perpignan led the Tigers in scoring with 19 and added five steals, while Amari Robinson picked up another double-figure scoring game with 10. Ruby Whitehorn also scored in double figures with 10, while Ale’Jah Douglas tied her season-high in conference games with seven.
Clemson opened a five-point lead midway through the first quarter, before Wake Forest responded with an 8-0 run. The teams traded baskets until Clemson took a one-point lead at 17-16 at the quarter break.
Wake Forest opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to give the Demon Deacons a seven-point lead, forcing a Clemson timeout. The teams continued to trade baskets to end the first half, sending the teams to the locker rooms with the Tigers trailing 22-28.
The Tigers opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 30, including back-to-back baskets by Robinson. The two evenly-matched teams continued to trade baskets until the Tigers got a spark from Perpignan and Douglas, using a 12-1 run to take a 51-43 lead with 7:22 to go in the game. Wake Forest used three-straight threes by Spear to tie the game at 57 with just over 2:00 to go. Clemson got a good look at the end of regulation, but couldn’t hit, going to its second overtime contest in as many games.
Wake Forest took a four-point lead with 2:09 to go in the overtime period, a lead the Tigers could not overcome, as the Demon Deacons held on for the 69-64 win.
Clemson is back in action on Thursday, hosting Georgia Tech at 8:00 p.m. in the annual Play for Kay game.
