Wake Forest overcomes 18-point halftime deficit, beats FSU

Updated Mar. 2, 2023 1:55 p.m. ET

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Jewel Spear scored all 19 of her points in the second half to help No. 12 seed Wake Forest overcome an 18-point halftime deficit and beat fifth-seeded Florida State 65-54 on Thursday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

It was the second-largest halftime comeback in ACC Tournament history. Wake Forest, which plays fourth-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals on Friday, scored 49 points in the second half after just 16 in the first.

Wake Forest scored two points in the second quarter and trailed 34-16 at halftime. Florida State kept it rolling early in the second half as O’Mariah Gordon's fast-break layup extended the lead to 20 points. But the Seminoles didn't make another field goal the rest of the quarter and Wake Forest closed on an 18-0 run.

Spear, who was 0 of 8 from the field in the first half, made back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the fourth quarter and Wake extended its scoring run to 26-straight points for a 53-42 lead. The Seminoles missed 18 straight shots. Wake Forest led by at least seven points the rest of the way.

Olivia Summiel had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Wake Forest (16-15). Demeara Hinds added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Elise Williams had 10 points and seven boards.

Wake Forest will look for a season sweep of Louisville after Spear scored 34 points on Jan. 25 in a 68-57 victory over the Cardinals.

Makayla Timpson had 14 points and nine rebounds and Erin Howard and Gordon each scored 12 for Florida State (23-9), which had a string of 10-straight quarterfinal appearances snapped.

Florida State was without ACC rookie of the year Ta’Niya Latson, averaging 21.3 points, due to a day-to-day injury.

___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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