GREENSBORO, N.C. — Freshman Jewel Spear scored 29 points with seven 3-pointers and Wake Forest beat North Carolina 82-71 on Thursday in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Wake Forest (12-11), pursuing its second-ever NCAA bid, advances to play No. 1 seed and fifth ranked Louisville on Friday. The Demon Deacons narrowly lost to the Cardinals 65-64 on Jan. 24 when Dana Evans hit a driving shot for the go-ahead three-point play with 8.0 seconds left.
Ivana Raca added 21 points with 12 rebounds and Gina Conti had 13 points and 12 assists for the Demon Deacons. Spear was 10 of 15 from the field, including 7 of 10 from distance. Wake Forest made 53% of its shots and scored 20 points off 12 North Carolina turnovers.
Wake Forest coach Jen Hoover became the program leader with 126 wins, passing Mike Petersen (2005-12).
Alyssa Ustby had 23 points and nine rebounds and Deja Kelly scored 19 for North Carolina (13-10, 8-10), which had won five of its last six. Janelle Bailey had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Stephanie Watts scored 15 points. Petra Holesinska, ranking second on the team with 12.6 points, was held to just two points on 0-for-8 shooting.
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