Sports > March 20, 2008

By Nick Oliphant | Staff writer

The Lady Deacons wrapped up their season with a first round exit in the ACC tournament on March 6. The 11th-seeded Deacons took a 24-22 halftime lead over sixth-seeded Florida State, but the Seminoles raced ahead in the second half.

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Freshman guard Kern Wilson and the rest of the Lady Deacs exited the ACC Tournament in the first round, ending a disappointing season with a 57-52 loss to Florida State. (Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold & Black)

The Deacons’ late 10-3 run cut the deficit to four with 24 seconds left, but they could get no closer and lost 57-52.

Junior Corinne Groves led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points in the loss. Freshman Brittany Waters added a solid performance with 10 points and nine rebounds.

“I thought we played very hard, we just didn’t make enough plays to get over the hump and win the game,” Coach Mike Petersen said of the effort.

With the loss, the Deacons ended the year with a 15-15 record, including a 2-12 mark in conference play.

The contest was also the final game of senior forward Christen Brown’s career.

She appeared in all 30 games this year, averaging 6.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, and her inside presence will be missed next year.

Although the ACC Tournament was a disappointing finish to a difficult conference season, the Deacons have plenty to look forward to next season.

After starting this season 12-2 with a Paradise Jam Tournament victory that included wins over Indiana and Texas A&M, injuries to point guards freshman Camille Collier and sophomore Tiffany Roulhac derailed the team’s hopes of continuing success in ACC play.

Prior to their injuries, the team had been on the cusp of being ranked nationally.

Still, the Deacons finished with a six win improvement over last season and have high hopes for continuing their improvement next season.

Key returnees include Groves and junior Alex Tchangoue, who were the team’s top two scorers and rebounders this year.

Having Roulhac healthy will also be a boost for the team, as she averaged five assists per game before going down halfway through the season.

“Getting our point guard position back to normal and the added depth that our incoming recruits will provide should be a couple big steps toward us competing better in the ACC and making a run at the NCAA tournament,” Petersen said about next season.

With all but one player back from an improving team, the future looks bright for the Lady Deacons.