The women's basketball team improved to 4-1 on the season with an 82-32 blowout of the High Point Panthers on Dec. 2.

The Deacons got out to a 45-15 lead in the first half, including 23 unanswered points during a stretch when High Point was unable to score for almost 10 minutes.

They did not ease up in the second half, continuing to use high field-goal percentage and strong defense to increase the margin to 50 points by the end of the game.

"We've beaten them the last few years, three straight times, but the games have been much closer," Head Coach Charlene Curtis said. "I really believe that the margin of victory has a lot to do with the improvements that we've made."

Five Demon Deacons scored in double figures, led by senior center Johanna Bjorklund's career-high 14 points. She made six of her 11 shots, and also pulled down seven rebounds.

"I hope that's going to be a stepping stone game É and a confidence booster for her," Curtis said. "She's a player that just needs a little more confidence in that she's capable of putting it in the basket. She was able to do that last night. The challenge is for her to be able to do that in the next game."

Junior Eafton Hill was one rebound away from a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Hill shot 5-of-7.

Cotelia Bond-Young continued her stellar freshman campaign with 12 points and five rebounds. She shot 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. It was Bond-Young's third double-digit scoring performance in five games so far, quite an accomplishment for a freshman. She is currently averaging 12.2 points per game.

"We knew she'd be good," Curtis said. "People didn't write about her, people didn't talk about her, she wasn't real high on a lot of recruiting lists, but we knew she was a very good player. She shot the ball pretty well last night for us. She's an exciting player to watch."

Junior Tonia Brown and sophomore Meredith Bell also put up big numbers for the Deacs. Brown contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Bell scored 10 points also, including a three-pointer.

Junior Bianca Brown made her presence felt on defense with four steals. She also had four assists.

Curtis was pleased with the fact that the team is getting production from almost everyone.

"We've had different people lead us in scoring on different nights, and it really just depends on the situation," Curtis said. "We have many people on our team that are capable of putting up big numbers for us."

The Deacons shot 53 percent from the field, while High Point shot just 23 percent. The Panthers' low percentage can be attributed partly to the high-intensity defense of Wake Forest. The Deacs forced an incredible 26 turnovers. The Panthers' 32 points, and the 50-point margin of victory, were feats that the Deacs had not accomplished in over 10 years. In 1990, they defeated Morgan State by a score of 90-29.

"It's really been a team effort," Curtis said. "I'm real pleased with the way we're distributing the ball. We're not just keeping it in one person's hands. We're scoring in transition without the ball touching the floor almost. In the High Point game, there was some real classic basketball going on. I'm real pleased with our efforts, and we just have to continue to improve on that."

On Dec. 1, the Deacs defeated Appalachian State, 88-59, at the Joel Coliseum. Bond-Young and Tonia Brown each scored 24 points to lead Wake Forest. Bianca Brown had career highs in assists and steals, with six of each. Senior Tiffani Listenbee scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.

As of Dec. 3, Wake Forest was ranked 35th in the Ratings Percentage Index, according to CollegeRPI.com. Curtis said she hopes to be even higher than that by the end of the season.

"I am pleased with our 4-1 start, with that one loss being an overtime loss," she said. "But it's early. We're not done yet. We will continue to be successful throughout the season. We just want to continue to take it one game at a time."

The Deacs' next game is tonight against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at 7 p.m. The game will be played on campus at Reynolds Gym, instead of the Joel Coliseum, in hopes of higher student attendance.