GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACCcom) – Down 20 points to fifth-seeded Florida State in the early stages of the third quarter, Wake Forest appeared set to make a quiet exit in the second round of the 46th annual Ally Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Tournament.
Instead, Jewel Spear and the 12^th-seeded Demon Deacons will return to take the floor opposite fourth-seeded Louisville on Friday.

With Spear scoring all 19 of her points in the second half, Wake Forest counter-punched with a 26-0 run and kept on rolling to a stunning 65-54 win over the shellshocked Seminoles on Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Wake Forest (16-15) will face Louisville (21-10) in Friday’s 11 a.m. quarterfinal game. The Demon Deacons also played the upset card when those two teams met during the regular season, winning 68-57 on Jan. 26 in Winston-Salem.

Florida State (23-9) remains hopeful of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

Wake Forest, which trailed by 18 points at the half and 38-18 with 9:12 remaining in the third quarter, overcame the second-largest halftime deficit by a winning team in tournament history. Fourth-seeded Duke came from 20 points down at the half to defeat top-seeded Virginia in the 1995 semifinals – but the Blue Devils need overtime to pull out a one-point win over the Cavaliers in that one.

The Seminoles, despite playing without injured ACC Freshman of the Year Ta’Niya Latson, seemed to have designs on taking control of Thursday’s game from the outset.

With Erin Howard throwing in a pair of 3-pointers, the Seminoles bolted to a 12-2 lead and forced Wake Forest to burn its first timeout at the 7:14 mark of the opening quarter.

FSU then limited Wake Forest to two points in an excruciating second quarter in which Deacons shot 1-for-12 from the floor. Spear, whose career has been defined by big ACC Tournament outings, was 0-for-8 at halftime, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

After the Seminoles’ lead reached 20 points early in the third quarter, any remaining doubt seemed all but settled. Spear finally found her touch with a 3-pointer and another long-range jumper, but FSU still led 42-27 after Makayla Timpson connected on a pair of free throws with 5:20 remaining in the quarter.

But the Seminoles suddenly hit a wall – and Wake exploded.

Repeatedly driving to the hoop and creating high-percentage shots, the Deacons scrapped to within 42-37. Then Elsie Howard connected on a 3-pointer to bring Wake Forest to within two, and a pair of free throws by Spear finally – improbably – tied the score at 42-all.

And the onslaught wasn’t over. With the Wake loyalists in a frenzy, Olivia Summiel’s 3-point bucket sent their team into the fourth quarter leading 45-42. Spear connected on two more 3s at the outset of the final period, and Summiel added a layup to put the Deacons in front 53-42.

Howard’s 3-pointer from the right wing with 6:20 remaining finally ended FSU’s drought, but the Seminoles could get no closer as Wake Forest methodically closed things out.

Spear went 6-for-11 from the floor in the second half, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Summiel added 13 f and Demeara Hinds scored 12. Both players pulled down nine rebounds as the Deacons led 43-33 on the boards and outscored FSU 12-4 on second-chance points.

Thompson’s 14 points and nine rebounds led the Seminoles, while Howard and O’Mariah Gordon finished with 12 points each.