Deacs Set for Trip to No. 3 Louisville

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's basketball team hits the road for a Sunday clash with No. 3 Louisville at KFC Yum! Center.

The Demon Deacons (12-7, 2-6 ACC) will be in search of their first ever victory over the Cardinals as well as their first ever victory over a top-5 ranked program. This will be the 65th time Wake Forest will face a top-5 AP opponent in program history. Last season, the Deacs played the Cardinals tight in both games including nearly knocking off the then-No. 1 Cards at LJVM Coliseum, falling 65-63.

The Cardinals (15-2, 5-1 ACC) are coming off their first loss of Atlantic Coast Conference play, ending the nation's longest winning streak at 15 games. Louisville currently holds the No. 6 scoring defense in the country, allowing just 50.5 points per game and the No. 7 scoring margin at +19.4 points per game. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Louisville is 69-4 inside of the KFC Yum! Center including a perfect 9-0 mark this season.

Tipoff for Sunday night's game against the Cardinals is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ET) at KFC Yum! Center. The game can also be seen on ACC Network.

Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).

CRASHING THE GLASS

Getting on the glass has been a point of emphasis for head coach Jen Hoover since she arrived on campus. In the last seven seasons, Wake Forest has averaged better than 38 rebounds per game including averaging 40 or more during the 2013- 14 season (40.5 rebounds per game) and the 2016-17 season (41.1 rebounds per game).

This season the Demon Deacons are off to another impressive start on the glass, totaling 780 rebounds which ranks seventh while also having the best mark in the Hoover era with 41.1 rebounds per game.

Additionally, the Deacs have outrebounded opponents in 13 of 19 contests this season, holding an 11-2 record in such games.

LAST TIME

Wake Forest vs. Clemson (Jan 20)

Result: L, 66-44

The Demon Deacon duo of sophomore guard Jewel Spear and freshman guard Elise Williams combined to net 29 points for Wake Forest while Spear also reached a career milestone in the defeat to the Tigers.
- Spear, who ended the game with a team-high 16 points, also reached 58 threes on the season, tying her mark from a season ago and also tying the 10th most three-point makes in Wake Forest single-season history.

SERIES HISTORY

Versus Louisville

Series: Louisville leads 8-0

Last: March 5, 2021

Result: L, 65-53

For the second time this season the Demon Deacons took the Cardinals down to the wire with the help of another stifling defensive effort. The effort on the defensive end helped make it a 44-44 contest entering the final 10 minutes of the game.
- The Demon Deacons did an exceptional job of containing two-time reigning ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans, who finished the afternoon just 3-of-15 from the field and eight points after coming in averaging a league-best 21.0 points.
- It ended Evans streak of consecutive games in double figures. Prior to this afternoon, she had reached that mark in every game this season and 40 straight games overall, which was the longest streak at Louisville in the last 20 years.

STANDOUT STAT

With a pair of three-point makes in Thursday night's loss to Clemson, sophomore guard Jewel Spear equaled her three-point output from a season ago with 58 makes. It is tied for 10th in single-season program history.

Additionally, her 116 three-point makes in her career are just 11 away from cracking into the top-10 in Wake Forest history:

1. Cotelia Bond Young (2003-06) - 267

2. Chelsea Douglas (2010-14) - 257

3. Nicole Levesque (1991-94) - 193

4. Heidi Coleman (1995-99) - 191

5. Lakevia Boykin (2009-13) - 167

6. Tonia Brown (2001-04) - 142

Ariel Stephenson (2015-19) - 142

8. Liz Strunk (2003-06) - 141

9. Alex Tchangoue (2006-09) - 129

10. Camille Collier (2007-12) - 127

Jewel Spear (2020-pres.) - 116

NEXT UP

Wake Forest returns home to LJVM Coliseum on Thursday as the Demon Deacons play host to Miami (FL) as the Deacs will be in search of the season sweep of the Hurricanes.

Claim your spot at LJVM Coliseum at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.

For those not in attendance on Sunday's game in Louisville, the game will also air on RSN.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jewel Spear

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics