Deacs Return Home Against In-State High Point

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Following a big road win over Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night, the Wake Forest women's basketball team returns home to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the Deacs look to remain undefeated Saturday against High Point.

The Deacs (5-3) have started the season 3-0 at home this season. Additionally, Wake Forest has won 14 of its last 15 non-conference games inside of LJVM Coliseum dating back to the 2019-20 season. The only loss during that time came to Nebraska in the 2021 ACC/Big Ten Challenge who went on to earn a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In home games this season, the Demon Deacons have averaged 74.0 points per game while holding opponents to just 54.0 points per game. Additionally, the Deacs are holding opponents to just 32.6 percent shooting in those games.

The Panthers (1-6) prioritize sharing the ball and the three-point shot in their offense, attempting 47 percent of their shots from behind the arc through seven games while also assisting on 64.0 percent of made baskets this season. High Point has only one player in the rotation this season that is over 6-foot tall and currently ranks 325th in the country in rebounds per game. Last season in the win over High Point, Wake Forest was +26 in the rebounding battle.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (ET) in LJVM Coliseum. For those not at the arena, fans can tune in to ACC Network Extra. A live stats feed can be found here.

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

HISTORIC DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Junior guard Jewel Spear is coming off a historic game, becoming the first player since Dearica Hamby in the 2013-14 season to record a double-double with 19-plus points in a road win over a Power-5 program. Additionally, this is just the fifth such game since the start of the 2009-10 season:

Player	Date	Opponent	Points	Rebounds
Jewel Spear	Nov. 30, 2022	at Minnesota	19	10
Dearica Hamby	Feb. 2, 2014	at Pitt	32	14
Dearica Hamby	Jan. 26, 2014	at Boston College	21	16
Dearica Hamby	Jan. 20, 2014	at Clemson	29	18
Brittany Winters	Feb. 24, 2011	at Clemson	40	12

During Spear's 261 minutes played this season, the Demon Deacons are +48 when she is on the court which is 21 points better than any other player on the team.

LAST TIME

Wake Forest vs. Minnesota (Nov. 30)

Result: W, 63-59

With less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, a ball screen at the top of the key freed up Spear who hit a game-winning three with 3.0 seconds remaining to lift the Deacs to a road win over the Gophers.
Spear came alive in the second half, netting 15 of her team-best 19 points in the final 20 minutes. Additionally, she scored 11 of those during a key 22-5 run in the third quarter that helped the Deacs control much of the second half. With a game-high and career-high tying 10 rebounds, The Colony, Texas native notched her third career double-double and the first for her this season.

SERIES HISTORY

Versus High Point

Series: Tied 10-10

Last: Nov. 25, 2021

Result: W, 79-50

Wake Forest limited the Panthers (2-3) to under 31 percent shooting from the field on Wednesday afternoon while also limiting second-chance opportunities with a dominant performance in the rebounding battle. It helped lead to the largest victory since Nov. 8, 2019 when the Deacs defeated College of Charleston, 106-50.
The Demon Deacons pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds and had a +26 advantage at the end of the contest. The Deacs were led on the glass by the starting duo of senior forward Christina Morra (11 rebounds) and junior forward Olivia Summiel (10 rebounds).
All but one Wake Forest player finished the game with a rebound and all but two scored.

CHASING 1,000

After breaking the program record with 30 double-figure scoring games, netting the fourth-most points in school history a season ago with 567 and leading the ACC in scoring with 18.3 points per game, junior Jewel Spear has put herself in position to join exclusive company in the 1,000-point club early in the season.

She goes into the High Point game with 971 career points, just 29 points away from becoming the 30th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Additionally, Spear went into the year with a chance to break the all-time threes record in program history:

Rank	Player	Career Threes
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.	Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.)	173
6.	Lakevia Boykin (2009-13)	167

CLEANING THE GLASS

Through eight games this season, junior forward Demeara Hinds has been one of the best players on the glass in the country, pulling down 67 rebounds which ranks 42nd nationally and leads all ACC players in offensive rebounds per game. Additionally, she has collected 29 offensive rebounds.

Through eight games played, she ranks fifth among all Power-5 players with that offensive rebound total and her total is 16th nationally.

Hinds has pulled down nine or more rebounds in the last five of the last seven games and 10 or more on three occasions.

OWNING THE ARC

The Demon Deacons have been the best team in the ACC at shooting the three-point shot so far this season, knocking down 8.0 threes per game over their first six games. This also ranks 52nd nationally:

Rank	Team	Threes Made Per Game
1.	Wake Forest	8.0
2.	Virginia Tech	7.7
3.	Pitt	7.4
4.	NC State	7.3
5.	Florida St.	7.0

STANDOUT STAT

Through eight games this season, Wake Forest has played its hardest schedule in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10) with an Opponent Average NET Rating of 7.0 and it also ranks in the 78th percentile versus the rest of Division I teams. Additionally, the Demon Deacons hold a 5.3 NET Rating which is the best rating since the 2011-12 season.

A key to the Deacs success has been the improvement on the defensive end of the floor as the 87.7 Defensive Rating which is in the 64th percentile in the country.

UP NEXT

The Demon Deacons are idle for eight days for finals week before returning to action at Charlotte on Sunday, Dec. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

For those who cannot attend, the game can be seen on ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Demeara Hinds

Christina Morra

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Wake Forest Athletics