Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Return Home to Face Louisville Thursday
1/25/2023 10:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Demon Deacons are coming off the heels of an ACC-long three-game road swing, playing their first home game since defeating Georgia Tech, 51-50, on Sunday, Jan. 8.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – After completing being the only team in the ACC to play three consecutive road games this season, the Wake Forest women's basketball returns home for the first time since Sunday, Jan. 8 to face Louisville on Thursday night at Lawrence Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Deacs (11-9, 2-7 ACC) will look to build on their success they have had on their home court this season, compiling an impressive 8-1 mark in the first nine games this season. This includes a 2-1 record in their first three ACC home games this season with wins coming over Pitt and Georgia Tech. In home games this season, Wake Forest has outscored opponents by 15.3 points per game and have limited opponents to just 51.3 points per game. Junior guard Jewel Spear has played her best basketball at home this season, averaging 19.0 points per game while shooting 51.8 percent (44-of -85) from the field and 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from behind the arc.
The Cardinals (15-7, 6-3 ACC) have had one of the best offenses in the league this season, averaging 75.1 points per game which ranks third in the league and 40th in the country. Additionally, Louisville has shot the ball at a 46.3 percent clip from the field, ranking 21st in the nation. The Cards have been the best team in the conference in shooting the three, hitting 35.8 percent from the arc which also ranks 32nd nationally. They are led by preseason All-ACC performer Hailey Van Lith, who ranks second in the conference and 20th nationally with 20.5 points per game. Additionally, she ranks in the top 10 in the country in minutes played per game, field goals, field goal attempts and total points. Backcourt mate and Syracuse transfer Chrislyn Carr has knocked down 48.7 percent of her shots from behind the arc this season ranking fifth in the country.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET) at LJVM Coliseum. For those not at the arena, fans can tune in to ACC Network. A live stats feed can be found here.
Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).
WEAR BLACK THURSDAY & WE BACK PAT
Wake Forest fans will be encouraged to put on their favorite black Demon Deacons gear on Thursday night to support the team. Black shirts will be given out to the first 100 fans in attendance for the game.
Additionally, it will be the We Back Pat game, raising awareness for Alzheimer's in conjunction with the Pat Summitt Foundation. 250 We Back Pat wristbands will be available for fans as they enter.
TOP-55 DEFENSE
Through 20 games this season, the Demon Deacons have done a stellar job of holding their opponents down in shooting and scoring. The Deacs have held their opponents to an average of 58.2 points allowed per game, ranking 54th nationally and fourth in the ACC.
This is a massive improvement in the rankings from a season ago when the Deacs ended the year ranked 164th nationally and ninth in the ACC in the category at 63.0 points per game.
Wake Forest has held their opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field and just 28.3 percent shooting from behind the arc. The opponent shooting percentage ranks 76th in the nation, the Deacs also rank 73rd with 4.0 blocks per game and the three-point defense ranks 60th. The Deacs have achieved a block on 9.9 percent of possessions this season, the third-highest rate in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10 to present).
Over the last 15 games, the Demon Deacons have been playing their best defense of the season, holding 12 of 15 opponents to 61 points or less and seven opponents in that stretch to less than 55 points.
Over the last five ACC games, Wake Forest has forced 15.2 turnovers including 20 in the win over Pitt and 19 against nationally-ranked Duke.
LAST TIME
Wake Forest at No. 12 Virginia Tech (Jan. 22)
Result: L, 74-57
-
The Demon Deacons were led by a sinsational performance from junior guard Jewel Spear in the defeat to the nationally-ranked Hokies. After scoring a team-high six points in the first 20 minutes of action, Spear put on a memorable performance in the third quarter to help Wake Forest climb within one possession.
-
Spear had an immaculate 10 minutes as she did not miss from the field, hitting all five of her attempts from the field including three from behind the arc. She also knocked down all five of her free throws to complete the perfect shooting quarter.
-
It was the second-highest scoring quarter in her career, nearly tying her 20-point fourth quarter against East Tennessee State in her 40-point performance as a sophomore.
-
-
With the help of Spear's third quarter effort and ACC-best 27 points, Wake Forest was within three points with 10 minutes left in the game. The Demon Deacons could not come any closer, falling to the Hokies.
SERIES HISTORY
Versus Louisville
Series: Louisville leads 9-0
Last: Jan. 23, 2022
Result: L, 72-60
-
In the first quarter, Wake Forest shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 4-of-8 three point attempts including a pair from sophomore guard Jewel Spear. In the first quarter, the 2020-21 Freshman All-ACC selection netted eight points.
-
She ended the afternoon with a team-high 22 points, crossing over the 650-point barrier for her career in just 45 games played.
MAY I ASSIST YOU
Under head coach Megan Gebbia, the Demon Deacons have seen a huge increase in number of assists and percentage of assists on made baskets. Wake Forest currently ranks in the 93rd percentile country, assisting on 62.0 percent of made baskets versus a season ago where their 45.0 percent of assists on made baskets ranked in the 4th percentile in the country.
The Demon Deacons had their best game in terms of assisting the basketball in over three seasons as the 23 assists in the win over Longwood marked the most since Nov. 8, 2019 against College of Charleston. Additionally, sophomore guard Elise Williams tied her career-best with eight helpers in the victory. In total, seven Demon Deacons finished the night with at least one assist including five from guard Kaia Harrison and four from guard Jewel Spear.
Elise Williams' 69 assists this season ranks 144th in the country and eighth in the ACC.
1,000 AND COUNTING
Junior guard Jewel Spear reached a career milestone in the victory over Charlotte on Dec. 11 as she became the 30th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club, totaling 17 points. She becomes the first Wake Forest player to join the 1,000-point club since 2020-21.
She continues to climb the rankings as she moved into 25th on Sunday. She needs 21 points to tie Alex Sharp (2016-20) and 44 points to tie Beth Davis (1988-91):
|
Rank |
Player |
Career Points |
|
20. |
Corinne Groves (2005-09) |
1,194 |
|
21. |
Beth Davis (1988-91) |
1,172 |
|
22. |
Alex Sharp (2016-20) |
1,149 |
|
23. |
Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.) |
1,128 |
|
24. |
Raeanna Mulholland (1993-97) |
1,110 |
|
25. |
Secily Ray (2008-12) |
1,099 |
|
26. |
Ariel Stephenson (2015-19) |
1,079 |
|
27. |
Tonia Brown (2000-04) |
1,073 |
|
28. |
Erin Ferrell (2001-05) |
1,044 |
|
29. |
Gina Conti (2018-21) |
1,037 |
|
30. |
Barbara Buchanan (1980-1984) |
1,023 |
Additionally, Spear went into the year with a chance to break the all-time threes record in program history and moved into the top three and became the third player in program history to reach 200 threes Sunday at Virginia Tech:
|
Rank |
Player |
Career Threes |
|
1. |
Cotelia Bond Young (2003-06) |
267 |
|
2. |
Chelsea Douglas (2010-14) |
257 |
|
3. |
Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.) |
201 |
|
4. |
Nicole Levesque (1991-94) |
193 |
|
5. |
Heidi Coleman (1995-99) |
191 |
|
6. |
Lakevia Boykin (2009-13) |
167 |
OWNING THE ARC
The trio of senior Olivia Summiel, junior Jewel Spear and sophomore Elise Williams has been shooting the basketball from behind the arc at high clips. They have combined to knock down 97-of-264 attempts from distance or 36.7 percent. Spear has hit 53-of-138 (38.4 percent), Summiel has knocked down 21-of-59 (35.6 percent) and Williams has hit 23-of-67 (34.3 percent).
Spear leads the conference with 53 three pointers made (23rd nationally) and 2.79 threes made per game (26th nationally). Additionally, she is one of just three players in program history to reach 200 career threes, achieving the milestone on Sunday against Virginia Tech.
On the defensive side of the floor, Wake Forest is limiting opponents to just 28.3 percent shooting from behind the arc, ranking 60th in the country.
The Demon Deacons have been one of the best teams in the ACC at shooting the three-point shot so far this season, knocking down 6.5 threes per game over their first 20 games. This also ranks 122nd nationally:
|
Rank |
Team |
Threes Made Per Game |
|
T1. |
Virginia Tech |
7.8 |
|
T1. |
Florida St. |
7.8 |
|
T3. |
Wake Forest |
6.5 |
|
T3. |
North Carolina |
6.5 |
|
T4. |
Clemson |
6.4 |
BLOCKAGE
Olivia Summiel recorded another block against Miami Sunday. She now ranks 41st nationally with 31 blocks on the season and her total already is the most by a Demon Deacon since the 2018-19 season when Ona Udoh had 41 blocks for the season. Additionally, Summiel is now one block away from entering the top 10 in single-season program history.
Her 1.55 blocks per game also rank third in the ACC and 63rd nationally.
As a team, the Deacs have blocked 4.0 shots per game which is close to a school record and ranks 73rd nationally. The school record was set in 2010-11 when that squad averaged 4.3 blocks per game.
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons finish the week at home Sunday afternoon when they play host to Miami for the Pride Game. Pride pins will be distributed to the first 100 fans.
For those who are unable to attend on Sunday, the game can be seen on ACC Network with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
