Deacs Drop Thriller to Villanova

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped a 74-65 decision to last season's Big East runner-up and 2023 Sweet 16 participant Villanova Sunday evening at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons (2-4) were led individually by redshirt sophomore forward Malaya Cowles, who scored a career-high 22 points, while shooting an efficient 10-for-13 from the field.

Off the bench, junior forward Raegyn Conley joined Cowles as the lone Deacs to score in double figures, tying her career-high with 14 points. Conley had one of her best nights from the free throw line, finishing 6-of-7

Wake Forest turned the Wildcats (4-1) over a season-high 10 times in the game as Villanova came into the game second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Demon Deacons shot a season-best 17-of-19 (89.5 pct.) from the free throw line. Individually, four Deacs went perfect from the charity stripe, including graduate guard Kaia Harrison. Harrison is shooting an impressive 22-of-24 percent from the line this season.

Junior guard Elise Williams had another well-rounded outing, registering nine points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Alyssa Andrews pulled down a team-best and season-high eight rebounds.

An exciting season awaits at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the Wake Forest women's basketball team! There is no better time than now to become a season ticket holder and support your Demon Deacons at home this season.

Along with your purchase of a $60 season ticket package this season there are many added benefits exclusive only to those who buy season tickets.

How It Happened

Villanova jumped out to a 5-0 lead, before a Malaya Cowles layup opened the scoring for Wake Forest.
- After a Wildcat free throw, Cowles scored again on an assist from Alexandria Scruggs.
Villanova scored five unanswered, before a Scruggs layup narrowed the Deacs' deficit to five.
The Demon Deacons trailed 23-10 after 10 minutes of play.
- Cowles led the Deacs individually with six points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
- Scruggs had a solid opening period, notching four points and three rebounds.
Wake Forest outscored Villanova 11-8 over the first four minutes of the second quarter.
- Kate Deeble, Elise Williams and Cowles combined to score each of the Deacs' 11 points during the period.
The two sides exchanged field goals over the ensuing 90 seconds of play, before a Rylie Theuerkauf free throw pulled the Demon Deacons to within seven.
Villanova held a 41-31 lead at the halftime break.
- Cowles led all scorers with 16 points, while shooting an efficient 8-of-9 from the field.
The two teams exchanged field goals to open the second half, before a Williams triple and a Scruggs layup narrowed Villanova's lead to 45-40 at the under five media timeout.
- Four-consecutive made free throws, along with several defensive stops from Wake Forest made it a one point game (45-44) with just under four minutes left in the third quarter.
Villanova held a 53-49 lead, entering the final 10 minutes of action.
- The Demon Deacons outscored the Wildcats 18-12 during the third period.
After a 6-2 Villanova spurt to open the fourth quarter, Williams made back-to-back layups.
Raegyn Conley knocked down consecutive threes down the stretch to tie the game, 61-61.
- A Kaia Harrison layup evened the ledger again (65-65) with 1:37 minutes left.
Villanova pulled away over the final 90 seconds to secure a 74-65 victory over Wake Forest.

Standout Stats

The Demon Deacons shot a season-best 17-of-19 (89.5 pct.) from the free throw line.
- Individually, four Deacs went perfect from the charity stripe, including graduate guard Kaia Harrison.
  - Harrison is shooting an impressive 22-of-24 percent from the line this season.
  - Raegyn Conley had one of her best nights from the free throw line, finishing 6-of-7
- Through six games this season the Demon Deacons have seen a massive uptick in shooting percentage, going from 66.0 percent (343-of-520) last season to 73.0 percent (73-of-100) this season.
  - Additionally, the Deacs are getting to the line more this season as they are attempting 16.7 free throws this season compared to 15.3 attempts a season ago.

From Gebbia
"We did a great job in the second half and we see the progress as we continue to go throughout the season. We played with a bunch of energy and had great effort. I am happy for Raegyn. She did a great job of taking what came to her in the offense flow. Malaya did a great job of setting the tone for us inside and I am encouraged by her effort. We need to rebound better, we beat ourselves at the end and we need to do a better job of starting faster in the first quarter. We forced them to turn the ball over and we applied pressure again. If we continue to learn and grow from this, then we will see the wins start to come. We wanted to challenge ourselves this year with the non-conference schedule and I am proud of how this team has continued to rise to the challenge night in and night out. We have another big game Thursday night against a good Texas A&M team and we're going to have to bring it again and be locked in to earn that one." - Coach Megan Gebbia

Next Up
The Demon Deacons remain home for the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge when the Deacs play host to Texas A&M on Thursday night. Tipoff against the Aggies is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET and will also air on ACC Network.

Claim Your Spot for the 2023-24 Season
Claim your spot in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for what is shaping up to be another exciting season for Megan Gebbia's second season with the Demon Deacons! Season tickets for 2023-24 Wake Forest women's basketball season tickets are now open at GoDeacs.com/tickets with tickets starting at $60.

Along with your purchase of a women's basketball season ticket package this season there are many added benefits exclusive only to those who buy season tickets. Admission to all home games for this price Additional perks include:

A lunch opportunity with the Wake Forest women's basketball team
Only season ticket holders can sit in floor level seats
Access to The Blue Ridge Room for free light refreshments and snacks before and during each home game
"Season Ticket Holder of the Game"
A season ticket holder will be recognized at each game
They will be brought onto the floor during a quarter break or timeout to be recognized
They will be presented with a signed picture of the team
They will also have video board graphics made for them as well

Go to GoDeacs.com/Tickets or call the ticket office at 336-758-3322 for more information.

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Team Stats

Malaya Cowles

Raegyn Conley

Elise Williams

Kaia Harrison

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Raegyn Conley

Malaya Cowles

Kate Deeble

Kaia Harrison

Alexandria Scruggs

Rylie Theuerkauf

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics