Deacs Set for Big-4 Road Battle

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Holding a record of 5-2 over the previous three seasons against the Tar Heels, the Wake Forest women's basketball team looks to solidify its position in the league standings Sunday at No. 19 North Carolina .

The Deacs (14-12, 5-10 ACC) are coming off a six game stretch where their 3-3 record has helped them move up the league standings. The Demon Deacons still sit alone in 10th place and are just two games back from potentially earning a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament. Wake Forest is in search of their first ACC road win of the season. Wake Forest is looking to complete the regular season sweep of the Yellowjackets for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Additionally, a sixth ACC win would give Megan Gebbia the most by a first-year head coach in program history. No Wake Forest coach has reached six wins in conference play until at least their third year on campus. Currently, Gebbia has the third-most overall wins by a first-year head coach in program history and is three away from the program record of 17 wins.

The Tar Heels (18-8, 9-6 ACC) currently sit seventh in the ACC standings heading into Sunday afternoon's matchup with the Demon Deacons. This season North Carolina has been nearly perfect at home, holding a record of 12-1 inside of Carmichael Arena. The lone loss came against Florida State in December. North Carolina ranks in the top 25 nationally, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.2 percent from the field. On the offensive end of the floor, the Tar Heels have five players in double figures led by guard Deja Kelly which averages 16.4 points per game. She has been one of the best players in the country at working her way to the free throw line, ranking 21st in free throw attempts (162) and 28th in the country in free throws made (115).

Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. (ET) at Carmichael Arena. 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).

TOP-50 DEFENSE

Through 26 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 58.6 points allowed per game, ranking 52nd nationally and third 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 38.9 percent shooting from the field and just 26.8 percent shooting from behind the arc. The opponent shooting percentage ranks 113th in the nation, the Deacs also rank 80th with 3.8 blocks per game and the three-point defense ranks 24th. The Deacs have achieved a block on 9.3 percent of possessions this season, the fifth-highest rate in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10 to present).

Over the last 21 games, the Demon Deacons have been playing their best defense of the season, holding 15 of 21 opponents to 61 points or less and nine opponents in that stretch to less than 55 points.

Over the last 13 ACC games, Wake Forest has forced 15.6 turnovers including 20 in the win over Pitt, 20 in the win over Louisville, 19 in the win over Clemson and 19 against nationally-ranked Duke.

LAST TIME

Wake Forest at Georgia Tech (Feb. 16)

Result: L, 63-55

Despite trailing by 12 points with 5:06 remaining in the game, the Demon Deacons nearly worked themselves all the way back as a runner from sophomore guard Elise Williams with 49 seconds left in the game brought Wake Forest within four.
Offensively, the Deacs had three players finish in double figures with Williams leading the way, netting 13 points despite playing much of the game in foul trouble. Joining her in double digits were junior forward Demeara Hinds and junior guard Jewel Spear.
- Hinds, the Douglasville, Ga. native, posted her third double-figure scoring game of the season, tallying 12 points in the defeat. Spear pitched in 11 points of her own, her seventh-straight game in double digits.
On the defensive end of the floor, Wake Forest had another strong performance defending the three, holding Georgia Tech to just 4-of-16 (25 percent) from long range. The Deacs came into the game ranked 23rd in the nation in that category, the second-straight season a Megan Gebbia coached team is in the top 25 in that category.

SERIES HISTORY

Versus North Carolina

Series: North Carolina leads 67-18

Last: Feb. 3, 2022

Result: L, 78-59

The Demon Deacons are 5-2 against the in-state Tar Heels over the last three seasons including a 2-1 record in home games over that period.
Sophomore guard Jewel Spear continued to climb the three-point rankings both on the single season and career lists. In last year's matchup, she entered the top 10 in career three pointers with her second triple of the game in the fourth quarter. She also moved into fifth in single-season triples with 69 during the game.
- Spear, who ended the evening with a team-high 13 points, was one of a pair of Demon Deacons to finish in double figures. For the third time that season and the first time in conference action, junior forward Niyah Becker posted double-figure points.

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 83rd percentile country, assisting on 60.4 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.

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 continued to climb the rankings as she moved into 16th against No. 22 NC State. She needs 33 points to move into the top 15:

Rank	Player	Career Points
10.	Liz Strunk (2002-06)	1,352
11.	Lisa Stockton (1982-86)	1,347
12.	Jane Jackson (1977-80)	1,342
13.	Lakevia Boykin (2009-13)	1,309
14.	Elisa Penna (2015-19)	1,269
15.	Brittany Waters (2007-11)	1,267
16.	Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.)	1,234
17.	Alice Neal (1985-89)	1,214
18.	Alex Tchangoue (2005-09)	1,212
19.	Barbara Durham (1979-83)	1,203
20.	Sandra Garcia (2009-13)	1,201

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 at Virginia Tech and is 41 threes away from moving into second in program history:

Rank	Player	Career Threes
1.	Cotelia Bond Young (2003-06)	267
2.	Chelsea Douglas (2010-14)	257
3.	Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.)	216
4.	Nicole Levesque (1991-94)	193
5.	Heidi Coleman (1995-99)	191

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 129-of-371 attempts from distance or 34.8 percent. Spear has hit 68-of-197 (34.5 percent), Summiel has knocked down 27-of-79 (34.2 percent) and Williams has hit 34-of-95 (35.8 percent).

Spear ranks fourth in the conference with 68 three pointers made (26th nationally) and second in the conference with 2.72 threes made per game (27th nationally). Additionally, she is one of just three players in program history to reach 200 career threes, achieving the milestone against Virginia Tech.

On the defensive side of the floor, Wake Forest is limiting opponents to just 26.8 percent shooting from behind the arc, ranking 24th 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 26 games. This also ranks 118th nationally:

Rank	Team	Threes Made Per Game
1.	Virginia Tech	8.0
2.	Florida St.	7.3
3.	Wake Forest	6.5
4.	North Carolina	6.3
T5.	Clemson	6.1
T5.	Pitt	6.1

BLOCKAGE

Olivia Summiel a block against Clemson Sunday. She now ranks 55th nationally with 37 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 tied for ninth in program history in blocks in a single season:

Rank	Player	Year	Total Blocks
1.	Lisa Dodd	1987-88	60
2.	Mekia Valentine	2006-07	50
3.	Milan Quinn	2015-16	49
4.	Meki Valentine	2007-08	44
5.	Lisa Dodd	1986-87	43
6.	Kandice Ball	2015-16	42
7.	Ona Udoh	2018-19	41
8.	Jenny Mitchell	1989-90	40
9.	Olivia Summiel	2022-23	37
T10.	Dearica Hamby	2012-13	36
T10.	Ona Udoh	2017-18	36

Her 1.42 blocks per game also rank third in the ACC and 74th nationally.

As a team, the Deacs have blocked 3.8 shots per game which is close to a school record and ranks 80th nationally. The school record was set in 2010-11 when that squad averaged 4.3 blocks per game. Additionally, Wake Forest's 98 blocks this season are just three away from cracking the top 10 in Demon Deacon single-game history.

UP NEXT

The Demon Deacons are set to return home Thursday night for the annual Play4Kay Game against nationally-ranked Florida State.

For those who are unable to attend on Thursday, the game can be seen on ACC Network Extra with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Niyah Becker

Kaia Harrison

Demeara Hinds

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Ona Udoh

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics