Deacs Drop Road Battle at No. 19 North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped a 71-58 road contest against No. 19 North Carolina Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (14-13, 5-11 ACC) came out shooting well from behind the arc and the field in the first quarter, knocking down 4-of-7 threes and shooting 54.5 percent overall from the field. This helped the Deacs take an early lead over the nationally-ranked Tar Heels (19-8, 10-6 ACC).

The contest remained tight throughout the second quarter with the teams trading leads. At the halftime break, the Tar Heels held a slim four-point lead.

Offensively, Wake Forest was led by the eighth-consecutive double-figure game from junior guard Jewel Spear. The Colony, Texas native finished the game with 19 points including dialing up five threes.

In total, the Deacs hit eight threes in the game. This is the eighth time this season the Demon Deacons have registered eight or more threes in a contest.

In two career games at North Carolina, Spear has averaged 20.1 points per game. Additionally, she had one of the best shooting performances in ACC Tournament history, hitting a tournament record seven threes against North Carolina in a 27-point performance in the win over the Tar Heels.

Along with Spear, senior forward Olivia Summiel and sophomore guard Elise Williams finished with double-digit points. Williams dropped 11 points while Summiel totaled 10 points.

Despite the loss, the Wake Forest senior class still holds an impressive 5-3 record in their careers against their Big-4 rivals including a perfect 2-0 record in ACC Tournament play.

After a two-game road swing, the Demon Deacons return home to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the final two games of the season. Wake Forest holds an impressive 11-2 record at home this season, the best winning percentage in program history at home.

There are only two home games remaining at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum this season. Be sure to claim your spot for exciting ACC matchups against Florida State and Boston College at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After both sides were held scoreless over the opening 90 seconds of action, Jewel Spear drilled a triple on an assist from Elise Williams.
North Carolina responded 21 seconds later as Deja Kelly knocked down a midrange jumper.
- Kelly then converted an and-one three pointer to give the Tar Heels their first lead of the contest.
- 15 seconds later, Olivia Summiel made a three to even the ledger at six.
  - Summiel has made 29 three pointers this season.
The two teams exchanged baskets over the ensuing four minutes as the score was tied, 14-14, at the 3:44 mark of the opening frame.
Alyssa Andrews and Kennedy Todd-Williams of North Carolina exchanged three's before a Spear triple ended the first quarter scoring.
Wake Forest held a 20-17 lead after 10 minutes of action behind six points from Spear.
- As a team, Wake Forest made four three pointers in the first quarter, while shooting a stellar 57.1 percent from beyond the arc.
North Carolina opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 26-20 lead at the 7:54 mark of the second frame.
The two sides exchanged field goals before Summiel knocked down a triple to pull the Deacs within three.
After a UNC layup, Wake Forest went on a 7-0 run to take a 32-30 lead with 2:18 remaining in the half.
The Tar Heels responded with a 10-4 run and held a four point advantage at the halftime break.
Despite shooting 50 percent from the field as a unit, the Demon Deacons trailed 40-36 after 20 minutes of play.
- Spear logged a team-high 11 points in the first half, while shooting 3-of-5 from three point range.
- As a team, Wake Forest tallied 10 assists on 12 made baskets in the first half.
North Carolina started the second half on a 6-0 run, forcing a Wake Forest timeout.
Spear opened the third quarter scoring for the Demon Deacons as she made a layup at the 5:42 mark.
The Deacs exchanged field goals with the Tar Heels for the ensuing three minutes.
- Becker, Summiel and Spear all scored during the three-minute span.
Wake Forest faced a nine point deficit with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
North Carolina closed the quarter scoring five unanswered and held a 56-42 advantage entering the final 10 minutes of action.
- The Deacs forced four turnovers in the third quarter.
The Tar Heels came out aggressive in the fourth and jumped out to an early 8-2 run, extending their lead to 20 with 6:30 left.
After a Wake Forest timeout, the Demon Deacons went on an 8-2 run behind buckets from Spear and Williams, narrowing the deficit to 14.
The Deacs were unable to cut into North Carolina's lead down the stretch, ultimately suffering a 71-58 defeat.

STANDOUT STAT

As a team, the Demon Deacons recorded 13 assists on 19 made field goals against the Tar Heels.
- Coming into the game, Wake Forest ranked 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.
  - Of note, the Deacs tallied 10 assists on 12 made baskets (83 percent) in the first half Sunday against North Carolina.
In total, the Deacs hit eight threes in the game. This is the eighth time this season the Demon Deacons have registered eight or more threes in a game.

FROM GEBBIA
"Tonight, we needed to get better on the defensive end of the floor. We have to find a way to communicate better and play connected as a unit. We needed to do a better job tonight of stopping Deja Kelly. Our offense was scoring really well against man. We forced them to switch to a zone. Overall, we are better than what we have shown the last few games and we have to get better before postseason. We are right there, only 13 points away from a top-20 team on their home floor. There is another level we need to take our games and I know this group can do it. We are just a few possessions away from breaking through against one of these teams. I have seen some good things but it hurts to keep losing games where we are just a few possessions away." - head coach Megan Gebbia

NEXT UP
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.

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Team Stats

Jewel Spear

Elise Williams

Olivia Summiel

Alexandria Scruggs

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Elise Williams

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Jewel Spear

Olivia Summiel

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics