Wake Forest University
Florida
Wake Forest Continues WNIT Journey Monday Against Florida
3/18/2023 8:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Demon Deacons will look to advance to the Super 16 for just the second time in the program’s history and first time since 2005.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – WNIT action comes to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum again Monday night! The Wake Forest women's basketball team is scheduled to host Florida in the second round.
The Deacs (17-16) continued to make history in the first season of the Megan Gebbia era as she captured the 17th win, tying her for the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Additionally, the 17 wins tie the most for the Demon Deacons since the Deacs won 20 games during the 2011-12 season. Individually, junior guard Jewel Spear led the team in scoring, netting her 11th 20-plus point game of the season. She now is in the top 10 in program history in scoring and is just the second player in program history to have 500 or more points in back-to-back seasons, joining Dearica Hamby. Her 89 threes this season ranks third in program history and the Deacs 218 threes as a team are the second most in program history.
The Gators (17-14) are coming off a victory over Wofford in the opening round of the WNIT, holding off the Terriers, 66-63, Thursday night. In the win, senior guard Leilani Correa led the way, scoring 24 points off the bench for Florida. The Gators get a good amount of their scoring from the bench, accounting for 30 percent of their points which ranks 90th in the country. Florida is also one of the better teams at working their way to the free throw line, ranking 32nd in free throw attempts and 27th in free throw makes per game. The Gators are 1-1 against the ACC this season, falling to Florida State, 92-77, in November and defeating Miami, 76-73 (OT), in December with both matchups coming on the road.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET) at LJVM Coliseum. For those not at the arena, fans can tune in to ACC Network Extra. A live stats feed can be found here. You can also listen to the game on GoDeacs.com/Watch.
Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).
SUPPORT THE DEACS AT THE WNIT
Wake Forest fans, postseason returns to Winston-Salem and DEACTOWN on Monday night for the second round of the WNIT! All Wake Forest students, faculty and staff will receive free admission to the game with a valid ID.
WNIT tickets are on sale now and can be ordered online or by calling the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext 2 during normal business hours. All seats are lower level general admission; adults (age 19+) are $10 each, youth (age 2-18) are $5 each, and children one and under are free. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the LJVM Coliseum box office beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff on gameday.
THE PATH TO POSTSEASON PLAY
Coming off a run to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, this is the third time in the last four years that the Demon Deacons have reached the quarterfinal round. The senior class for the Deacs is now 6-4 at the tournament during their time at Wake Forest. The two wins also match the most wins in the tournament in program history.
Additionally in three of the last four seasons, Wake Forest has been the highest seed left in the tournament. The Deacs are the only double-digit seed to make the quarterfinal round twice in the last two years and only one other school has done so once.
The run included a historic 20-point comeback effort over Florida State and it was the second-largest halftime comeback in ACC Tournament history, holding the Seminoles to just 16.6 percent shooting in the second half to win by double digits. The Demon Deacons were led by ACC All-Tournament team honoree in junior Jewel Spear, who led the Deacs in scoring in the wins over Virginia and Florida State.
Spear, who was a preseason All-ACC selection, was also named to the All-ACC Second Team heading into the tournament, marking the second-straight year she has been named as an All-ACC honoree.
The Demon Deacons season on the court was highlighted by a number of memorable victories including back-to-back home wins over NCAA Tournament teams in Louisville and Miami in late January. The Deacs made Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum into a fortress this season, finishing the regular season with an 11-4 mark including six wins in ACC play. The record at home is the sixth-best winning percentage in program history and if the Deacs are chosen to host they will have the chance to move up that list.
Additionally in non-conference action, Wake Forest went on the road and claimed a win over Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge while also grabbing wins over NCAA Tournament qualifier ECU and WNIT qualifiers High Point and Rhode Island.
TOP DEFENSE
Through 33 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 59.5 points allowed per game. Wake Forest comes into Monday ranked 60th nationally and fifth in the ACC in the category.
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 39.4 percent shooting from the field and just 27.6 percent shooting from behind the arc. The opponent shooting percentage ranks 137th in the nation, the Deacs also ranked 84th with 3.7 blocks per game and the three-point defense ranked 30th coming into the tournament. The three-point defense leads the ACC.
The Deacs have achieved a block on 9.1 percent of possessions this season, the fifth-highest rate in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10 to present).
Over the last 28 games, the Demon Deacons have been playing their best defense of the season, holding 19 of 27 opponents to 61 points or less and 11 opponents in that stretch to less than 55 points.
Over the last 19 games against ACC opponents, Wake Forest has forced 14.6 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 vs. Morgan State (March 16)
Result: W, 75-49
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With the victory, head coach Megan Gebbia became the winningest first-year head coach in program history. The Demon Deacons went 28-for-55 (50.9 percent) from the floor, the highest percentage of the season and the highest since Nov. 27, 2021 against UMBC.
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From behind the line, the Deacs hit 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond-the-arc in the dominant 26-point victory. Over 30 percent of the scoring from the Deacs came in the fourth quarter, as they went 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from the floor for 25 points.
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Wake Forest dominated inside for the entirety of the contest, as it outrebounded Morgan State, 34-21, and tacked on 18 second chance points. Additionally, the Deacs outscored the Bears, 38-14, in the paint.
SERIES HISTORY
Versus Florida
Series: Tied 1-1
Last: Dec. 21, 2019
Result: W – 73-68
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The Demon Deacons shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded the Gators by seven while also shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
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Wake Forest was led in the score column by 21 points from guard Alex Sharp who also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds as the Deacs finished the Palm Beach Invitational 2-0. Junior Gina Conti added 15 points and a team-best six assists in the victory.
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 80th percentile country, assisting on 59.1 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 10th during the first round of the ACC Tournament. She needs 122 points to move into ninth place and tie former teammate Ivana Raca.
|
Rank |
Player |
Career Points |
|
1. |
Dearica Hamby (2011-15) |
1,801 |
|
2. |
Jenny Mitchell (1987-91) |
1,728 |
|
3. |
Amy Privette (1983-87) |
1,722 |
|
4. |
Nicole Levesque (1990-94) |
1,663 |
|
5. |
Chelsea Douglas (2010-14) |
1,656 |
|
6. |
Tracy Connor (1992-97) |
1,619 |
|
7. |
Cotelia Bond-Young (2002-06) |
1,507 |
|
8. |
Amber Campbell (2014-18) |
1,489 |
|
9. |
Ivana Raca (2017-21) |
1,482 |
|
10. |
Jewel Spear (2020-Pres.) |
1,360 |
Additionally, Spear went into the year with a chance to break the all-time threes record in program history and and became the third player in program history to reach 200 threes at Virginia Tech and is 20 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.) |
237 |
|
4. |
Nicole Levesque (1991-94) |
193 |
|
5. |
Heidi Coleman (1995-99) |
191 |
She also continues to put up points this season, becoming just the second Demon Deacon to have 500-plus points in back-to-back seasons. Currently she ranks in the top 10 in program history for single-season points and can move into the top five with 28 points:
|
Rank |
Player |
Points |
|
1. |
Dearica Hamby (2013-14) |
683 |
|
2. |
Dearica Hamby (2014-15) |
650 |
|
3. |
Tracy Connor (1992-93) |
576 |
|
4. |
Jewel Spear (2021-22) |
567 |
|
5. |
Ivana Raca (2019-20) |
549 |
|
6. |
Jenny Mitchell (1990-91) |
532 |
|
T7. |
Chelsea Douglas (2013-14) |
522 |
|
T7. |
Jenny Mitchell (1988-89) |
522 |
|
9. |
Jewel Spear (2022-23) |
521 |
|
10. |
Amy Privette (1985-86) |
515 |
OWNING THE ARC
Junior guard Jewel Spear ranks second in the conference with 89 three pointers made (15th nationally) and with 2.78 threes made per game (23rd nationally). Additionally, her 89 threes this season ranks in the top five in single-season program history:
|
Rank |
Player |
Year |
Threes Made |
|
1. |
Cotelia Bond-Young |
2004-05 |
97 |
|
2. |
2021-22 |
90 |
|
|
3. |
2022-23 |
89 |
|
|
4. |
Chelsea Douglas |
2013-14 |
86 |
|
5. |
Cotelia Bond-Young |
2005-06 |
85 |
Overall as a team, this has been one of the best three-point shooting years in program history, knocking down a 218 threes which is second in program history:
|
Rank |
Threes Made |
Season |
|
1. |
275 |
2004-05 |
|
2. |
218 |
2022-23 |
|
3. |
215 |
2005-06 |
|
4. |
195 |
2021-22 |
|
5. |
179 |
2008-09 |
On the defensive side of the floor, Wake Forest is limiting opponents to just 27.6 percent shooting from behind the arc, ranking 30th in the country. This also leads the ACC.
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 6.6 threes per game over their first 33 games. This also ranks 115th nationally:
|
Rank |
Team |
Threes Made Per Game |
|
1. |
Virginia Tech |
7.7 |
|
2. |
Florida St. |
7.0 |
|
3. |
Wake Forest |
6.6 |
|
4. |
Clemson |
6.3 |
|
5. |
North Carolina |
6.2 |
BLOCKAGE
Olivia Summiel recorded four blocks against nationally-ranked Florida State in the ACC Tournament. She now ranks 61tst nationally with 45 blocks on the season and her total already is the most by a Demon Deacon since the 2015-16 season when Milan Quinn had 49 blocks. Additionally, Summiel is now fourth 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. |
2022-23 |
45 |
|
|
5. |
Meki Valentine |
2007-08 |
44 |
Her 1.41 blocks per game also rank third in the ACC and 79th nationally.
As a team, the Deacs have blocked 3.7 shots per game which is close to a school record and ranks 84th nationally. The school record was set in 2010-11 when that squad averaged 4.3 blocks per game. Additionally, Wake Forest's 122 blocks this season now ranks in the top five in Demon Deacon single-season history and is currently the fourth-highest total in program history:
|
Rank |
Block Total |
Season |
|
1. |
136 |
2010-11 |
|
2. |
132 |
2015-16 |
|
3. |
130 |
2017-18 |
|
4. |
122 |
2022-23 |
|
5. |
118 |
2011-12 |
UP NEXT
The winner of the game will face the winner of Clemson (18-15) or Auburn (16-14). They tipoff at 6 p.m. Monday with the location, date and time of the Super 16 round game being determined following the conclusion of all first round games.
