Deacs’ Comeback Bid Falls Short at Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Despite a huge comeback at the end with a look to tie that game at the buzzer, the Wake Forest women's basketball team fell short, 68-65, at Boston College Thursday night.

The Demon Deacons (4-14, 0-6 ACC) closed out the game with 11 points in the final 42 seconds and cut the deficit to just one with seven seconds remaining with the Eagles (11-8, 3-3 ACC) just hanging on for the narrow win.

Junior guard Elise Williams recorded her third-career double-double as she notched 14 points and 10 rebounds in addition to seven assists. It marked the first double-double by a Demon Deacon since Demeara Hinds against Morgan State last season on March 16, 2023.

Additionally, it was just the third 14-10-7 game in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10) by a Wake Forest player and first since Dearica Hamby against Pitt on March 5, 2014. Since the start of ACC play, Williams leads the team with 11.4 points per game.

Graduate guard Alexandria Scruggs finished the contest tied for the team-high with 10 rebounds, including five offensive, in addition to six points. It marked her second game this season with double-digit boards.

Redshirt sophomore forward Malaya Cowles recorded 12 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting, while adding two steals and two blocks on the other end to complete her all-around performance.

Freshman guard Rylie Theuerkauf added 11 points with a career-high three triples, including eight points in the fourth quarter. It marked her second-career double-digit scoring game and her first in ACC play.

As a team, the Deacs hauled in 36 rebounds, which marked the most against an ACC opponent this season. Of note, with Williams and Scruggs both reaching 10 boards, two Demon Deacons recorded double-digit rebounds against a conference opponent for the first time since Feb. 11, 2021.

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.

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How It Happened

Boston College jumped out to a 2-0 lead, before a Malaya Cowles layup opened the scoring for Wake Forest.
Alyssa Andrews then knocked down a midrange jumper to give the Demon Deacons their first lead of the contest.
- The Deacs held the Eagles to just 1-for-10 shooting over the first six minutes of action.
Andrews made a putback layup to give the Demon Deacons a four-point advantage.
Boston College held an 11-9 lead through 10 minutes of play after outscoring Wake Forest, 9-3, to close the opening period.
- Defensively, the Deacs held the Tigers to just (5-of-15) 33.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Boston College made a layup to open the second quarter but Wake Forest responded, scoring five unanswered.
- Elise Williams canned a triple and Kaia Harrison made a pair of free throws.
The Eagles led 17-14 with just under four minutes remaining, but the Demon Deacons went on a 7-2 run to take a two-point lead at the 1:58 mark.
- Boston College responded with an 8-2 run to close the second period.
Wake Forest trailed 27-23 at the halftime break.
- Individually, the Demon Deacons were led by Williams in the first half.
  - Williams tallied seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
The two sides traded field goals to open the second half.
The Demon Deacons then went on a 9-1 run to take a 34-31 lead with 6:26 minutes left in the third period.
Boston College made four-straight free throws to regain the lead, but Cowles responded with a layup.
Elise Williams closed the third quarter with a floater, bringing the Deacs within two.
Wake Forest trailed 43-41, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
Boston College opened the final period on a 6-2 spurt to take a 49-43 lead.
- Raegyn Conley drained a triple from the left wing, making it a one-possession game.
The Eagles then scored six unanswered, but a Cowles layup ended the spurt.
Boston College held a 57-50 advantage with 2:10 minutes remaining in regulation.
The Demon Deacons continued to pressure the Eagles defensively.
Theurekauf knocked down consecutive three's to cut the Deacs' deficit to four with 25 seconds remaining.
After a Boston College turnover, Theurekauf finished a contested layup to bring the Deacs within two with 20 seconds left.
- Of note, Theurekauf scored a total of eight points in a 12 second span.
The Eagles made two free throws to go up four (66-62) with 7.1 seconds left.
On the ensuing Wake Forest possession, Williams was fouled attempting a three-pointer.
- Williams knocked down all three free throws to pull the Demon Deacons within one (66-65).
Boston College went 2-for-2 at the stripe on the other end to take a 68-65 lead.
Conley nearly banked home the equalizer as time expired but her attempt rimmed out.
The Eagles defeated the Demon Deacons, 68-65.

Standout Stats

The Deacs hauled in 36 rebounds against the Eagles, the most against an ACC team this season.
- Two Demon Deacons recorded double-digit rebounds (Williams/Scruggs) against an ACC opponent for the first time since Feb. 11, 2021.
Elise Williams recorded her third-career double-double as the junior notched 14 points and 10 rebounds in addition to seven assists.
- It marked the first double-double by a Demon Deacon since Demeara Hinds against Morgan State last season (3/16/23)
- It also marked just the third 14-10-7 game in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009) by a Wake Forest player and first since Dearica Hamby against Pitt on March 5, 2014.
- Since the start of ACC play, Williams leads the team with 11.4 points per game.
Rylie Theuerkauf added 11 points with a career-high three triples, including eight points in the fourth quarter.
- It marked her second-career double-digit scoring game and her first in ACC play.

From Gebbia
"That was a great comeback at the end and I am proud of the fight this group showed to give us a chance at the buzzer. Elise finished with a double-double and we had four in double figures. We needed to keep them off the free throw line in the third quarter and we needed to keep them off the offensive glass in the fourth quarter. We needed to finish plays in the second half on defense. Despite all of that, we were right there and we never gave up. We have to learn from this and that every possession and every quarter matters. We are better than what we are showing and I know that we can put together a strong 40-minute performance. This one hurts just because of how close we were and we just needed to do a couple more things right to get this one on the road. We were right there to take this one and hopefully we take the lessons that we learned tonight and apply them against a really good Notre Dame team on Sunday at home." - Megan Gebbia

Next Up
After two games on the road, the Demon Deacons return home for another ranked-matchup as the Deacs host No. 19 Notre Dame at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Sunday afternoon.

The 2:00 p.m. tipoff at LJVM Coliseum can also be seen on ACC Network Extra.

Next Event

Team Stats

Elise Williams

Malaya Cowles

Raegyn Conley

Rylie Theuerkauf

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Raegyn Conley

Malaya Cowles

Kaia Harrison

Demeara Hinds

Alexandria Scruggs

Rylie Theuerkauf

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics