This Week in Wake Forest Women’s Athletics – Presented by Truist (Nov. 11-17)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Truist, a longstanding partner of Wake Forest University who is An Official Banking Partner of Wake Forest Athletics and the Presenting Partner of Wake Forest Women's Athletics brings Deacon Nation this weekly update from the Demon Deacons women's programs:

Women's Soccer:
- For the third time in the last four seasons, the No. 3-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team has been selected to the 2024 NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. The Demon Deacons will host Morehead State in the first round on Friday, Nov. 15 at Spry Stadium.
  - The first-round clash with the Eagles is slated for 6 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase now starting at $5 for the hill, $10 for general admission and $15 for chairback.
  - The Deacs will be making their 23rd all-time appearance in the tournament, with 22 coming under the helm of head coach Tony da Luz.
Volleyball:
- Wake Forest volleyball has its first midweek showing of the 2024 season this week, making the trip to nearby Raleigh for a Wednesday evening road test at NC State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
- The two sides will face again this weekend in Winston-Salem on Saturday night, with a 7 p.m. match set to take place in Varsity Arena.
- The Demon Deacons (13-12, 5-9 ACC) are coming off their final out-of-state weekend, competing at Florida State and Miami.
- As a team, Wake Forest still stands fifth in the ACC in blocks (2.57/set).
- With six regular season matches remaining, a group of three Deacs have inched closer to personal milestones:
  - Sahara Maruska – needs 10 more digs to reach 1,000 for her career
  - Rian Baker – needs 20 more assists to reach 2,000 for her career
  - Paige Crawford – needs 36 more kills to reach 1,000 for her career
    - The junior hitter has totaled 17 kills three times in her last six appearances, leading the team in that area for the third straight year.
Cross Country:
- The Demon Deacons will travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Friday Nov. 15.
  - The women's 6k is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m.
- Star performer Brooke Wilson looks to continue her strong form after finishing 19th at ACC Championships, leading to an All-ACC Award for the second-consecutive season.
  - She became the first back-to-back All-ACC honoree on the women's side for the Deacs since Sam Halvorsen (2017-2019).
Women's Basketball:
- The Demon Deacons finished the opening week with a pair of victories over Queens and on the road at Charlotte.
  - The Demon Deacons had a historic night against Queens in the 102-40 win in the season opener.
    - The 62-point margin of victory was the most since defeating NC Central, 111-47, on Nov. 14, 2010.
    - The Demon Deacons scored 102 points Monday night, the most by a Megan Gebbia-coached team and the most in program history since a 106-50 victory back on Nov. 8, 2019.
      - The thirty-four points in the third quarter mark the most in a single quarter in program history.
      - The 39 made field goals mark the most for Wake Forest since making 40 against College of Charleston in 2019.
    - The Demon Deacons had seven student-athletes finish in double figures led by graduate transfer Tamia Jones and redshirt junior Malaya Cowles with 15 points. The duo was joined in double figures by sophomore Riley Theuerkauf (13), senior Elise Williams (13), redshirt senior Demeara Hinds (12), sophomore Madisyn Jordan (11) and senior Alyssa Andrews (10). The seven players in double figures mark the most in a game in the Gebbia era.
  - Traveling on the road for the first time in the season on Thursday at Charlotte, the Deacs dominated with the help of their defense.
    - The two points the Deacs allowed in the fourth quarter are the fewest allowed in a quarter in program history. This tied the second quarter of the Xavier game on Dec. 8, 2016 when the Deacs held the Musketeers to just two points.
    - This marked the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Deacs have held back-to-back opponents to less than 50 points. Additionally, this marked the fewest points allowed in back-to-back games (81) since the 2010-11 season when the Deacs held Presbyterian and High Point to 77 combined points.
  - In the lone loss at Villanova, graduate transfer Tamia Jones tallied a career-high 19 points and fell just one rebound shy of a double-double in a breakout performance.
    - Her 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting led the Demon Deacons on Sunday, as well as her career-high nine rebounds. Jones also added three assists and a pair of steals.
- Through three games this season, Wake Forest has allowed just 48.3 points per game which ranks 37th nationally and third in the ACC. Additionally, the 38.9 three-point percentage ranks 55th in the country.
Field Hockey:
- Wake's underclassmen were the story for the 2024 season, as freshmen and sophomore student-athletes combined for 62 of Wake's 81 points (76.5 percent).
- A season ago, the Deacs had just one athlete go for over eight points on the season. In 2024, four student-athletes are over the eight-point mark, with all four being underclassmen.
- Freshman Lauren Storey's 17 points mark the most by a first-year Wake Forest student-athlete since 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year Nicola Pluta's 41 points.
- Sophomore Mia Schoenbeck received All-ACC honors for the first time being named Second Team All-ACC
- Wake Forest was ranked as high as No. 18 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll. Since the poll's inception in 2018, Wake Forest has appeared at least once in each of the last seven years.
- With the win over James Madison on Oct. 20, head coach Jen Averill earned her 425th victory as the head coach of Wake Forest and now sits just four wins away from her 450th career win.

About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country, and offers a wide range of products and services through our retail and small business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $574 billion as of March 31, 2023. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.

About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is known for its distinctive combination of world-class academics, unrivaled campus experience, intimate learning environment and Power 4 athletics in a top-growing metro market. A Charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Demon Deacons have won 57 conference titles and are one of only seven ACC schools to win 10 or more national championships, along with Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, Duke, Syracuse and Florida State. Additionally, Wake Forest anchors the Winston-Salem and Triad market, which includes 1.3M residents and was ranked as ESPN's seventh-best market from a viewership perspective.

Wake Forest's comprehensive excellence includes its highly regarded school of medicine, business school, law school and an innovative department of engineering. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, DC – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.

Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.

Wake Forest Athletics

This Week in Wake Forest Women’s Athletics – Presented by Truist (Nov. 11-17)

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Rian Baker

Malaya Cowles

Paige Crawford

Demeara Hinds

Tamia Jones

Madisyn Jordan

Sahara Maruska

Mia Schoenbeck

Lauren Storey

Elise Williams

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