Thursday, November 7
Charlotte, NC
6:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

2-0,0-0ACC

60
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41

Charlotte

1-1,0-0AAC

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Wake Forest
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Tamia Jones

Relentless Defense Propels Wake Forest to 60-41 Victory at Charlotte

11/7/2024 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Wake Forest held the 49ers to just two fourth quarter points to secure a 2-0 start.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Behind a suffocating defensive effort that forced 24 turnovers, the Wake Forest women's basketball team grabbed a 60-41 road victory against Charlotte Thursday night in Halton Arena. 

The Demon Deacons (2-0, 0-0 ACC) were led offensively by graduate transfer Tamia Jones, who finished the contest with 12 points with 10 points coming in the first half. The Colony, Texas native was all over the stat sheet, adding six rebounds, five assists and four steals. 

Wake Forest has now won 12 of the last 14 games against Charlotte (1-1, 0-0 AAC).

Senior Raegyn Conley and redshirt junior Malaya Cowles joined Jones in double figures with 10 points apiece. Cowles finished a rebound away from a double-double with a team-leading nine boards. 

Charlotte was held to just 16-of-51 (31.4 percent) from the field as Wake Forest converted the 24 turnovers into 16 points.
 
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.
 
Through two games, the Demon Deacons have allowed just 40.5 points per game. This marks the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Deacs have held back-to-back opponents to less than 50 points. Additionally, this marks 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.

How It Happened 
  • Overcoming a slow start, Wake Forest fought back with a 6-0 run midway through the first quarter to tie the game at 6-6 going into the first media timeout. 
    • Senior guard Alyssa Andrews knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to tie the contest and the Wake defense settled in to hold the 49ers scoreless over a 3:10 stretch of action. 
  • Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Rylie Theuerkauf sparked the Deacs with seven points through the first ten minutes of play as Wake Forest trailed 15-13 after the first quarter. 
  • After Charlotte extended their lead back to six, senior guard Raegyn Conley connected on her first triple of the evening to trim the deficit back to one possession. 
  • Converting a 49er turnover into offense, graduate transfer Tamia Jones tied the contest once again with a three of her own to make it 23-23 with 4:18 left in the half. 
  • Wake Forest grabbed its first lead of the game with 1:50 remaining in the second quarter on a free throw from Jones as she put the Deacs ahead, 28-27. 
  • The Deacs and 49ers went into the locker room tied at 29-all after a tightly contested 20 minutes of action. 
  • A personal 6-0 run from Conley on a pair of shots beyond the arc gave the Deacs their largest lead of the game at 35-31 just two minutes into the second half. 
  • Grabbing an offensive rebound and muscling her way to the basket, forward Malaya Cowles pushed the run to 8-0 in favor of the Deacs. 
  • A great post up from Andrews pushed the Wake lead to 39-31 as the Demon Deacons held Charlotte scoreless over 4:19 and forced the 49ers into five turnovers during the stretch. 
  • Senior guard Elise Williams made her first three of the night on an assist from Jones to extend the Wake Forest lead to 48-39 going into the final quarter of play. 
  • Cowles joined Conley and Jones in double figures with a layup to give Wake its first double digit lead of the night to open the final quarter. 
  • The Deacs were relentless on the defensive end, holding Charlotte to just two points over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter to stretch the advantage out to 57-41. 
  • Sophomore Madisyn Jordan became the seventh Deac to score, dialing up a shot from deep to push the lead out to 19 in the late stages. 
  • Wake Forest would allow just two points in the final quarter, holding Charlotte scoreless over the final 8:07 to secure a 60-41 victory. 
    • The two points ties the program record for fewest points allowed in a quarter. 
Standout Stats
  • Wake Forest owns a 15-6 record against the 49ers all-time, dating back 1976.
    • The Demon Deacons have won 12 of the last 14 matchups against the 49ers.
    • All-time Wake Forest is 4-1 against American Athletic Conference teams.
  • This marks the second 2-0 start in the Gebbia era and the fifth time since the start of the 2019-20 season.
    • Additionally, the Demon Deacons improved to 2-0 or better for the sixth time in the last 10 seasons.
  • The two points 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.
  • Through two games, the Demon Deacons have allowed just 40.5 points per game.
    • This marks the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Deacs have held back-to-back opponents to less than 50 points.
    • Additionally, this marks 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.
  • Defensively, the Demon Deacons forced double-digit turnovers for the 44th time in the last 45 games, with the lone game coming against Syracuse on Jan. 11, 2024.
    • The 45-game stretch goes back to January of 2022.
    • In total, the Deacs forced 24 turnovers against the 49ers, the second time this season that the Deacs have forced 20 or more turnovers.
      • This marks just the second time since 2018-19 that the Demon Deacons have forced 20 or more turnovers in back-to-back games.
From Gebbia 
"That's a good win. A road win and we handled the adversity after a tough first half. Our press was good and we handled their pressure well, but we need to be smarter with our fouls. Tamia and Raegyn played well for us and Raegyn hit some big shots and Tamia really led us in the first half. Everyone that came into the game did their job and played hard. There are some things situationally that we can improve on but this win shows a lot of maturity because we adjusted well throughout the game. Our defense has been great in these first two and we need to keep that effort up going into our next one. I am proud of this group and excited to get back to the gym tomorrow." - Megan Gebbia
 
Up Next
The Demon Deacons continue their road swing as they head up to Philadelphia, Pa. for a matchup with Villanova on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
 
The Deacs are 1-1 all-time against the Wildcats with the win coming in the first round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament.
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