Wake Forest Earns First ACC Win of the Season

PITTSBURGH – The Wake Forest women's basketball team earned its first ACC win of the season, 65-50, on the road over the Pittsburgh Panthers Thursday night inside the Petersen Events Center. It also marked the first road win for the Demon Deacons of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Demon Deacons (5-22, 1-14 ACC) had one of their most efficient performances from three, as the team finished 10-of-21 from deep (47.6 percent), including five Deacs with at least one triple. It marked the third time this season Wake Forest knocked down double-digit three pointers and second time in ACC play. The only other game with more threes this season came in a 94-66 win over Saint Louis in November.

Redshirt freshman guard Kate Deeble finished a stellar 5-of-5 (100 percent) from beyond-the-arc and 7-of-9 from the floor in addition to an assist. Her five threes are the most by a Demon Deacon this season and most since Feb. 19, 2023. Of note, she is the first Wake Forest player in the HerHoopsStats era (2009-10) to knock down at least five three-pointers without a miss.

The Panthers (8-20, 2-13 ACC) were forced into 15 turnovers Thursday night which resulted in 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Additionally, Wake Forest limited Pitt leading scorer Liatu King in the second half as she was just 2-of-7 from the floor in the final 20 minutes.

Over the last five games, the Deacs have forced 18.2 turnovers per game. Additionally, Wake Forest forced double-digit turnovers for the 37th time in the last 38 games, with the lone game coming against Syracuse on Jan. 11.

Junior guard Elise Williams nearly recorded her third double-double of the season as she totaled 11 points while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds, four assists and season-high four steals.

Additionally, graduate guard Kaia Harrison tallied a team-high five assists to go along with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. As a team, Wake Forest had 16 assists on 22 made baskets (72.7 percent).

How It Happened

Kaia Harrison opened the scoring, finishing a contested layup over several Pitt defenders.
After a Pitt layup evened the score, the Demon Deacons regained the lead on an Alexandria Scruggs free throw.
Pitt scored on the other end, but Wake Forest responded with four unanswered to take an 8-4 lead into the media timeout.
The two sides traded field goals for the remainder of the quarter as Wake Forest held a 13-9 advantage after 10 minutes of action.
- Defensively, the Deacs held the Panthers to just 37.5 percent shooting from the field in the opening period.
Malaya Cowles forced a Pitt offensive foul, before Raegyn Conley drained a triple to start the second quarter.
- Cowles then finished a left-handed layup, and Kate Deeble knocked down a three, giving the Demon Deacons a 21-9 advantage.
The two teams exchanged buckets for the following six minutes of action.
- Deeble made two three-pointers during the span.
Wake Forest held a 32-20 lead with two minutes remaining in the first half.
Deeble nailed her third three of the evening to extend the Demon Deacons' advantage to 15 with just under 90 seconds left in the half.
The Deacs led, 35-24, at the halftime break.
- Individually, Wake Forest was paced by Deeble as she logged a stellar 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
  - Of note, Deeble shot a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Pitt opened the second half on a 6-2 run, but the Demon Deacons responded with a 10-3 spurt to take a 14 point lead.
- Deeble made back-to-back threes, forcing a Pitt timeout.
Wake Forest took a 47-40 advantage into the final period.
After a Pitt triple opened the fourth quarter scoring, Alyssa Andrews drained one of her own.
- The two sides then traded layups, as Wake Forest maintained its seven-point lead at the halfway mark of the final frame.
The Deacs scored five unanswered to go up by 12 with 4:11 minutes left in the contest.
The Demon Deacons knocked down five-consecutive free throws, while holding the Panthers to just two points over the final three minutes of play.
Wake Forest defeated Pitt, 65-50, marking the Demon Deacons' first ACC win of the 2023-24 campaign.

Standout Stats

Kate Deeble set a new career-high and led the Deacs with 20 points on a stellar 5-of-5 clip from beyond the arc and 7-of-9 from the floor in addition to an assist and a plus-15 plus/minus..
- Her five threes are the most by a Demon Deacon this season and most since Feb. 19, 2023.
- Additionally, she is the first Wake Forest player in the HerHoopsStats era (2009-10) to knock down at least five three-pointers without a miss.
The bench added 24 points for the Deacs.
- Wake Forest entered the contest fifth in the ACC in bench points per game with 17.5.
The Demon Deacons knocked down 10 of their 21 three-point attempts.
- It was tied for the second-most three-pointers in a game this season for the Deacs and third time with double-digit triples.

From Gebbia
"This was a big growth step for us, and I am proud of this group. We held down most of the players on their team. Alyssa did a great job defensively and really led us in that area. Overall, this was a huge step on the defensive end of the floor. Kate had a career high with 20 points. We adjusted well to what they did, and we gutted it out on the road. We didn't quit when things didn't go well. We are still not done growing and getting better. Now, we need to keep this going and attack tomorrow to go get another one." - Megan Gebbia

Next Up
Wake Forest continues its week on the road as the Demon Deacons fly down to Atlanta for a Sunday battle at Georgia Tech.

Tipoff against the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and will also air on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Kate Deeble

Kaia Harrison

Elise Williams

Raegyn Conley

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Andrews

Raegyn Conley

Malaya Cowles

Kate Deeble

Kaia Harrison

Alexandria Scruggs

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics