Wake Forest Grabs Second-Consecutive Road Win

ATLANTA – Behind a career-high 31 points from junior guard Elise Williams, the Wake Forest women's basketball team earned its second-consecutive victory, defeating Georgia Tech, 71-66, Sunday evening at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

The victory marked the first time this season that the Demon Deacons (6-22, 2-14 ACC) have won back-to-back games after their win over Pitt on Thursday (Feb. 22). Additionally, Sunday marked the first time the Deacs have won back-to-back ACC games since defeating Louisville and Miami at home on Jan. 26 and Jan. 29, 2023. Sunday also marked the first time Wake Forest has won back-to-back road games in the ACC since beating Georgia Tech and Clemson on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14, 2021.

The Demon Deacons were led by Williams' career-high 31-point outing as she shot a stellar 10-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Williams, a native of Raleigh, added six rebounds and four assists, while going nearly perfect (8-of-9) from the charity stripe.

As a team, Wake Forest shot an impressive 77.8 percent (7-for-9) from the field in the fourth quarter, while assisting on six of the seven made baskets. Overall, the Demon Deacons logged 18 assists on 26 made baskets (69 percent) for the contest. It was the second-highest total this season, trailing just a 24-assist performance against Saint Louis.

Defensively, the Deacs held Georgia Tech (15-14, 6-11 ACC) to just 38.6 percent shooting from the field and 25.8 percent shooting from three-point range. Additionally, the Demon Deacons forced 12 turnovers, which resulted in 21 points off turnovers, marking the 14th-consecutive game Wake Forest has forced an opponent into double-digit turnovers.

In addition to Williams, graduate guard Alexandria Scruggs scored in double figures, notching 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field in the final period. Of note, redshirt sophomore forward Malaya Cowles had an efficient outing, recording a game-high plus/minus of +15.

How It Happened

Georgia Tech made a pair of free throws to open the scoring, before a Malaya Cowles layup evened the ledger.
Just over one minute later, Elise Williams drained a triple on an assist from Kaia Harrison.
The two teams traded layups, as Wake Forest held a 9-6 lead halfway through the opening period.
- Georgia Tech scored five unanswered to take the lead with 2:40 minutes left in the first quarter.
Wake Forest closed the opening frame on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead through 10 minutes of action.
- Individually, the Demon Deacons were paced by Williams who tallied five points, two rebounds and two assists.
The two sides exchanged field goals over the first three minutes of the second quarter.
The Demon Deacons scored five unanswered as Kate Deeble knocked down a three-pointer and Williams made a layup.
After the media timeout, Williams went on a personal 6-0 run, giving the Deacs a 33-18 lead with 2:46 minutes left in the first half.
Georgia Tech closed the half scoring five straight; however, Wake Forest maintained its double-digit lead going into the halftime break.
The Demon Deacons led 33-23 through 20 minutes of action.
- The Yellow Jackets were held to just 35 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Williams had 15 points to lead all scorers through the first 20 minutes, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from three.
Georgia Tech opened the second half scoring five unanswered.
Williams opened the Deacs' second half scoring with a layup at the 7:21 mark.
After a Yellow Jacket free throw cut Wake Forest's lead to four, Williams and Deeble scored consecutive field goals.
Georgia Tech then went on a 7-0 run to pull within one at the media timeout.
The Demon Deacons and the Yellow Jackets traded baskets for the ensuing two minutes.
Georgia Tech led, 46-45, after three quarters of play.
The final period opened as a back-and-forth affair.
- Alexandria Scruggs drained a triple with eight minutes left to tie it up, 50-50.
Deeble made a layup with 5:47 minutes left to give the Demon Deacons a 54-53 lead.
- Of note, Deeble's layup sparked a 10-2 Wake Forest run.
Georgia Tech then went on a 6-2 spurt to cut its deficit to five with just over one minute remaining in the contest.
Wake Forest knocked down several free throws to close the game.
The Demon Deacons defeated the Yellow Jackets, 71-66.

Standout Stats

Elise Williams had a career-high 31-point outing, shooting a stellar 10-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
- Williams, a native of Raleigh, added six rebounds and four assists, while going nearly perfect (8-of-9) from the charity stripe.
- It marked her 14th game this season with double-digit points, ninth in ACC play and second consecutive game.
Sunday marked the first time this season that the Demon Deacons have won back-to-back games.
- Additionally, it marked the first time that the Deacs have won back-to-back ACC games since defeating Louisville and Miami at home on Jan. 26 and Jan. 29, 2023 and the first time Wake Forest has won back-to-back road games in the ACC since beating Georgia Tech and Clemson on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14, 2021.
The Demon Deacons were efficient at all three levels:
- 26-of-48 FG (54.2 pct.)
- 7-of-17 3FG (41.2 pct.)
- 12-of-15 FT (80.0 pct.)
The Demon Deacons recorded 18 assists on 26 made baskets (69.2 percent) versus the Yellow Jackets.
- This season, the Deacs have assisted 359 of 611 made field goals (58.8 percent). This matches the same percentage from last season and ranks in the 72nd percentile.
- Additionally, the 18 assists were the second most this season, trailing just the Saint Louis win when the Deacs had 24 assists.

From Gebbia
"We're on a win streak now and have won back-to-back on the road. I am so proud of this group. We did what we needed to: 50-40-80 shooting. When they went on a run, we didn't panic and made the plays that we needed to. We can clean up how we played in the third, but I am happy on how we responded. Now, can we keep doing this. We have momentum. We were playing tired on the road and we made plays. Elise (Williams) with a career high 31 points and she was huge for us all game long. Alex (Scruggs) had some big threes at timely points in the game. I cannot express how proud I am of this group. They kept fighting all year and now we are seeing the hard work pay off with big wins. Now, the challenge is to keep it going Thursday at home against a good Clemson team." - Megan Gebbia

Next Up
Wake Forest is back at home for the penultimate game of the regular season and the final home game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Thursday night against Clemson.

The 6:00 p.m. Leap Day tipoff against the Tigers will also air on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Elise Williams

Alexandria Scruggs

Kate Deeble

Raegyn Conley

Players Mentioned

Malaya Cowles

Kate Deeble

Kaia Harrison

Alexandria Scruggs

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics