Wake Forest Drops Road Contest at Duke

DURHAM, N.C. – Despite a strong first half effort that included the Demon Deacons going a perfect 6-for-6 from the three-point line, the Wake Forest women's basketball team fell to Duke, 69-46, inside Cameron Indoor in Durham, N.C. Thursday evening.

The Demon Deacons (4-19, 0-11 ACC) allowed just six points in the first quarter, its fewest allowed in the first quarter this season and tied for the fewest in a single quarter since the third quarter against Clemson on Jan. 28). The Deacs added 19 first-quarter points, tied for the most against an ACC opponent in the first frame this campaign.

In the first half, Duke (15-7, 7-4 ACC) was held to just 20 points, the fewest points allowed in a first half by the Deacs this season. It also marked Duke's second-fewest total in the first half this season and fewest since the game against Louisville on Jan. 4 (19).

Graduate guard Kaia Harrison led the team with her 11th double-digit scoring performance of the season as she finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting in addition to a perfect 4-of-4 mark from the line. The graduate guard entered the game ranked seventh in the conference in free throw percentage (84 percent).

Wake Forest had a balanced attack with eight of the nine players scoring in the first 20 minutes of the game alone. Offensively, it was another strong performance from behind the arc from junior guard Raegyn Conley who splashed in 3-of-3 triples and is shooting a team-best 29-of-74 (39.2 pct.) for the season.

As a team, the Demon Deacons shot an impressive 9-of-13 from behind the arc for the game, marking the highest percentage of the season to this point.

Additionally, over the last three games the Demon Deacons have had their three-best performances from behind the arc as the Deacs have shot a combined 23-of-48 (47.9 pct.) from behind the arc.

How It Happened

After Duke opened the contest taking a 4-0 lead, the Demon Deacons went on a 16-0 run over the span of 3:47 minutes.
- Conley started the scoring for Wake Forest with a three pointer off an assist from Scruggs at the 5:21 mark.
- Scruggs then forced a steal before Williams found Cowles for a layup on the following possession.
- Wake Forest extended its lead with another three from Conley and a pair of free throws from Harrison.
- After a Scruggs free throw, Harrison knocked down a triple with 2:54 to go in the first quarter to make it 14-4.
- Williams ended the 16-0 run with a basket with 1:48 remaining.
After Duke scored its first basket in nearly six minutes, Deeble made it 19-6 and closed out the first-quarter scoring with a corner three from Harrison with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
- It tied Duke fourth-fewest points in a first quarter this season.
- Conley led all scorers with six points and went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
- Wake Forest also forced nine turnovers in the first frame.
Jordyn opened the scoring in the second with a three-pointer at the 9:12 mark.
Andrews ended a 6-0 Duke run with a triple off of a Scruggs assist to make it 25-12.
- Wake Forest knocked down its first six three-point attempts of the contest.
After a pair of threes from the Blue Devils, Scruggs earned her way to the line and went 2-for-2 and closed out the first-half scoring for the Deacs.
Wake Forest led at the break, 27-20.
- The Deacs finished a perfect 6-of-6 from three in the first half with five players making at least one.
- The Demon Deacons had a balanced attack in the opening 20 minutes as eight of the nine players who stepped on the court scored.
- Additionally, the Deacs assisted on all eight field goals in the first half with Cowles, Scruggs and Williams each having a pair of assists.
Duke opened the second half on a 6-0 run before Conley connected on her third triple of the contest at the 6:45 mark.
Williams ended a 14-0 Blue Devil run with a pair of free throws as the Deacs trailed 32-40 with 2:14 to go in the half.
Duke made it 45-32 as the third quarter came to a close.
A perfect trip to the line for Harrison followed by a layup from Cowles made it A 13-point game with 7:49 to go.
- The graduate guard came down the court a few possessions later with a layup.
Williams added another Wake Forest triple at the 5:56 mark before Harrison closed out her scoring with a layup.
Theuerkauf became the seventh Demon Deacon to make a three as she connected on one with 1:45 to go.
Duke defeated Wake Forest, 69-46.

Standout Stats

Wake Forest allowed just six points in the first quarter, its fewest allowed in the first quarter this season and tied for the fewest in a single quarter since the third quarter against Clemson on Jan. 28).
- It was also tied for the fourth-fewest points scored by Duke in a first quarter in its history and fewest since Feb. 1, 2022.
In the first half, Duke was held to just 20 points, the fewest points allowed in a first half by the Deacs this season.
- It also marked Duke's second-fewest total in the first half this season and fewest since the game against Louisville on Jan. 4 (19).
The Deacs added 19 first-quarter points, tied for the most against an ACC opponent in the first frame this campaign.
The Deacs went 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from beyond-the-arc against the Blue Devils, including a perfect 6-for-6 mark in the first half.
- It marked the best three-point percentage in a game for Wake Forest this season.
- Additionally, over the last three games the Demon Deacons have had their three-best performances from behind the arc as the Deacs have shot a combined 23-of-48 (47.9 pct.) from behind the arc.

From Gebbia
"We came out flat in the third quarter after playing really well in the first half on both ends of the floor. We played together in the first half and shot the three well. We didn't do what we needed to do inside of the arc on offense and we didn't play together on defense in the second half. Credit Duke. They responded and leveled up in the second half. Again, we didn't play a full, complete 40-minute game and we need to not just play well for just one half. We need to figure out how to do a job of playing together and we need to stay in the moment to solve the problems on the floor. We had too many turnovers especially in the second half and it's disappointing to lose this one with the way we started and the lead we established with good play on both ends of the floor. Consistency is going to be the key for us in the last stretch of the season and we have seen that we can compete with teams in stretches but we need to finish and play a complete game. The good thing for us is the next three games are at home starting on Sunday." - Megan Gebbia

Next Up
Wake Forest will now return home for a battle with Virginia on Sunday (Jan. 11).

The 2 p.m. tipoff against the Cavaliers will air on ACC Network Extra.

Next Event

Team Stats

Kaia Harrison

Raegyn Conley

Elise Williams

Malaya Cowles

Players Mentioned

Raegyn Conley

Kaia Harrison

Wake Forest Athletics