Demon Deacons Fall at No. 9 NC State

RALEIGH, N.C – The Wake Forest women's basketball team dropped its final road contest of the season to No. 9 NC State, 78-57, Thursday evening inside the James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons (9-19, 2-15 ACC) finished 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the line against the Wolfpack (23-5, 15-2 ACC), tied for the second-most makes in a game this season.

Raleigh native and redshirt senior guard Elise Williams continued to add to her storied career. With four rebounds in the game, Williams now has 500 career rebounds.

She is now just the second player in program history to record over 1,250 career points, over 500 career rebounds, over 300 career assists and over 250 career steals. The only other Demon Deacon to do this was Amy Privette (1983-87).

In addition to her rebounding total, Williams pitched in 13 points while also leading the team with six assists in the game.

Redshirt junior forward Malaya Cowles recorded her 14th double-figure scoring game of the season, posting a team-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

For the second time in her career, senior guard Raegyn Conley pulled down double-digit rebounds, tying her career high with 12 boards in the road loss. Conley also finished the night with eight points and a pair of threes. The senior has made at least one three in 12 of her last 13 outings.

Behind a strong night at the free throw line, redshirt senior forward Demeara Hinds finished the night with nine points and 10 rebounds, nearly posting her fifth career double-double and third of her career.

With the defeat, the Demon Deacons are now officially eliminated from making next week's ACC Tournament.

How It Happened

After the Wolfpack jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Williams got the Demon Deacons going with a driving layup at the 5:48 mark.
Conley connected on the first Wake Forest triple of the night with 4:29 remaining in the first quarter off of a Williams assist.
Sørbye got on the board with a layup just before the first media timeout of the evening..
Wake Forest went on a 7-0 run towards the end of the first quarter and cut the deficit to four (18-14) with 54 seconds to go in the quarter.
- Cowles made back-to-back baskets before Williams connected from deep.
The Demon Deacons went into the second quarter trialing the Wolfpack, 21-14.
- Williams led the Deacs over the first 10 minutes with five points and two assists.
Theuerkauf converted on a tough three-point play at the beginning of the second quarter.
Hinds opened her account with a layup as Williams recorded another assist at the 5:24 mark.
With under a minute to go in the first half, Williams made a perfect trip to the line and closed out the first-half scoring for Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons went into the locker room trailing, 48-24.
Wake Forest struck first in the second half as Williams found Hinds in the paint for an open layup.
The Deacs went on another 7-0 in the middle of the third quarter, highlighted by a Theuerkauf triple at the 5:05 mark.
Hinds made a couple trips to the free throw line towards the end of the third and went a perfect 4-for-4.
Wake Forest trailed headed into the fourth, 64-37.
Cowles and Williams collected the first field goals for the Deacs in the fourth quarter as both surpassed 10 points on the night.
Williams knocked down another baseline jumper with just under four minutes remaining.
With just over two minutes left, Conley made her second three of the game in the corner.
Sørbye added two more from the line.
Cowles closed out the scoring with a layup in the final seconds.
Wake Forest fell to NC State, 78-57.

Standout Stats

Redshirt senior guard Elise Williams reached 500 career rebounds with four against the Wolfpack.
- She is now just the second player in program history to record over 1,250 career points, over 500 career rebounds, over 300 career assists and over 250 career steals. The only other Demon Deacon to do this was Amy Privette (1983-87).
- In addition to her rebounding total, Williams pitched in 13 points while also leading the team with six assists in the game.
Redshirt junior forward Malaya Cowles recorded her 14th double-figure scoring game of the season, posting a team-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.
Senior guard Raegyn Conley has made at least one three-pointer in 12 of her last 13 games with two against NC State.
- Conley also tied a career-high with 12 rebounds and finished the night with eight points.
Wake Forest outscored NC State in the final quarter of play, 20-14, and ended the game on a 12-1 run.
The Demon Deacons finished 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the line against the Wolfpack, tied for the second-most makes in a game this season.

From Gebbia
"We needed to start the game better to have a different outcome but we won the second half and we kept fighting throughout the entire game. We got to the line more than them, had more rebounds and points in the paint than them on the road. Raegyn had a great day on the boards finishing with a career high 12 rebounds. Demeara played well in the post almost finishing with a double-double. Elise with six assists and 13 points were huge for us. We held them to just 20 points in the paint and we forced them to make shots from the perimeter which they did. I am happy with all of those positives and there is plenty to build on going into an emotional Senior Day Sunday at The Joel. I want to send these seniors off on a positive note." - Megan Gebbia

Up Next
The Demon Deacons play their final home game of the season Sunday when they host Pitt on Senior & Graduates Day. Prior to the game the Demon Deacons will honor the five-player senior class on the floor.

Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

Next Event

Team Stats

Malaya Cowles

Elise Williams

Demeara Hinds

Raegyn Conley

Players Mentioned

Raegyn Conley

Malaya Cowles

Demeara Hinds

Elise Williams

Wake Forest Athletics