Thursday, January 1
Pittsburgh, PA
6 p.m.
Wake Forest University
12-3,2-1ACC
74
at
55
Pitt
7-9,0-3ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Wake Forest
14
21
15
24
74
Pittsburgh
21
14
5
15
55
Deacs Begin New Year with Dominant Win at Pitt, 74-55
1/1/2026 8:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Wake Forest women’s basketball team has started 2-1 in conference play with a near 20-point win at Pitt Thursday night.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Behind an all-around team effort including 26 assists, the Wake Forest women's basketball team claimed its second win of ACC play, defeating Pitt, 74-55, Thursday night at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
For the second game in a row, the Demon Deacons (12-3, 2-1 ACC) shared the ball at an elite rate, assisting on 26 of the 29 made baskets in the win over the Panthers (7-8, 0-2 ACC). In the last two games, Wake Forest has tallied 53 assists and over the course of the season, the Demon Deacons are averaging 18.40 assists per game, second in the ACC behind Virginia's 19.08.
The Deacs were led in that category by freshman forward Opal Bird. The Sydney, Australia native tallied a career-high nine assists to go along in a near double-double effort. Bird also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as well as contributing six points, two blocks and two steals.
Sophomore forward Grace Oliver, who had a program and ACC record-breaking performance in the last outing against Gardner-Webb going a perfect 14-of-14 from the field, had another strong start to her game on Thursday. The sophomore from Norwell, Mass. made her first six baskets of the game and finished as the Demon Deacons' leading scorer in the game.
Oliver ended the game with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting while also adding four rebounds and two assists to her stat line.
For the second-straight game, the Deacs knocked down double-digit threes, hitting 10 on Thursday night. They were led by junior guard/forward Mary Carter, who had four threes in the game, while junior forward Madisyn Jordan went a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Wake Forest women's basketball team has started 2-1 in conference play.
How It Happened
Standout Stats
"What a second half. Entering a conference game when we haven't played in a long time, I knew the first quarter was going to look a little bit rough, and Pitt came out well. Almost every game I watched, they've come out and scored the ball well, but it didn't seem to rattle us. We collected ourselves in the second quarter, came back, tied it right and then came out of the second half the right way. We kept the lead for the most part. Overall, a lot of good stuff on the stat sheet." - Megan Gebbia
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return home for the first time in the New Year when they play host to Syracuse on Sunday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
For the second game in a row, the Demon Deacons (12-3, 2-1 ACC) shared the ball at an elite rate, assisting on 26 of the 29 made baskets in the win over the Panthers (7-8, 0-2 ACC). In the last two games, Wake Forest has tallied 53 assists and over the course of the season, the Demon Deacons are averaging 18.40 assists per game, second in the ACC behind Virginia's 19.08.
The Deacs were led in that category by freshman forward Opal Bird. The Sydney, Australia native tallied a career-high nine assists to go along in a near double-double effort. Bird also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as well as contributing six points, two blocks and two steals.
Sophomore forward Grace Oliver, who had a program and ACC record-breaking performance in the last outing against Gardner-Webb going a perfect 14-of-14 from the field, had another strong start to her game on Thursday. The sophomore from Norwell, Mass. made her first six baskets of the game and finished as the Demon Deacons' leading scorer in the game.
Oliver ended the game with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting while also adding four rebounds and two assists to her stat line.
For the second-straight game, the Deacs knocked down double-digit threes, hitting 10 on Thursday night. They were led by junior guard/forward Mary Carter, who had four threes in the game, while junior forward Madisyn Jordan went a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Wake Forest women's basketball team has started 2-1 in conference play.
How It Happened
- The squads traded points in the opening stages of the game.
- Sophomore forward Grace Oliver found freshman guard Milan Brown at the net to take Wake Forest's first lead of the night, 10-9, at the 5:34 mark.
- Fresh off the bench, freshman guard Caitlyn Jones collected a rebound and tabbed a jumper in the paint to bring Wake Forest back within a basket at 3:28.
- The Demon Deacons trailed Pitt, 14-21 at the end of the first quarter.
- Freshman Opal Bird posted the Deacs' first bucket of the second quarter with a driving layup to keep the Panthers' lead under 10.
- A layup from Oliver began a 7-0 scoring run for Wake Forest to battle back.
- The sophomore made it 21-25 with a soaring three at the 5:52 mark.
- Brown brought it within two with over five minutes remaining in the quarter.
- Wake Forest tied the contest up at 27-27 with a driving layup from Brown.
- Carter drained her first three of the night to take a one-point lead at the 3:14 mark.
- Sophomore guard Aurora Sørbye knocked down three from the arc to make it 35-33.
- The Demon Deacons closed the first half tied, 35-35 with the Panthers.
- Carter and Sørbye drained back-to-back threes out of the gate to begin the second half.
- Wake Forest maintained its lead with 7-0 run in the latter half of the third quarter, spurred by a layup from Oliver.
- Carter made it 48-40 with three off a Panther turnover.
- With 1:47 to go, Brown worked two in the paint.
- The Deacs lead Pitt, 50-40, to begin the final quarter.
- Sørbye went 2-for-2 at the line to open the final stretch.
- Carter nailed a three-point jumper to spur a 9-0 stretch for Wake Forest.
- Junior guard Madisyn Jordan tabbed one of her own to make it 58-46.
- Sophomore forward Kennedy Moore went 2-for-2 at the line to extend the Deacs' lead to 64-46 with 4:53 to go.
- With 1:32 to go, Jones posted a perfect trip to the line to make it 71-53.
- A jumper from the arc from Jordan closed out the victory for the Demon Deacons, as they defeated the Panthers 74-53.
Standout Stats
- Wake Forest tallied 26 total assists on the night on 29 made baskets (89.7 percent), marking the most assists in a single game in the Gebbia era and the most since at least 2009-10. In 15 games this season, the Demon Deacons have totaled 276 assists on 386 field goals (71.5 percent) which would mark the highest percentage in the Megan Gebbia era.
- The Demon Deacons are averaging 18.4 assists per game, second in the ACC behind Virginia's 19.08.
- For the second game in a row, Wake Forest hit double-digit threes, knocking down 10 after having a season-high 11 threes against Gardner-Webb in the non-conference finale.
- So far this season, the Demon Deacons have knocked down 95 threes (6.3 3FG per game).
- Sophomore forward Grace Oliver, who had a program and ACC record-breaking performance in the last outing against Gardner-Webb, going a perfect 14-of-14 from the field, had another strong start to her game on Thursday. The sophomore from Norwell, Mass. made her first six baskets of the game and finished as the Demon Deacons' leading scorer in the game.
- Oliver ended the game with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting while also adding four rebounds and two assists to her stat line.
- Across 15 games, Oliver is first in the ACC with a .641 field goal percentage.
- Oliver ended the game with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting while also adding four rebounds and two assists to her stat line.
- Freshman forward Opal Bird collected a season-high 10 rebounds and a season-high nine assists in a near double-double.
- The Newport, Australia-native also added six points, two steals and two blocks to her stat line.
"What a second half. Entering a conference game when we haven't played in a long time, I knew the first quarter was going to look a little bit rough, and Pitt came out well. Almost every game I watched, they've come out and scored the ball well, but it didn't seem to rattle us. We collected ourselves in the second quarter, came back, tied it right and then came out of the second half the right way. We kept the lead for the most part. Overall, a lot of good stuff on the stat sheet." - Megan Gebbia
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return home for the first time in the New Year when they play host to Syracuse on Sunday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
WF
UP
FG%
.500
.343
3FG%
.417
.211
FT%
.667
.750
RB
41
37
TO
12
10
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballFootball Media Availability (12/23/25)
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Wake Forest Women's Basketball Highlights vs Gardner-Webb (Dec. 22, 2025)
Monday, December 22
Steve Forbes - Postgame Presser vs. Vanderbilt
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Steve Forbes - Postgame Presser vs. Longwood
Thursday, December 18