Four Deacs Reach Double Figures as Wake Forest Falls in Overtime to Florida State

Sunday, March 1

Winston-Salem, N.C.

4 p.m.

Wake Forest University

14-16,4-14ACC

Florida State

10-20,5-13ACC

OT 1

Florida St.

Wake Forest

Four Deacs Reach Double Figures as Wake Forest Falls in Overtime to Florida State

3/1/2026 7:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Demon Deacons will now turn their attention to postseason play, as Wake Forest begins ACC Tournament action on Wednesday facing Cal with tipoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

By: Stephen Czarda and Andrew Kovar

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite four Demon Deacons reaching double figures on the afternoon including a third-straight 20-point game from sophomore forward Grace Oliver, Wake Forest women's basketball (14-16, 4-14 ACC) fell in overtime to Florida State (10-20, 5-13 ACC) by a final of 77-74 on Sunday evening.

Oliver reached the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season, as the Norwell, Mass., native finished the game with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting along with making all three of the Deacs' free throws.

Junior forward/guard Mary Carter finished the game 16 points while going 4-of-9 from three-point territory. Over the last three games of the regular season, the Rocklin, Calif., native has made 11 threes while scoring 12 or more in each contest.

Freshman forward Opal Bird matched her season-high in points with 10, as the Australian also contributed five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Sophomore guard Aurora Sørbye, meanwhile, dished out a career-high eight assists while matching a personal-best six rebounds along with seven points.

As a team, Wake Forest scored 16 fastbreak points to Florida State's two while forcing the Seminoles into 15 turnovers.

Additionally, the Demon Deacons assisted on 21 baskets in the game, becoming the second team in program history to reach 500 assists in a single season. Wake Forest has recorded 516 assists (17.2 assists/game) which is 48 assists away from breaking the program record.

Prior to tip, Wake Forest honored graduate forward Emily Johns as part of the program's annual Seniors & Graduates Day festivities.

How It Happened

Florida State won the opening tip as the Demon Deacons forced the Seminoles into a miss on their first offensive possession.
- On the other end, Mary Carter swished a corner three for the first points of the game.
- A well executed reverse layup by Grace Oliver pushed the early Wake Forest lead to 5-2.
The Deacs continued their early perfect start from the field, as Emily Jones – who was honored pregame on Seniors & Graduates Day – connected on a layup.
- Wake pushed its lead to 16-7 as Milan Brown fought through traffic and delivered at the rim before Carter nailed her second three of the opening quarter.
- Following a Seminole offensive foul, Aurora Sørbye became the fifth Demon Deacon to score in the first five minutes.
Florida State went on an 8-0 run to cut the Wake Forest lead down to one, 16-15, before Grace Oliver disconnected from her defender to convert at the rim.
At the end of the first quarter, Wake led 21-19.
After a 9-0 run by Florida State to begin the second quarter, Opal Bird ended the scoring drought by burying an open three.
Tremendous ball movement by the Deacs led to a Sørbye corner three to make it a 30-29 game.
Bird continued to attack inside, leading to back-to-back baskets to once again put Wake within one, 34-33.
- Wake would regain the lead at 36-33, as Carter pushed the Deacs' run to 7-0 on her third three of the game. Carter was the first player in the contest to reach 10-plus points and has reached a double-digit scoring total for the third game in a row.
Oliver was fouled on a layup and converted her and-one attempt to join Carter in double figures at 10.
The Demon Deacons led at the break, 39-37.
Florida State opened the second half on a 6-0 run, before Oliver slipped the interior defender to pull Wake back within two, 43-41.
- Oliver then pump faked her defender to create space for a mid-range jumper.
- The Demon Deacons remained within one as Brown drove through the heart of the defense to deliver on her second field goal.
Carter knotted the score at 49 all on a pullup jumper before Oliver put the Deacs back in front.
- Sørbye collected her eighth assist of the contest, setting a new career high.
- Brown then extended Wake Forest's lead to 53-49.
Florida State led at the end of the third quarter, 54-53.
Oliver connected on a pair of free throw attempts to open the fourth quarter, as she reached the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season and the third-straight contest.
- Carter then made her fourth three of the game to pull Wake back even, 58-58.
Brown corralled an offensive board and beat the clock on a reverse layup to once again at 60 all.
Bird pushed Wake Forest back in front with a three to make it 63-62 as she matched her career-high for points with 10.
Wake's lead grew to 65-62 as Johns made Florida State's defense pay for leaving her open at the elbow.
Florida State took a 66-65 lead with 17.3 seconds remaining before the Seminoles made one-of-two free throws to make it a two-point game with 6.4 left.
- Johns converted on a layup to tie the game with five seconds left in regulation before forcing FSU into a turnover on the ensuing inbounds.
- Wake would also be forced into a turnover and the Seminoles missed a game-winning three pointer to send the game into overtime.
Florida State scored the first points of overtime on a three to make it 70-67.
- Oliver would respond with a three of her own to tie the game with 2:11 in the overtime frame.
Brown once again made a tough shot at the rim to cut Florida State's lead to one, 73-72, with just 19.7 seconds remaining.
The Seminoles made a pair of free throws to make it 75-72 with 16.3 left.
Florida State would win by a final of 77-74.

Standout Stats

Posting her fourth 20-plus point game in five games, sophomore forward Grace Oliver scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting along with making all three of the Deacs' free throws.
- The Norwell, Mass.-native leads the ACC with a .603 FG percentage and ranks 10th in the NCAA.
Wake Forest finished with 21 assists on 31 made baskets for the contest (68.4 percent). In 29 games this season, the Demon Deacons have totaled 516 assists on 754 field goals (68.5 percent) which would mark the highest percentage in a single season within the Megan Gebbia era.
The Demon Deacons are averaging 17.2 assists, tied for second in the ACC with Duke and behind only Virginia's 17.5. Additionally, the Deacs are on pace to have the second-most assists in program history and the 17.2 assists per game currently ranks fourth in program history:

Season	Total Assists	Total Games	Assists/G
1987-88	563	31	18.2
1988-89	484	28	17.3
1986-87	466	27	17.3
2025-26	516	30	17.2
1989-90	469	28	16.8

The Deacs 516 assists this season is now ranked second most in school history:

Rank	Total Assists	Year
1.	563	1987-88
2.	516	2025-26
3.	489	2004-05
4.	488	1989-90
5.	484	1988-89

From Gebbia
"This wasn't our best game. But now is the time to take a deep breath, put the regular season behind us and come out tomorrow as a new season. We need to come with a raised focus and mentality in the postseason. We just had some costly things especially down the stretch that would have changed the outcome. We needed to do the 50-50 things better, boxing out, diving on the floor and just doing the little things. If we can do those things, I am really excited for what this team can do in the postseason. Short turnaround before we play a good Cal team on Wednesday in the first round." - Megan Gebbia

Up Next
The No. 15 seed Demon Deacons will begin postseason play on Wednesday afternoon, facing No. 10 seed Cal at 1:30 p.m. in a matchup that will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.

The ACC Tournament runs from March 4-8 and for the first season will be played at GasSouth Arena in Duluth, Ga.

Wake Forest has had memorable runs in recent history, reaching the quarterfinal round in the 2020, 2021 and 2023 ACC Tournaments and has won at least one game in the tournament in each of the last five tournament appearances.