Discovering the Heart of Wake Forest University

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – After more than a week away, the Wake Forest women’s basketball team is ready to welcome Stanford for an inaugural matchup between the two schools this Thursday evening at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons (7-9, 0-5 ACC) are eager to secure their first win of the New Year. In their defeat against Virginia Tech on Sunday, the Deacs overcame a 12-point deficit in the third quarter and managed to take the lead heading into the final period. Senior guard Elise Williams led the team with 15 points, scoring 11 of those during the comeback in the third quarter.

Wake Forest’s early success this season has been driven by solid defensive play, positioning the Deacs in the top 100 nationally, and third in the ACC for scoring defense, allowing an average of just 59.9 points per game this season. Furthermore, the Deacs’ field goal defense is ranked at 118th nationally as they go into Thursday. The Demon Deacons also stand among the top 100 in the nation with an average of 9.5 steals per game.

The Cardinal (9-7, 1-4 ACC) come into this game following their first home defeat of the season against the ranked NC State, falling 81-67. Stanford has yet to achieve a victory away from home this season, holding a solid 9-1 record at Maples Pavilion while struggling with an 0-6 record in true road or neutral matchups. So far this season, the Cardinal have been one of the strongest teams in the nation for three-point shooting, ranking fifth nationally with a 38.5 percent success rate as a team. Senior forward Brooke Demetre leads the impressive three-point shooting lineup, sitting 21st nationally and third in the ACC with a 43.8 three-point conversion rate.

Tipoff for Thursday is slated for 6:00 p.m. (ET) at LJVM Coliseum.

For those unable to attend in person, fans can watch the game on ACC Network Extra. A live statistics feed will be available here for viewers on Thursday. The game can also be listened to on GoDeacs.com/Watch.

Supporters can keep track of the action via the Demon Deacons’ Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).

1K AND COUNTING
Williams reached the milestone of 1,000 points during the regular season home finale against Clemson last year. She began the 2024-25 season ranked 28th in the program’s history with 1,065 points across 99 career games. Thus far this season, Williams has added another 142 points to her tally.

On Thursday night, Williams aims to climb the scoring rankings as she is currently in 19th place and is just seven points shy of surpassing Alice Neal (1985-89) and Alex Tchangoue (2005-09) into 17th place:

Rank	Player	Career Points
14.	Lakevia Boykin (2009-13)	1,309
15.	Elisa Penna (2015-19)	1,269
16.	Brittany Waters (2007-11)	1,267
17.	Alice Neal (1985-89)	1,214
18.	Alex Tchangoue (2005-09)	1,212
19.	Elise Williams (2021-Pres.)	1,207
20.	Barbara Durham (1979-83)	1,203
21.	Sandra Garcia (2009-13)	1,201
22.	Corinne Groves (2005-09)	1,194
23.	Beth Davis (1988-91)	1,172

 
HOME COOKING WITH COWLES 
Malaya Cowles, who led the squad in shooting percentage during the 2023-24 season, achieved an impressive 73-of-126 (57.9 percent) shooting accuracy inside LJVM Coliseum.
 
She is maintaining a similar pace this season, shooting 58.8 percent overall at LJVM Coliseum (40-of-68 FG), including an exceptional 77.8 percent against Queens (7-of-9 FG), 87.5 percent versus Gardner-Webb (7-of-8), and 88.9 percent against Campbell (8-of-9).
 
ASSISTS ON MADE BASKETS
The Deacs have excelled at ball distribution this season, assisting on 225 of 367 made baskets (61.3 pct.). In the last 13 games, the Demon Deacons have aided 185 of 287 successful baskets, equating to 64 percent. 
 
Wake Forest assisted on 21 out of its 27 made baskets (78 percent) against Louisville, the highest number of assists for the team since they notched 24 against Saint Louis on Nov. 20, 2023.
 
Additionally, these 21 assists marked the highest this season by the Deacs and the most against an ACC foe since Jan. 19, 2017, in an 80-77 win over North Carolina. It was the third occasion this season where Wake Forest achieved at least 20 assists, with the first two against Winthrop and Gardner-Webb (each totaling 20).
 
Last season, the Deacs contributed 404 assists on 694 made field goals (58.2 percent). 
 
FORCING TURNOVERS
By forcing the Hokies into 19 turnovers on Sunday, Wake Forest achieved double-digit turnovers for the 57th time out of the last 58 games, with the sole exception being against Syracuse on Jan. 11, 2024. This created 15 points as a result of turnovers.
 
The Deacs previously forced 21 turnovers against Louisville a week earlier, marking the fifth instance this season where Wake Forest caused 20 or more turnovers, recording this for the second consecutive game. This 56-game streak dates back to January 2022. The 21 turnovers tied for the highest in a game this season for Louisville, with the only other occurrence recorded against UT Martin on Nov. 12. Wake Forest tallied 26 points off turnovers against the Cardinals.
 
Against Virginia, Wake Forest forced 20 turnovers, marking the fourth occasion this season that the Deacs have had 20 or more forced turnovers. Overall, the Deacs caused 20 turnovers against George Mason, marking the third occurrence in which the Deacs forced 20 or more turnovers this season. The five matches with 20-plus turnovers forced now surpass the total from last season, where the Deacs had four such matches.
 
In total, the Deacs caused 24 turnovers against the 49ers, the second occurrence of forcing 20 or more turnovers this season. This marks the second time since 2018-19 that the Demon Deacons have generated 20 or more turnovers in back-to-back games.
 
The Deacs forced 26 turnovers against the Royals to kick off the season on Nov. 4, the highest in a match since their victory over BYU on Nov. 18, 2023, resulting in 39 points on the offensive end.
 
In total, the Deacs have forced 20 turnovers on four occasions this season.of the 2023-24 season which were also the four top games with forced turnovers in the Megan Gebbia era:
1. vs. BYU – 25 turnovers forced (Nov. 18, 2023)
2. vs. North Carolina – 24 turnovers forced (Feb. 18, 2024)
T3. at Clemson – 20 turnovers forced (Jan. 28, 2024)

T3. vs. NC A&T – 20 turnovers forced (Nov. 15, 2023)
 
FROM THE LINE
The Demon Deacons have maintained a 75 percent shooting average from the free throw line in seven out of the first 16 matches of the 2024-25 season, with a season-high of 90 percent against Clemson (9-of-10).
 
A significant factor in the success of the Demon Deacons this season has been the remarkable enhancement in free throw performance from Demeara Hinds. She commenced the season with a shooting percentage of only 37.3 percent from the line (38-of-102 FT) and this season has improved nearly 25 percent at the line, hitting 59.3 percent (35-of-59 FT).
 
Elise Williams recorded a career-best 82.8 percent from the line (96-of-116) in 2023-24. Furthermore, she currently ranks seventh in program history regarding career free throw percentage, aided by achieving 22-of-25 from the line this season:
 

Rank	Player	Career FT Percentage
1.	Nicole Levesque (1991-94)	.830
2.	Jewel Spear (2020-23)	.827
3.	Lisa Brookes (1981-84)	.823
4.	Alice Neal (1986-89)	.805
5.	Heidi Coleman (1995-99)	.800
6.	Beth Davis (1989-91)	.792
7.	Elise Williams (2021-Present)	.781
8.	Porsche’ Jones (2004-06)	.778
9.	Ivana Raca (2017-21)	.765
10.	Amber Campbell (2014-18)	.755

 
Last season, Wake Forest realized a notable increase in free throw shooting accuracy, rising from 66.0 percent (343-of-520) in 2022-23 to 73.1 percent (324-of-447) in 2023-24.
 
Not only did the Deacs enjoy a revitalized season at the line last year but also one of the finest in program history:
 

Rank	Single-Season FT Percentage	Year
1.	.753 (461-of-612)	2004-05
2.	.741 (317-of-428)	2020-21
3.	.725 (324-of-447)	2023-24
4.	.724 (397-of-548)	2005-06
5.	.719 (323-of-449)	1993-94
6.	.707 (475-of-672)	1991-92
7.	.694 (279-of-546)	2021-22
8.	.693 (392-of-566)	1985-86
9.	.691 (449-of-650)	1990-91
10.	.686 (374-of-545)	1992-93

 
SHARPSHOOTERS
The Deacs have started strongly from beyond the arc in the 2024-25 season, making 91 three-pointers in the initial 16 games (5.7 3FGM per contest). Additionally, the Deacs entered the game with a shooting percentage of 30.4 percent from three-point range.
 
In total, the 2023-24 Wake Forest team made 204 three-pointers this season, ranking fourth in program history:
 

Rank	Single-Season Threes Made	Year
1.	275	2004-05
2.	227	2022-23
3.	215	2005-06
4.	204	2023-24
5.	195	2021-22

LAST TIME
Wake Forest vs. Virginia Tech (Jan. 12)
Result: L – 54-61

• With 8:49 remaining in the third quarter, the Demon Deacons found themselves down by 12 points to the Hokies, marking the largest deficit of the match. Wake Forest retaliated with a 15-1 run, capturing its first lead since the 8:54 mark of the opening quarter.
• Fueled by 11 points from senior guard Elise Williams in the third quarter, the Deacs took a 46-45 advantage into the final period, yet were unable to secure the win.
  • Williams concluded the evening with a team-high of 15 points, including going 3-of-4 from the free throw line. With her scoring display on Sunday, the Raleigh, N.C. native ascended three positions on the all-time scoring ranking and now occupies 19th position overall with 1,207 career points. She requires just 62 additional points to enter the top 15 in program history.

• Additionally, redshirt junior Malaya Cowles contributed 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while senior guard Raegyn Conley also posted 10 points, successfully making two of the team’s three triples.

SERIES HISTORY
Against Stanford

Series: First encounter

Last: N/A

Result: N/A

• This signifies the inaugural matchup between these two institutions. Wake Forest boasts a 6-2 historical record against teams from the state of California. This is merely the second recognized home game facing a California team, the first being against Cal on Dec. 28, 1999.
• The last occasion Wake Forest contended against a California team occurred on Nov. 29, 2013, when the Demon Deacons faced defeat against No. 20 California at the John Ascuaga’s Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev.

 
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons will finish the weekend at LJVM Coliseum, hosting the nationally-ranked Cal on Sunday afternoon.
 
The tip-off is planned for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
 
Women’s Basketball Tickets
Single-Game Tickets Now Available
Wake Forest women’s basketball single-game tickets are currently available for purchase, beginning at $10 per game.
 
The most effective method to secure your single-game tickets is through GoDeacs.com/tickets or by contacting the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322.
 
4-Packs are also available and are exclusively for Sunday games.