PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Wake Forest women’s basketball team hits the road for the first of two games away from home this week as the Deacs face Pitt Thursday night at Petersen Events Center.
 
The Demon Deacons (4-22, 0-14 ACC) will be looking for their second-highest NET win of the season and Quad-3 win as Pitt currently sits at No. 153 in the latest release of the ranking. The Deacs are looking to continue their winning ways against the Panthers, holding a record of 8-5 including 3-2 in Pittsburgh. Wake Forest has navigated one of the most difficult schedules in the country, as the Deacs’ average opponent NET now ranks second nationally with only UConn having played a more challenging schedule.
 
The Panthers (8-19, 2-12 ACC) are coming off their second win in conference play this season, defeating Clemson on the road Sunday by a final score of 72-57. Both of their ACC wins this season have come on the road. Additionally, they have a home ACC losing streak of nine-straight games dating back to last season when they beat Boston College on Feb. 16, 75-64. Pitt comes into the game 48th nationally with 4.3 blocks per game and are led by All-ACC candidate Liatu King. She is ninth in the country with 15 double-double performances as she averaged 18.6 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game. King ranks second in the league and top-25 nationally in rebounding.
 
Tipoff for Thursday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at LJVM Coliseum. 
 
For those not at the arena, fans can tune in to ACC Network Extra for Thursday’s game. A live stats feed can be found here for Thursday. You can also listen to the game on GoDeacs.com/Watch.
 
Fans can follow along via the Demon Deacons Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts (@WakeWBB).
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Over the course of the season, the Demon Deacons have navigated one of the toughest schedules in the country as the Deacs currently sit at No. 2 in the Average Opponent NET Rank metric in the country. This includes 10 games against NET top-50 teams and 20 teams in the NET top-100:
            NCAA Average Opponent NET Rank
            1. UConn
            2. Wake Forest
            3. Stanford
            4. Maryland
            5. NC State
Additionally since the start of conference play, all but four teams that Wake Forest has played were either ranked or receiving votes in the AP Poll.
 
The strong schedule has seen Wake Forest rise 15 spots overall in the NET rankings since the start of conference play.
 
TAKE IT AWAY
Wake Forest has 10 more steals in back-to-back games, for the third time in the last four games and the ninth time overall this season, averaging 10.5 steals per game over the last four games.

• at Duke 
• vs Virginia       
  • Nine Steals
• vs Florida St.   
• vs North Carolina

 
Kate Deeble has been a catalyst on the defensive end of the floor, recording a career-high five steals against North Carolina. It helped lead the Demon Deacons to 24 turnovers, which was the most turnovers in the Courtney Banghart era and the most since the 2018-19 season when North Carolina turned it over 27 times against Auburn on Dec. 20, 2018.
 
ELISE’S HISTORIC PERFORMANCES
Junior guard Elise Williams recorded her third-career double-double as she notched 14 points and 10 rebounds in addition to seven assists against Boston College. It marked the first double-double by a Demon Deacon since Demeara Hinds against Morgan State last season on March 16, 2023. 
 
Additionally, it was just the third 14-10-7 or better game in the Her Hoops Stats era (2009-10) by a Wake Forest player and first since Dearica Hamby against Pitt on March 5, 2014. 
 

Player	Date	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Elise Williams	Jan. 18, 2024	14	10	7
Dearica Hamby	March 5, 2014	25	16	8
Brittany Waters	Feb. 27, 2011	20	11	7

 
Aginasint Georgia Tech, she followed that up with another historic night and her second double-double of the season. Williams led the Deacs with 23 points and 11 rebounds along with three assists and one steal.
 
It marked the first 20-point/10-rebound performance by a Wake Forest player since Feb. 24, 2022 against Syracuse. Additionally, it was the first 23-plus point and 11-plus rebound game by a Wake Forest player since Ivana Raca in a 83-73 win over North Carolina on March 4, 2020.
 
Williams led the team with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals against Florida State Thursday.
 
She became the fifth Demon Deacon in the HerHoopsStats era (2009-10) to record that statline (17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals) and first since Gina Conti on Nov. 28, 2020. It also marked her 11th game this season with double-digit points and sixth time in ACC play.
 
Since the start of ACC play, Williams leads the team with 11.2 points per game while also averaging 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. 
 
She has played her best at home during conference play this season, averaging almost 10.0 points per game better than when the Demon Deacons play on the road in conference play. Averaging 17.0 points per game, Williams has shot the three-ball at nearly 42 percent and is the Decs leading scorer in conference play.
 
COWLES GETS IT GOING
Malaya Cowles finished the night with 10 points and tied a three rebounds, one assist and one block. It was her fifth game this season with 10-or-more points, all of which have been at home.
 
Additionally, she has shot a stellar 70-of-120 (58.3 percent) from the floor while inside LJVM Coliseum.

• 8-of-12 vs. Wofford
• 2-of-2 vs. NC A&T
• 10-of-13 vs. Villanova
• 2-of-4 vs. Texas A&M
• 9-of-13 vs. Charlotte
• 3-of-9 vs. Norfolk State
• 5-of-5 vs. Marshall
• 1-of-2 vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech
• 6-of-11 vs. Syracuse
• 6-of-7 vs. No. 19 Notre Dame
• 2-of-5 vs. Miami
• 3-of-8 vs. Georgia Tech
• 1-of-6 vs. Virginia
• 7-of-12 vs. Florida State
• 5-of-12 vs. North Carolina

Her single-season field goal percentage is one of the highest in program history, ranking 10th:

• FIELD GOAL PCT. (minimum 50 attempts)
  • 1. Lisa Dodd 1987-88 .647
  • 2. Ona Udoh 2019-20 .623
  • 3. Jenny Mitchell 1988-89 .616
  • 4. Jenny Mitchell 1990-91 .610
  • 5. Jenny Mitchell 1989-90 .606
  • 6. Ona Udoh 2018-19 .587
  • 7. Jenny Mitchell 1987-88 .572
  • 8. Lisa Dodd 1986-87 .567
  • T9. Alice Neal 1986-87 .563
  • T9. Malaya Cowles 2023-24 .563

 
SCRUGGS MAKING MOST OF SENIOR SEASON
Alexandria Scruggs made her 143rd appearance in a Wake Forest uniform Thursday, adding to her program-record that she set in the previous game against No. 13 Virginia Tech. Additionally against Boston College, Kaia Harrison solely moved into second place in the all-time games played list:
 
RK      Name                           Years               Games Played
1.         Alexandria Scruggs     2019-Pres.        143
2.         Kaia Harrison             2019-Pres.        139
3.         Lakevia Boykin             2009-13            130 
4.         Brooke Thomas             2008-12            129 
            Dearica Hamby             2011-15            129
            Milan Quinn                 2013-17            129 
            Amber Campbell           2014-18            129 
8.         Secily Ray                    2008-12            128 
            Sandra Garcia               2009-13            128 
10.       Chelsea Douglas           2010-14            126 
 
Through 25 games she leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per game, her highest average of her career by nearly 1.0 rebounds per game.
 
ASSISTS ON MADE BASKETS
The Demon Deacons recorded nine assists on 18 made baskets (50.0 percent) versus the Tar Heels.
 
This season, the Deacs have assisted 325 of 563 made field goals (57.7 percent). This matches the same percentage from last season and ranks in the 72nd percentile.
 
FORCING TURNOVERS
Defensively, the Demon Deacons forced double-digit turnovers for the 36th time in the last 37 games, with the lone game coming against Syracuse on Jan. 11. The 37-game stretch goes back to January of 2022. In total, the Deacs forced 24 turnovers against North Carolina.
 
This was the most turnovers in the Courtney Banghart era and the most since the 2018-19 season when North Carolina turned it over 27 times against Auburn on Dec. 20, 2018. Additionally, Wake Forest forced All-ACC Deja Kelly into a career-high eight turnovers.
 
In total, the Deacs forced 18 turnovers against Duke, the second-most forced turnovers in an ACC game by Wake Forest this season and most since the 20 against Clemson on Jan. 28.
 
This included 13 turnovers in the first half alone which resulted in 11 points on the other end in the opening 20 minutes.
 
In total, the Deacs forced 20 turnovers by Clemson. This included nine steals from five different players.
The 20 turnovers are the second-highest total forced in ACC play both this season and during the Gebbia era as well as tied for the third-highest total this season, marking the most since forcing 25 in the opening game of the North Shore Showcase against BYU:
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)
 
The Demon Deacons forced 15 Florida State turnovers, despite the Seminoles coming into the game averaging only 11.2 per game.
 
Of note, Florida State came in ranked top-10 in the country in turnover offense. Additionally, the Deacs won the turnover battle, despite the Seminoles averaging a +4.2 turnover margin over their first 13 games of the season. 
 
Against Villanova, the Demon Deacons turned the Wildcats over a season-high 10 times in the game as Villanova came into the contest second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Prior to that, Wake Forest forced 19 Saint Louis turnovers, the second-most the Billikens had committed in a single game this season and it resulted in 20 points on the other end for the Demon Deacons.
 
In the Deacs’ game against BYU, they forced 26 turnovers, marking the most since January 22, 2017 against Georgia Tech when the Demon Deacons also forced 26 turnovers in the game.  Additionally, it was the first time since December 18 and 21, 2017 against Charlotte and College of Charleston that Wake Forest has produced 20 or more opponent turnovers in back-to-back games. It marked the first time since March 16, 2017 (Washington State) that a Power-5 team had forced BYU into 26 or more turnovers.
 
FROM THE LINE
Graduate guard Kaia Harrison went 4-of-4 from the free throw line Thursday against Florida State. Overall this season, Harrison is 75-of-89 (84.3 pct.), ranking fourth in the ACC and 72nd nationally in free throw percentage.
 
Junior Elise Williams is averaging a career-best 80.8 percent from the stripe (59-of-73) this season. She is now ranked ninth in program history in career free throw percentage:
 

Rank	Player	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.	Porsche’ Jones (2004-06)	.778
8.	Ivana Raca (2017-21)	.765
9.	Elise Williams (2021-Present)	.763
10.	Amber Campbell (2014-18)	.755

 
Through 26 games this season, Wake Forest has seen a massive uptick in free throw shooting percentage, going from 66.0 percent (343-of-520) last season to 72.8 percent (262-of-360) this season.
 
On Sunday, the team went 10-of-13 from the charity stripe (76.9 percent). This is the 11th time in the last 12 games the Demon Deacons have shot 70 percent or better.
LAST TIME
Wake Forest vs. North Carolina (Feb. 18)
Result: L, 50-58

• The Demon Deacons defense held North Carolina to an ACC-low 58 points as Wake Forest nearly came out on top, falling 58-50. It was the fewest points the Tar Heels had scored since scoring 58 in a loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 30.
• In total, the Deacs forced 24 turnovers against North Carolina. This was the most turnovers in the Courtney Banghart era and the most since the 2018-19 season when North Carolina turned it over 27 times against Auburn on Dec. 20, 2018.
• Additionally, Wake Forest forced All-ACC Deja Kelly into a career-high eight turnovers.
• Wake Forest was led on the defensive end by another impressive performance from redshirt freshman guard Kate Deeble. The Brisbane, Australia native finished the night with a career-high five steals, accounting for half of the 10 Demon Deacon steals on the night.

SERIES HISTORY
Versus Pitt
Series: Wake Forest leads 8-5
Last Time: December 29, 2022
Result: W, 66-51

• Wake Forest jumped out to an early advantage and remained in control for nearly the entire game against the Panthers. The Deacs limited Pitt to 34.5 percent shooting from the field and just 1-of-10 from behind the three-point arc. The Demon Deacons came into the game ranked 30th in the country in field goal percentage defense. Additionally, the Demon Deacons forced Pitt to turn the ball over 20 times in the game leading to 17 points off turnovers on the offensive end of the floor.
• The defensive effort was led by sophomore guard Elise Williams who finished the night with a career-best six steals and the Deacs finished the game with a season-best 11 steals as a team.
• The Demon Deacons shot a season-best 94.7 percent from the charity stripe and knocked down a season-best 18 free throws. It is the most free throws made in a single game since Feb. 13, 2022 when the Deacs defeated Virginia.

UP NEXT
Wake Forest continues its week on the road as the Demon Deacons fly down to Atlanta for a Sunday battle at Georgia Tech.
 
Tipoff against the Yellowjackets is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and will also air on ACC Network Extra.