Deacs Fall to Maryland Eastern Shore
The Deacs suffered a season-ending 59-48 loss to the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks in the 1st round of the Women’s NIT. The 20-win Hawks proved to be too much for the Demon Deacons on Thursday night. The Hawks stifled the Deacs on offense and were overwhelming on defense. Despite shooting 93% from the line, Wake Forest only managed 8 points in the 2nd quarter.
Standout Stats
Mary Carter was the star Thursday night for the Deacs. Carter had 19 points on 7-17 shooting with 2-10 from three. Carter also went 3-3 from the line, had 5 rebounds, a steal, and 3 blocks. Opal Bird had 10 points shooting 3-10 from the field and 1-3 from beyond the arc. Bird also had 4 rebounds, a steal, and 2 blocks.
Emily Johns had 8 points shooting 3-6 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. Johns also had 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Grace Galbavy and Aurora Sorbye combined for 11 points on 2-11 from the field and 1-5 from three. The pair did go 6-6 from the line with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Galbavy had an outstanding 5 blocks for the Deacs. Kennedy Moore did not score but had 8 rebounds, an assist, and steal, and a block.
As A Team
The Deacs shot 93% from the free throw line as a team against the Hawks. The Deacs had an incredible 11 blocks as well. Nine of the fifteen made field goals were assisted, good for just under 66%. But it was not enough to overcome the mistakes.
Simply put, the Deacs got dominated on the offensive glass. The Hawks outrebounded the Deacs 18-6 in offensive rebounds. The Hawks also outrebounded the Deacs 44-33 overall. But the killer stat is the 21 turnovers committed by the Deacs. It is very difficult to win a division one basketball game with that many turnovers.
Moving Forward
This was a very difficult year for the Demon Deacons. The Deacs managed only 4 wins in conference play, good for 15th in the standings and the bottom seed in the ACC tournament. The Deacs were then bounced in a 23 point first round loss to Cal. Wake Forest lost 14 of their last 16 games this season.
As far as players go, Emily Johns is the only one that is out of eligibility. Every other player on the roster can be retained. The Deacs have the potential to retain most of their roster, a big factor in a world of poor continuity. It will be another busy offseason for Head Coach Megan Gebbia.

