Last Thursday, the Wake Forest women’s basketball team had a chance to snap their six-game losing skid against ACC rival Virginia at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum. Unfortunately, the Demon Deacons were unable to secure the victory, falling 109-103 in a triple overtime affair.
Considering the Deacons’ recent record as well as the Cavaliers’ level of play, a loss of this magnitude isn’t completely detrimental to the team’s future success. In fact, there were several bright spots that fans may be content with.
After a shaky first half that left the Demon Deacons struggling to keep up with the Cavaliers, a strong start to the third gave Wake Forest some much-needed life. Thanks to a couple of 3-pointers from Mary Carter and Grace Oliver, the Deacons cut down the deficit to seven with eight to play in the quarter.
Virginia, however, maintained their strong offensive output and extended their lead to 10 by the end of the half. With little to no room for error in the fourth, the Demon Deacons stormed back onto the court with a chip on their shoulder. Not only did they put up competitive numbers against the Cavaliers in the final 12 minutes, but they arguably played their best brand of basketball.
While the first six minutes of play went back and forth, a pivotal and one from sophomore Aurora Sørbye gave Wake Forest unparalleled energy. For the remainder of regulation, the Demon Deacons played with their hair on fire.
Between clutch 3-pointers and strong interior play, this squad’s offensive playmaking in the final quarter was absolutely super – so much so that they clawed all the way back to make it a 3-point deficit with five seconds left to play. With one final chance to extend the game, star freshman Milan Brown nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Milan, who has shone all season, finished the game with her career high in points with 30.
There was no doubt that, heading into extra time, the odds favored the Demon Deacons. However, the Cavaliers still presented a real challenge. Sure enough, these teams played like equals in the first edition of overtime, as their eight points apiece sent the game to double overtime.
In the following five minutes, the two teams found themselves in yet another stalemate. With Wake Forest and Virginia both notching 11 points, an ultra-rare third overtime was in store.
While the Demon Deacons gave it their all in the final five minutes, missed opportunities on free throws and costly turnovers gave Virginia far too many chances to capitalize.
“This is a tough one,” Coach Megan Gebbia said. “I am happy with our effort and the way we battled to get back into this one. We showed a lot of heart and toughness. This is a huge step forward from Saturday, and we need to keep pushing to get over the hump.”
