Demon Deacons End Season Filled With Promise
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14–17, 4–14 ACC) ended their season in Duluth, Georgia, in the ACC Tournament first round against the California Golden Bears (19–13, 9–9), losing 75–52. This season, the Demon Deacons took considerable leaps forward in the Megan Gebbia era.
Season Ends with Loss to the Cal Bears
Wake Forest tallied its third-lowest (tied) scoring mark of the season, with 52 points. They scored 43 points against Stanford on Jan. 8, 44 points against Duke on Feb. 1, and 52 points against California on Jan. 11.
Despite a 23-point defeat, the Demon Deacons were not dead on arrival. Throughout the entire season, Wake Forest fared well in the early goings. After the first quarter, Cal led the Deacs 11–10. At halftime, it was 32–21—worse, yet still manageable. However, as we have consistently seen, Cal broke the game open in the second half by outscoring Wake Forest 29–12 in the third quarter.
The Demon Deacons rallied in the fourth quarter, notching 19 points to California's 14, but it was too little too late. As a result, Wake Forest lost its opening game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in six seasons and ended the year on a three-game losing skid.
Mary Carter and Grace Oliver scored in double figures; Carter notched 13, and Grace scored 10. Throughout the season, Oliver had one of the highest field-goal percentages in the nation. On Dec. 22, 2025, she went 14-of-14 from the field, tallying 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Her perfect outing set the program and ACC record for the most field goal attempts without a miss. Additionally, she became one of just nine known players in Division I history to shoot 100% while making 14 or more shots from the floor.
Freshman Milan Brown recorded seven points and nine assists in the season finale. Brown had four double-doubles on the season and 11 other instances of scoring either 10+ points or bringing down 10+ rebounds. The Baltimore native most notably earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors, following her dominant performance in the Deacs' triple-overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers: Brown notched 30 points and 11 rebounds, while also sinking a buzzer-beater to force the first overtime.
What's Next for Wake Forest Women's Basketball?
The Demon Deacons had a historic start to the year before ultimately leveling off in many regards throughout the season. However, the year-over-year growth, especially in ACC competition and from a passing and beyond-the-arc point of view, the Deacs saw major improvements. Head Coach Megan Gebbia had her best year with the program since she arrived in Winston-Salem in 2022.
We've yet to master predicting the future, but the 2026-27 season does look brighter for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Blake is a Sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. When not living on campus, he resides in West Virginia, where he was born and raised. He is studying communication and is invested in all things related to sports media. In his Freshman year, he completed an internship with the National Sports Media Association, and also worked as a sports editor at Wake Forest's student-run newspaper, the Old Gold & Black. Currently, Blake does play-by-play broadcasting for Wake Forest Club Ice Hockey and holds a job at Learfield, working as a studio host. In a perfect world, he would spend his free time road tripping and attending concerts all across the United States.
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