Demon Deacons End West Coast Trip With Optimism

Despite any shortcomings, the Deacs are having their best season in three years.

Freshman guard Milan Brown (0) drives to the basket against the California Golden Bears, Jan. 11, 2025. | X: WakeWBB

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12–6, 2–4 ACC) are 1–3 to start 2026. On New Year's Day, the Deacs took down the Pittsburgh Panthers on the road, 74–55. Back at the Joel, on Jan. 4, they lost to the Syracuse Orange 73–58.

Following their one-game stint in Winston-Salem, the Deacs went west for a pair of dates: the first of which was a 55–43 loss to Stanford—marked by stout defense on both sides, but continued success from beyond the arc for the Demon Deacons (38.1%). Their West Coast road trip ended in Berkeley, California, against the California Golden Bears.

West Coast Deacs

Freshman guard Caitlyn Jones (5) drives to the basketball against the California Golden Bears, Jan. 11, 2025. | X: WakeWBB

The Demon Deacons found themselves in a 16-point deficit against the Golden Bears, but, with the help of three players in double figures (Milan Brown, Mary Carter, and Caitlyn Jones), they were able to get themselves within 5 points in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, Wake Forest was unable to complete the comeback and lost 61–52.

“We needed to do a better job in both of these games finishing at the rim. The big difference as well was the free throws taken differential," said head coach Megan Gebbia. "They got there 23 times and we only got there six times. In both of these games, we didn’t start well enough offensively in the first half."

There are certainly elements to work on for the Demon Deacons, but they continue to show promise that can be galvanized after a formative road trip experience.

Both Mary Carter and Caitlyn Jones reached double figures in three of four games so far in 2026. Carter—a junior but first-year Deac—is averaging 11.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. Jones—a true freshman—is averaging 7.4 points per game off of 50.9% shooting from the field in just 17.4 minutes per night.

Despite the three-game losing spell, Wake Forest has already earned the same amount of conference wins as they have in the past two seasons. This is Megan Gebbia's fourth season at the helm of the program, which is the typical timeframe for a successful system to take root.

Up Next

Wake Forest Women's Basketball team huddles in practice before playing the California Golden Bears, Jan. 10, 2025. | X: WakeWBB

The Demon Deacons have just one home game before hitting the road once again. On Thursday, Jan. 15, the NC State Wolfpack (12–5, 5–1 ACC) comes to Winston-Salem for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff. Then, on Sunday, Jan. 18, Wake Forest is on the road again, this time against the Clemson Tigers (12–6, 3–3 ACC).