The Duke women’s basketball team defeated its second top-10 opponent of the week on Wednesday with a 109-99 overtime victory over the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners, a win powered by Reigan Richardson’s statement performance.
The Blue Devils, led by head coach Kara Lawson, took down the Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the Ball Dawgs Classic on Monday. On the back of a four-game win streak, Duke kept that form going against the Sooners with a 27-point opening quarter.
Oklahoma scored 14 points in the first 4:04, taking a nine-point lead in the early going, but the Blue Devils stacked 10 points in the next two minutes to retake the lead. Sophomore forward Jordan Wood provided three of those five baskets in part of a 13-point performance off the bench,
Richardson stole the show from there. The Blue Devils’ leading scorer from last season scored five points in the closing two minutes of the quarter thanks to a trio of free throws, giving Duke a 27-20 lead after 10 minutes.
The Blue Devils slowly built their advantage in the second quarter, taking an 11-point lead into the break, and the Sooners could only trim that advantage to seven during the third quarter. The Oklahoma offense caught fire at the right time, however, rattling off a 15-6 run in the middle of the fourth that tied the game at 73 points apiece with 4:49 to play.
Once again, Duke’s star returner came through. Richardson buried a 3-pointer to retake the lead just seconds later, one of two fourth-quarter triples for her. Even with Oklahoma’s Payton Verhulst burying a buzzer-beater to force overtime, Richardson scored five of the first six points in the additional period to put her team in front once again.
Richardson ended the game with 35 points, making 13 of her 22 shots from the floor and five of her nine 3-point attempts. She also doled out seven assists to help produce almost half of the team’s points. The Blue Devils outscored the Sooners 15-5 in the additional frame for a comfortable victory.
“One of the best games I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Lawson said. “In order to have a great game, it takes two good teams. They’re really good. We knew that coming in.”