Tag: Duke Women’s Basketball

Former Maryland guard Riley Nelson, a five-star high school recruit, commits to Duke

Riley Nelson, the former Maryland guard and the No. 18 player in the Class of 2023, announced her commitment to play for Duke next season.

Kara Lawson’s team continues to grow stronger.

Riley Nelson, the former Maryland guard, announced her commitment to the Duke women’s basketball team through social media on Monday morning.

According to the Instagram post from the team, Nelson already signed her letter of intent, so the declaration is official.

As a freshman with the Terrapins, Nelson averaged 5.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 14.0 minutes per game. She scored at least 10 points in three of her 16 appearances, including a career-high 15 points against Niagara and 11 points against Nebraska.

Nelson, a five-star recruit coming out of high school, was the No. 18 player in the 2023 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. Her commitment gives Duke four of the top 30 players from that class after Jaydn Donovan (No. 3), Oluchi Okananwa (No. 27), and Delaney Thomas (No. 29) committed to Lawson out of high school.

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The Blue Devils are also one of the few teams in the country to not lose a player to the transfer portal this offseason. One year after a run to the Sweet 16, Lawson’s team could be set to turn heads in 2024-25.

When and how to watch Duke commit Toby Fournier at the Jordan Brand Classic

Check out how to watch five-star Duke commit Toby Fournier in Sunday’s Jordan Brand Classic.

Duke basketball fans have gotten their fill of five-star commits dominating exhibitions through the spring with Cooper Flagg, but the women’s basketball team has its share of stellar future freshmen, too.

Blue Devils commit Toby Fournier, who ranks as the No. 10 prospect on espnW’s Class of 2024 rankings, will play in the Jordan Brand Classic on Sunday.

The women’s game, played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, tips off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Duke fans can watch their future star on the NBA app or through the NBA YouTube channel.

The 6-foot-2 Canadian already impressed during the Nike Hoop Summit when she scored 11 points (the second-most on the World Select team) and pulled down seven rebounds.

Fournier is one of two five-star Duke commits in the 2024 class. Arianna Roberson, espnW’s No. 17 player in the class, will join her in Durham next season. Roberson, a 6-foot-4 forward, hails from Clark High School in Texas.

Former Duke women’s basketball star Lindsey Harding to interview for NBA head coaching job

Lindsey Harding, the first Blue Devil taken No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft and the first woman named the NBA’s G League Coach of the Year, will interview for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job.

Former Duke women’s basketball star Lindsey Harding will interview for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching position, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Harding was named the G League Coach of the Year, the first woman to win that honor, for her work with the Stockon Kings. She led Sacramento’s G League team to the Western Conference Finals. The Kings organization granted permission for Harding to interview with the Hornets.

Should Charlotte choose Harding, she’d be the first woman to ever be named a head coach in the NBA. The Hornets are interviewing several other candidates, however, with Wojnarowski listing four other candidates who will interview for the opening.

Harding was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. She was named the National Player of the Year and the National Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2007, and the Blue Devils made the national title game in 2006.

Harding was the first Blue Devil ever taken first overall in the WNBA draft when the Phoenix Mercury selected her in 2007.

Duke women’s basketball finishes 17th in final AP Poll

After a stunning second-round upset of Ohio State in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, the Blue Devils finished 17th in the final AP Poll released on Monday.

Duke women’s basketball ended the year 17th in the final AP Poll released on Monday.

The Blue Devils finished the season with a 22-12 record after they made the Sweet 16 in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, upsetting No. 2 seed Ohio State on the way there.

Duke ran into Connecticut, who won the Portland region, in the regional semifinal. Despite the loss, the Blue Devils held the Huskies to a season-low 53 points. No other tournament team held UConn below 69 points.

Leading scorer Reigan Richardson became the second Duke women’s basketball player with multiple 25-point games in the NCAA Tournament after she tallied 25 points against Richmond and 28 points against the Buckeyes in the second round.

Five other ACC teams ended the year inside the Associated Press’s top 25. NC State, a No. 3 seed who made the Final Four, finished fourth after its remarkable tournament run.

Notre Dame (11th), Virginia Tech (18th), and Syracuse (20th) also made the final rankings.

Kara Lawson reportedly not pursuing vacant Tennessee job, will stay at Duke

WUNC reporter Mitchell Northam reported on Friday that Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson didn’t interview for Tennessee’s open coaching job.

Duke women’s basketball head coach Kara Lawson is staying in Durham despite her alma mater Tennessee looking for a new leader.

WUNC’s Mitchell Northam reported on Friday that Lawson didn’t interview for the Volunteers coaching job, instead opting to stay with the Blue Devils.

The Volunteers fired former head coach Kellie Harper last week after five seasons. Harper won at least 20 games in four of her five seasons, but the eight-time national champions never made it past the Sweet 16.

Lawson, a former Tennessee basketball player, was considered a favorite for the opening position. The Blue Devils head coach played for legendary head coach Pat Summitt for four years in 2000-03, averaging 13.7 points across her career and making three Final Fours in four seasons.

The Blue Devils have won 48 games across the last two seasons with Lawson, headlined by a second-round upset of Ohio State in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Duke becomes only school to win bowl game and reach both Sweet 16s this year

After Sunday’s victories, Duke is the only school to win a football bowl game and make the men’s and women’s Sweet 16 during this academic year.

There’s a real argument that the Blue Devils are having the best year of any athletic program in the country.

After the women’s basketball team upset Ohio State and the men’s basketball team throttled James Madison on Sunday, Duke became the only school to win a bowl game and make the Sweet 16 in the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament during this academic year.

The Blue Devils beat Troy in the 76 Birmingham Bowl, a 17-10 defensive battle back in December led by interim coach Trooper Taylor. Duke’s football team has now won five consecutive postseason games dating back to 2015.

Junior guard Reigan Richardson has led the women’s basketball team through the postseason thus far. She’s averaged 26.5 points per game so far, including a 28-point performance against Ohio State, and she’s shooting 62.5% from beyond the arc through two games.

On the men’s side, freshman guard Jared McCain has played hero with a 30-point performance against James Madison. He made eight 3-pointers, the most by a Blue Devil in an NCAA Tournament game.

Where to watch Duke’s Sweet 16 game against Connecticut

Check out where you can watch the Blue Devils fight Paige Bueckers and Connecticut for a spot in the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils already played spoiler once in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, but the next round of March Madness brings with it another giant to slay.

Duke will play Connecticut on Saturday in the Sweet 16 as Reigan Richardson and the team try to upset Paige Bueckers and the Huskies.

Richardson has averaged 26.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game through two rounds, the first Blue Devil since Alana Beard to reach 25 points in consecutive tournament games.

Bueckers, in her first tournament action in two years, has scored 30 points per game with two double-doubles thus far.

Day: Saturday, March 30

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Channel: ESPN

The winner of Saturday’s game will play either Baylor or USC for a ticket to the Final Four.

Duke women’s basketball makes the Sweet 16 for the 18th time in program history

The Blue Devils upset Ohio State on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 18th time, the first appearance during Kara Lawson’s tenure.

Duke’s statement upset over Ohio State on Sunday afternoon pushed the Blue Devils into the Sweet 16 for the first time under head coach Kara Lawson.

In fact, even though this year will mark Duke’s 18th appearance in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils hadn’t made it past the second round since 2018.

The Blue Devils have made the national championship game twice, the Final Four four times, and the Elite Eight 11 times. They have a 60-25 record in the NCAA Tournament as a program.

They made it at least as far as the Sweet 16 every year from 1998-2008, lost in the second round in 2009, and then made the Elite Eight in each of the next four seasons.

Despite the program’s pedigree, however, this is the first time Duke has ever made the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed. In fact, this is only the second time the Blue Devils have made it this far with a seed below fourth (Duke was a No. 5 seed in 2018).

Lawson has coached Duke for the past four seasons, and she’s compiled a 67-32 overall record and a 3-1 record in the NCAA Tournament during her time in Durham.

Reigan Richardson just put together one of the best two-game postseason stretches in school history

Duke’s school history is littered with postseason basketball legends, and through two games this year, Reigan Richardson is etching her name in those history books.

Few schools have seen as many postseason basketball legends as the Duke Blue Devils. I mean, five national championships speak for themselves.

If you’re looking for the next Durham player to etch their name into school lore, you may not need to look much farther than junior guard Reigan Richardson.

Duke’s leading scorer this season, Richardson averaged about 11.5 points per game through the ACC Tournament. She’s dialed everything up a notch since March Madness began, however.

As the No. 7 seed in the Portland region, the Blue Devils looked like they were on full upset alert through the first two quarters of the opening round. Duke fell behind against No. 10 Richmond, trailing the Spiders 37-28 at the midway point.

Instead of succumbing to the potential loss, however, Richardson scored 12 points in the second half to lead Duke’s returning surge. The Blue Devils outscored the Spiders by 20 points over the final 20 minutes to keep dancing.

The second-half revival looks even better as of Sunday after Richardson and the Blue Devils erased a 16-point first-half deficit to stun No. 2 Ohio State and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years.

Everywhere you looked during the statement win, there was Richardson. The junior scored 28 points, including 10 in the final quarter, to lead the upset effort.

Through two games in this year’s edition of March Madness, Richardson is shooting 21/36 (58.3%) from the floor and 5/8 (62.5) from 3-point range. She’s averaging 26.5 points per game while no other Blue Devil has scored more than 27 points total.

In fact, Richardson’s 53 points against the Spiders and Buckeyes represent 36% of Duke’s total scoring. She, all by herself, scored more than one-third of the Blue Devils’ points through eight quarters.

On top of that, Richardson came down with seven rebounds in both games. She even generated three steals against the Buckeyes on the defensive end, and she’s only turned the ball over three times.

This is Duke’s 17th trip to the Sweet 16 since 1998, but the Blue Devils have never won two tournament games while seeded lower than fifth in their region. In fact, they’ve only been lower than a No. 4 once, when they were a 5-seed in 2018.

It’s not an exaggeration to call Sunday’s win the biggest upset in program history, and people who score 28 points in the biggest upset in school history deserve their place in program lore.

Those who have watched legends like Christian Laettner pass through Durham over the last four decades have been spoiled by some excellent postseason basketball. Despite the numerous accolades and banners, however, few players have ever propelled their team through the first two rounds quite like Reigan Richardson has in 2024.

Duke women’s basketball upsets No. 2 Ohio State to punch ticket to Sweet 16

Duke took down the Portland region’s No. 2 seed on Sunday with a 75-63 victory over Ohio State, powered by 28 points from Reigan Richardson.

Duke pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Sunday, beating 2-seed Ohio State 75-63 to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils held Ohio State to 40.4% from the floor, including 1/11 from behind the arc, while junior guard Reigan Richardson put up 28 points in the stunning victory.

The Buckeyes, a heavy favorite coming into the game, got off to the start many expected from the region’s No. 2 team. Ohio State scored seven of the game’s first nine points, and another quick run made the lead 18-8 after just eight minutes of basketball.

The Blue Devils trailed by 15 points with seven minutes left in the first half, but Kara Lawson’s team started clawing back slowly. Richardson and Ashlon Jackson traded baskets, burying back-to-back 3-pointers during a 10-5 stretch that closed the advantage to 10 points, but the real run was yet to come.

Richardson scored five more points in the final three minutes of the second quarter. Combined with a layup from center Kennedy Brown and three free throws from her teammates, the Blue Devils scored 12 of the final 16 points in the opening half. The final burst whittled the Ohio State lead all the way down to four as the Buckeyes clung to a 36-32 lead at the midway point.

The Blue Devils kept creeping closer as the second half wore on. Guard Taina Mair assisted on a jumper from Richardson before burying a 3-pointer herself, and Ohio State’s lead shrank to three points. Richardson swiped the ball from star Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon and drew a foul, making both free throws to pull within one.

Sheldon, who entered the game as the third-leading scorer from the Big Ten with 18.0 points per game, shot just 5/13 from the floor to finish with 13 points. She had scored at least 15 points in nine of her previous 11 games.

Finally, with two minutes to play in the third quarter, Richardson drove to the basket and laid the ball in to knot the game at 47 points apiece. Less than a minute later, Delaney Thomas cut her way to the paint, and Duke finally had the lead.

The Blue Devils kept that lead through the end of the third quarter, holding a 51-50 advantage after three. Duke outscored Ohio State 41-30 over the middle two quarters, but the biggest test remained. Could the Blue Devils close the door?

The answer was an emphatic yes.

Ohio State grabbed the lead back briefly with two free throws, but Brown fought through a foul for an and-one to put the Blue Devils right back in front.

Trailing by one point with 5:22 to play, Richardson pulled up from beyond the arc and buried a 3-pointer, and Duke surged out to a 59-57 advantage. She added two more points on each of Duke’s next two possessions, and the Blue Devils were suddenly ahead by six with 3:40 to play.

Ohio State tried hard to make Duke make a mistake, but the Blue Devils went 9/10 from the free throw line over the final minute to cement the upset.

Duke moves on to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years as the Blue Devils will play either Connecticut or Syracuse in the next round.