Kara Lawson – Syndication Server

Duke women’s basketball jumps back into the top 15 of women’s basketball coaches poll

The Duke Blue Devils climbed back into the top 15 of the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll on Tuesday.

The Duke Blue Devils won both of their games last week by 59 combined points, a pair of dominant displays against new ACC members California and Stanford. With five victories in their last six games, the Blue Devils rose two spots to No. 14 in the updated USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll on Tuesday.

Toby Fournier, who picked up her third ACC Rookie of the Week award on Monday, put together her first career double-double against the Golden Bears with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Blue Devils held California to just 38 points, the lowest total for a ranked opponent in school history, and Duke’s 59.2 points allowed per contest are second only to the North Carolina Tar Heels among ACC teams.

The Tar Heels beat Duke in Chapel Hill last week, and the head-to-head triumph kept UNC one spot above the Blue Devils at No. 13. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (No. 3) are the only ACC team higher than the Tobacco Road rivals.

Head coach Kara Lawson and her team get a chance at a fourth ranked win this coming Sunday with a road game against No. 18 Georgia Tech, but the SMU Mustangs await first on Thursday.

Duke women’s basketball slips two spots to No. 16 in the updated AP Poll

Duke women’s basketball came back to beat Virginia on Sunday, but a midweek loss to UNC dropped the Blue Devils two spots in the AP Poll.

The Duke women’s basketball team improved to 13-4 for the season and 4-1 against the ACC on Sunday with a double-digit comeback against Virginia, but Thursday’s overtime loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels still knocked them down in the AP Top 25 Womens College Basketball Poll.

Duke tumbled down two spots to No. 16 in the updated Associated Press rankings on Monday, dropping two spots behind the Tar Heels to remain the third-highest ACC team on the board.

The Blue Devils outscored UNC by 16 points over the final 12 minutes of regulation, but Duke only made 23.5% of its shots in the 53-46 loss.

A pair of Georgia Tech losses dropped the Yellow Jackets down four spots to No. 17, ensuring that the Blue Devils didn’t fall farther among the conference contenders. Despite the rivalry loss and a stunning upset to South Florida last month, Duke still sits No. 10 in the NET rankings thanks to a pair of ranked wins over the Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas State Wildcats.

The undefeated UCLA Bruins, as they have for most of the last two months, kept themselves perched atop the rankings. The South Carolina Gamecocks, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and USC Trojans held still in the top four.

Duke women’s basketball erases double-digit Virginia lead in second-half comeback

The Duke Blue Devils trailed Virginia by 10 points on Sunday, but Oluchi Okananwa helped spark a massive second-half comeback for the win.

The Duke Blue Devils came closer to a second straight loss than head coach [autotag]Kara Lawson[/autotag] probably wanted on Sunday afternoon, but sophomore [autotag]Oluchi Okananwa[/autotag] helped her team score 40 second-half points for a 60-55 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

Duke took the North Carolina Tar Heels to overtime in their first rivalry battle of the year on Thursday, but the team from Chapel Hill eventually pulled away in the defensive slugfest. It was only the Blue Devils’ first ACC loss of the season, but with heavyweights like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the conferece, they couldn’t afford to fall farther behind this early in the campaign.

In similar fashion to that midweek battle, however, points were hard to come by in Charlottesville. The only scoring in the first three mintes came on a free throw from the Cavaliers’ Latasha Lattimore, setting the tone for another gritty game.

Lattimore carried Virginia to an early lead, scoring five points in the opening frame to help build an 11-9 lead as Duke just treaded water on offense. A pair of 3-pointers from Olivia McGhee in the second pushed the lead to eight, and the Blue Devils shot just 9/34 (26.5%) from the field and 1/10 from distance before the break.

Okananwa, the reigning ACC Sixth Person of the Year, only tallied three points in the first 20 minutes as the Blue Devils fell behind 29-20. The second-year star has already stacked some clutch outings in her young career, however, and she added to the legend over the closing quarters.

After starters Reigan Richardson and Ashlon Jackson combined for 10 points in the first four minutes of the third, Okananwa knocked down a triple with 4:11 left in the period to pull within four. Lattimore answered again, continuing to build an impressive stat line, but Okananwa and five-star freshman Toby Fournier made two layups and a pair of free throws in a one-minute blitz to make it a 41-39 game.

Okananwa turned a good day into a great one in the final quarter. She buried another 3-pointer just 11 seconds into the fourth before notching another layup after a Virginia turnover, and all of a sudden, the Blue Devils held the lead with 9:10 left.

The Cavaliers retook the lead briefly, but a Taina Mair 3-pointer with 5:09 left on the clock gave the road team an advantage it wouldn’t relinquish.

Okananwa finished with 17 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, and seven rebounds, and Jackson added 11 of her own. Duke took 66 shots to Virginia’s 51, and the Blue Devils ended the game with a 44-29 advantage on the glass.

The Blue Devils improved to 13-4 for the season and 4-1 in conference play with the victory. Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday for a game against the California Golden Bears.

Duke women’s basketball moves up one spot in latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll

The Duke Blue Devils moved up a spot in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll after a phenomenal defensive week.

The Duke women’s basketball team put together one of the best defensive stretches in the nation this past week, powering two wins that moved the Blue Devils up one spot to No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.

The Blue Devils returned from the holiday break last Thursday with a road victory over Boston College, winning 86-59 after the Eagles only managed two points in the second quarter. The 10-minute stretch tied a program record for the fewest points surrendered in a frame after Boston College went just 1/10 from the floor.

Duke got back to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday and dismantled the Pittsburgh Panthers for a 69-31 win. The road team scored just 21 points in the first three quarters, including six points in the third and third, as the Panthers made just 24.4% of their shots from the field.

The Blue Devils still trail the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the undefeated No. 13 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets among ACC teams, but they do outrank the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels before Thursday’s rivalry battle.

Duke women’s basketball remains No. 14 in AP Poll after off week

The Duke women’s basketball team held tight to its spot at No. 14 in the AP Poll after a week away from the court.

With a majority of the top teams on break for the holidays, the AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll didn’t include many changes this week. Without a chance to avenge their non-conference upset loss to South Florida, the Duke Blue Devils held on to their spot at No. 14 in Monday’s new ranking.

Head coach [autotag]Kara Lawson[/autotag] and her team, one season after a run to the Sweet 16, started the year with 10 wins in their first 12 games to work their way toward the top of the board.

Even with the loss to the Bulls, Duke is the third-highest ACC team in the Associated Press rankings. The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish look like national championship contenders, and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are one spot above the Blue Devils at No. 13.

The North Carolina Tar Heels, despite 13 wins in their first 15 games, also stayed put at No. 17. In fact, none of the top 18 teams moved, leaving the UCLA Bruins and South Carolina Gamecocks in the top two spots.

Duke’s next game comes against the Boston College Eagles on Thursday.

Duke women’s basketball can’t overcome first-half hole in South Florida loss

The Blue Devils lost for the third time this season on Saturday afternoon, unable to overcome a 14-point deficit after one quarter.

The Duke women’s basketball team coasted into Tampa this weekend after eight wins in its last nine games, but the underdog South Florida Bulls put the Blue Devils on their back foot from the opening buzzer.

Head coach Kara Lawson and her squad failed to put double-digit points on the board in either of the first two quarters, creating a halftime deficit too big to overcome in the 65-56 loss to USF.

Duke made just three shots from the floor over the first 10 minutes, experiencing multiple four-minute scoreless spells that dropped the Blue Devils down by 14 points through one quarter of the contest.

Those stats might make it sound like poor shooting is to blame for the early lull, but the Duke offense just couldn’t keep its hands on the ball. The Blue Devils gave the ball away eight times in the first quarter, part of 14 turnovers for the afternoon that created 11 South Florida points.

The efficiency didn’t improve in the second frame, and it felt like South Florida was playing an entirely different sport given its offensive firepower. USF knocked down contested shot after contested shot, finding nylon on stepback 3-pointers and fadeaway jumpers at eyebrow-raising pace.

It all added up to a 33-15 halftime lead for the Bulls, and even with Duke scoring 41 points after the break, South Florida wouldn’t relinquish the advantage far enough. USF only took nine 3-pointers for the game, but it made five of them, and Sammie Puisis and L’or Mputu combined for 40 points just between the two of them.

Freshman forward Toby Fournier came off the bench for 11 points, the only Blue Devil to end the day in double digits. The Bulls shot 46.0% from the floor to Duke’s 38.9%.

Duke won’t play again until after the turn of the calendar year, but even with an extended break to ruminate on Saturday’s upset, the non-conference schedule met expectations for the Blue Devils. Lawson’s squad will start ACC play as one of seven teams with 10 wins already after the 10-3 start.

Duke women’s basketball sits 10th in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll for second straight week

The Blue Devils held on to the last spot in the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll for the second week in a row.

USA TODAY Sports released its updated women’s basketball coaches poll on Tuesday, and for the second straight week, the Duke Blue Devils took the last spot at No. 10.

The lack of movement makes sense considering that the Blue Devils haven’t played since their December 8 victory over Virginia Tech. Duke has won seven of its past eight, including triumphs over the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats, with the only loss coming to defending national champion South Carolina.

Head coach Kara Lawson and her team did lose ground at the top of the ACC, however. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with an identical 9-2 record, catapulted up five spots to No. 4 after last week’s win over the Connecticut Huskies.

The undefeated UCLA Bruins kept the top spot for the third straight week with the Gamecocks and LSU Tigers close behind. The North Carolina Tar Heels (No. 18), NC State Wolfpack (No. 19), and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (No. 20) all also made this week’s ranking from the ACC.

Duke plays its first game in 10 days on Wednesday night, a home bout against Wofford before a weekend road trip to face South Florida.

Duke women’s basketball to join South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA in 2025 tournament

The Duke women’s basketball team will face South Carolina, UCLA, and Texas in the 2025 Players Era Women’s Championship, per a Monday release.

The Duke Blue Devils will be part of one of the biggest events on the 2025-26 women’s basketball calendar, according to a Monday release.

Duke will join the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks, UCLA Bruins, and Texas Longhorns in the Players Era Women’s Championship, a tournament set for next November in Las Vegas.

While the first Players Era men’s tournament took place this season, with the Oregon Ducks defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the title game, 2025 will mark the first women’s edition of the event. Each of the four programs will play the other three in a round-robin format.

“This is the premier regular season tournament in women’s college basketball,” head coach Kara Lawson said in a release about the tournament. “The brands and the talent combined create an elite showcase of our sport. I have a lot of respect for these programs and their willingness to challenge each other.”

The Blue Devils have won nine of their first 11 games in 2024-25, but the other three programs involved all currently sit above Duke in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll. The four schools in the Players Era field have a combined record of 39-4 so far this season.

Duke women’s basketball drops to 10th in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll

Duke kept itself within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll, but the Blue Devils lost their spot atop the ACC.

The Duke Blue Devils stuck within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll on Tuesday, but one of their conference foes jumped over them to retake the unofficial lead among ACC teams.

Duke lost for the second time this season last Thursday, an 81-70 defeat at the hands of South Carolina, but coaches around the country clearly didn’t see any shame in losing to the defending national champions. The Blue Devils only slipped back one spot to No. 10, but they did trade places with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to fall back behind the preseason conference champions.

Both teams have two losses so far this season, but the Blue Devils have played two more games than the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame earned 546 points in the voting while Duke trailed far behind with just 483.

Head coach [autotag]Kara Lawson[/autotag] and her team didn’t end the week on a losing streak, however. Duke dominated Virginia Tech on Sunday in their first ACC game of the season thanks to a 27-point performance from five-star freshman Toby Fournier.

The UCLA Bruins and Connecticut Huskies remained in the first and second overall spots once again, and the Gamecocks moved back up to No. 3 with their midweek win. The LSU Tigers and USC Trojans both rose one place to complete the top five.

Duke women’s basketball stays within top 10 of the AP Poll after South Carolina loss

Duke women’s basketball lost their second game of the season last week, but the Blue Devils kept themselves within the top 10 of the AP Poll.

The Associated Press released its updated AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll on Monday, and the Duke Blue Devils stuck within the top 10 despite their midweek loss.

Head coach [autotag]Kara Lawson[/autotag] and her team dropped one spot to No. 9 after Thursday’s loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the defending national champions. Duke did bounce back with a Sunday win over Virginia Tech to open conference play, however, and the Blue Devils are still 9-2 with multiple ranked victories in 2024-25.

The Gamecocks held firm at No. 3, behind only the UCLA Bruins and Connecticut Huskies. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lept over Duke to No. 8 to retake their preseason crown as the top ACC team.

The Oklahoma Sooners (No. 10) and Kansas State Wildcats (No. 13), the two teams Duke defeated in the Ball Dawgs Classic, followed close behind. The North Carolina Tar Heels, with nine wins in their first 10 games, moved up two spots to No. 14.

Duke gets a full week off with nothing on the schedule until a December 18 battle against Wofford up next, so they’ll likely stay around the same place in next week’s rankings.