Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Holy Cross on November 9, 2025 at 1 p.m.
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1 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Holy Cross
Monday, November 4
Durham, N.C.
11 a.m.
Duke University
vs
Radford
No. 11 Duke Tips Off 2024-25 Season Versus Radford
11/3/2024 3:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – The 11th-ranked Duke women's basketball program gears up to tip off the 2024-25 season, with the Blue Devils slated to host Radford Monday, Nov. 4 in the team's third annual Education Day Game. The action is slated to get going at 11 a.m., live on ACCNX.
THE OPENING TIP:
50 SEASONS OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
ROLES REVERSED:
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED:
UP NEXT:
Duke hits the road for its next two games, beginning with a trip to the Old Dominion State for a date with the Liberty Flames Thursday, Nov. 7. The action is set to tip off in Lynchburg, Virginia at 7 p.m., live on ESPN+.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
THE OPENING TIP:
- The Blue Devils are 40-9 all-time in season openers and have won 19 of their last 20. Duke has won 25 consecutive home openers dating back to the 1998-99 season.
- Monday's game marks the fifth all-time meeting between Duke and Radford with the Blue Devils taking the first four games in the series. This will be the first meeting on the hardwood in over two decades, with the last matchup taking place Jan. 23, 1993 - a 59-58 Duke victory.
- Head Coach Kara Lawson enters her fifth season at the helm of the Duke women's basketball program. In four seasons with the Blue Devils, Lawson has totaled a 68-33 overall record, most recently leading Duke to back-to-back 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
- The Blue Devils come into 2024-25 ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press (AP) Poll. Duke returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from its 2023-24 squad that posted a 22-12 record and advanced to the program's 18th NCAA Sweet 16, including All-ACC Second Team pick Reigan Richardson and ACC Sixth Player of the Year Oluchi Okananwa.
- The Blue Devils welcome the nation's seventh-ranked recruiting class per espnW, headlined by 6-2 forward Toby Fournier.
- Three Duke players earned preseason honors ahead of the 2024-25 campaign - Fournier, Taina Mair and Richardson.
- Richardson was tapped to the 2025 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time while also receiving a nod to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
- Mair was named to the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason Watch List, while Fournier earned a spot on the ACC Newcomer Watch List.
50 SEASONS OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
- Duke is celebrating its 50th season of women's basketball in 2024-25. Dating back to its first varsity season in 1975-76, Duke has grown from its early beginnings into a national powerhouse, with each decade seeing its defining moments, standout players and historic achievements that have helped shape the program's illustrious women's basketball legacy.
- Over the past five decades, Duke has amassed over 1,000 program victories, 38 winning seasons, 20 ACC Championships (12 regular season, eight tournament), 26 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 18 Sweet 16's, 11 Elite Eights, four Final Fours, two NCAA Runner-up finishes, 21 All-Americans, two National Players of the Year and 35 1,000-point scorers, among numerous other accomplishments and accolades. From first varsity wins to NCAA Final Fours and All-Americans, Duke's story is one of resilience, innovation and excellence.
ROLES REVERSED:
- After being one of the youngest teams in the ACC last season, Duke comes into the 2024-25 season as one of the more veteran-laden teams in terms of returning production, with the Blue Devils featuring nine rotation players back in the fold from their 2023-24 squad - tied for No. 2 with ACC newcomer Stanford.
- Statistically, the Blue Devils retain 81.5% of their scoring, 66.6% of their rebounding and 85.2% of their assist production from a season ago - No. 3, No. 4 and No. 3, respectively, among ACC teams.
- Duke's 2023-24 roster was one of the youngest in the country, with eight of the Blue Devils' 11 players underclassmen. In ACC play, Duke led the league in average total team freshmen minutes played during the season, with the Blue Devils' rookie quintet averaging 61.8 minutes per contest (of a possible 200 minutes).
- When looking at the average total number of minutes logged between freshman and sophomores combined compared to the rest of the league, Duke checked in at No. 2 in that metric with an average of 132.9 minutes, trailing only Georgia Tech (137.3 minutes). Duke also ranked third in the league in percentage of scoring by freshmen (30.7 %) and second in percentage of scoring by freshmen and sophomores combined (64.1 %).
- The only schools with better production than the Blue Devils in those respective metrics were Virginia -- 37.0 percent and Notre Dame -- 31.1 percent (freshmen only), and Georgia Tech -- 78.0 percent (freshmen + sophomores).
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED:
- The Blue Devils face another challenging non-conference slate this season in preparation for ACC play, the schedule comprised of five true road games and six contests against teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament or WNIT.
- Duke hits the road for tilts at Liberty (11.7), Maryland (11.10), South Dakota State (11.17), South Carolina (12.5) and South Florida (12.21). Duke also hosts Belmont Nov. 21 before heading to Vegas to play Kansas State (11.25) in the opening game of the Ball Dawgs Classic.
- The challenging schedule is no surprise for Duke, as the squad's out-of-conference slate has gotten progressively tougher each year under Coach Lawson. The Blue Devils' 2023-24 Strength of Schedule (SOS) checked in at No. 3 nationally, seven spots higher than their No. 10-ranking at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
UP NEXT:
Duke hits the road for its next two games, beginning with a trip to the Old Dominion State for a date with the Liberty Flames Thursday, Nov. 7. The action is set to tip off in Lynchburg, Virginia at 7 p.m., live on ESPN+.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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