Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Florida on November 20, 2025 at 8 p.m.
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8 p.m.
Women's Basketball
at South Florida
Thursday, November 20
Tampa, Fla.
8 p.m.
Duke University
at
South Florida
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Travels to South Florida for Matchup with the Bulls
11/19/2025 11:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Opening Tip
Duke and South Florida meet for the second consecutive season in Tampa and for the fifth time overall. The Bulls own the most recent win last season, while the Blue Devils lead the series, 3-1.
South Florida enters the game on a two-game skid, falling to UCLA and Fairfield in the WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas. The Bulls have four players averaging double-digits with Katie Davidson and Edyn Battle leading the way at 16.3 and 15.8 points per game, respectively.
South Florida is shooting 39 percent on the year and only takes 17.5 threes per game.
The offensive glass is where the Bulls shine, ranking 16th nationally with 18.3 per game. USF has out-rebounded three of its four opponents on the offensive end, including pulling down a combined 45 in its first two games. Against No. 3 UCLA, the Bulls had 11 offensive caroms. L'or Mputu leads the effort with 9.8 rebounds per game, including 5.8 offensive rebounds per game.
"Tainking" Care of the Ball
It's A Block Party
The Block Party Hostesses
The A'rim' Protector
Up Next
- The November road warriors continue the five-game road swing Thursday at South Florida. Tipoff inside Yuengling Center is set for 8 p.m., on ESPNU. Duke is 2-1 against the Bulls in Tampa, falling to the Bulls 65-56 last season before the winter holiday break.
- Duke is coming off a 71-57 win at Liberty Sunday. The Blue Devils are 3-2 overall and are led in scoring by sophomore Toby Fournier's 15.6 points per game and 52-percent shooting. Ashlon Jackson had her best outing of the season at Liberty with 16 points and is averaging 10.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.
- The Bulls are 2-2 overall and coming off a 94-61 loss to UCLA this past Saturday. USF owns wins over LIU (79-72) and FIU (81-56), but lost both contests last week in the WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas.
- After missing 440 days, redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson has 30 points (10.0/gm), 23 rebounds (7.7), seven blocks and five steals in 59 minutes. She is shooting 46 percent from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
- Taina Mair is the engine to the offense, averaging 9.8 points, 5.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 steals while committing just seven turnovers. She is on the cusp of two benchmarks, sitting two points away from 1,000 career points and one assist shy of 500 career dimes.
- Defensively, Duke is holding opponents to just 29.8 percent shooting, ranking second in the ACC and fourth nationally. The Blue Devils have held opponents to single digits in four of the 20 quarters (20 percent) this season. All five of Duke's foes have shot below 40 percent from the field and under 33 percent from distance.
- Duke heads west to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2025 Players Era Women's Championship. The Blue Devils open the event with No. 2 South Carolina, Nov. 26 and will play either No. 4 Texas or No. 3 UCLA Nov. 27 at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Duke and South Florida meet for the second consecutive season in Tampa and for the fifth time overall. The Bulls own the most recent win last season, while the Blue Devils lead the series, 3-1.
South Florida enters the game on a two-game skid, falling to UCLA and Fairfield in the WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas. The Bulls have four players averaging double-digits with Katie Davidson and Edyn Battle leading the way at 16.3 and 15.8 points per game, respectively.
South Florida is shooting 39 percent on the year and only takes 17.5 threes per game.
The offensive glass is where the Bulls shine, ranking 16th nationally with 18.3 per game. USF has out-rebounded three of its four opponents on the offensive end, including pulling down a combined 45 in its first two games. Against No. 3 UCLA, the Bulls had 11 offensive caroms. L'or Mputu leads the effort with 9.8 rebounds per game, including 5.8 offensive rebounds per game.
"Tainking" Care of the Ball
- Senior point guard Taina Mair has been excellent for the Blue Devils throughout her time quarterbacking the team in Durham. In her two-plus seasons as Duke's point guard, the Blue Devils are 54-22. For her career, Mair is 70-39 as a point guard.
- Year three in Durham is off to a fast start again for Mair with 25 assists and just seven turnovers after five games. She opened the year with four assists and one turnover before dishing seven dimes against Holy Cross with zero giveaways. She matched that in the win at Liberty, leaving her with a 3.57 assist to turnover ratio. She ranks second in the league in the category, is third in total assists and fourth in assists per game.
- The Boston native has improved her consistency each season at Duke and finished the 2024-25 campaign seventh in the ACC with an A/TO ratio of 1.81.
It's A Block Party
- Featuring nine players standing 6-0 or taller, and five Blue Devils at 6-2 or taller, Duke is long and athletic. With four guards at 6-0 or taller, Duke wreaks havoc defensively both on the perimeter and around the rim, and the statistics reflect that, with Duke ranking 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.298) and fourth in blocks per game (8.4).
- Duke recorded an impressive 14 blocks against Baylor - tied for sixth in program history and the most since the 16 against Winthrop in 2016.
- Through five games, Duke is second in the ACC in blocks per game (8.4). The Blue Devils' 42 total blocks are second in the country. The 14 denials against Baylor are tied for the most in a game by a Division I team this season.
- Duke has posted double-digit blocks in two games this season. In the 138 games under Lawson prior to the 2025-26 campaign the Blue Devils had just five games with double-digit denials.
The Block Party Hostesses
- Toby Fournier (14), Jordan Wood (9) and Arianna Roberson (7) are the hostesses of the party, ranking first, second and fourth in the league in total blocks.
- Fournier's 14 blocks in five games this season are over a third of her total in 35 games last season. She has four blocks in three games already this season. Fournier had 11 multiple block games last year.
- Duke is the lone team in the country to have four players ranked in the top 86 nationally in total blocks -- Toby Fournier (9th), Jordan Wood (25th), Arianna Roberson (55th) and Jadyn Donovan (86).
The A'rim' Protector
- After having missed 440 days to injury, Ari Roberson is back on the court and a menace around the basket. The redshirt freshman leads the Blue Devils in rebounding (7.7) and is second in blocks (2.3/gm). She has registered at least two blocks and countless other forced shot adjustments in her three outings. Roberson is a force on the defensive glass with 19 overall (6.3/gm).
- Arianna comes from a family of accomplished athletes. Her parents, John (basketball) and Lisa (volleyball), were athletes at New Mexico State. Arianna is the youngest of seven - Ashlee (basketball at Texas Tech, 2007-10), Amber (volleyball at Texas, 2008-11), André (7 seasons in NBA), Arielle (basketball at Colorado (2012-15) and WVU (2015-16), Anthony (Central Oklahoma and Thunder G League) and Aaliyah (women's basketball senior at TCU).
Up Next
- Duke has five days off before it opens action in Las Vegas, Nevada in the Players Era Women's Championship Tournament. The Blue Devils take on No. 2 South Carolina Nov. 26 in the opening game and either No. 3 Texas or No. 4 UCLA the following day.
Players Mentioned
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