No. 7 Duke Falls to No. 16 Baylor, 58-52, in Paris

Monday, November 3

Paris, France

12 p.m.

Duke University

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Baylor

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Duke

Baylor

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 7 Duke Falls to No. 16 Baylor, 58-52, in Paris

11/3/2025 2:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson Presser

PARIS – Duke sophomore forward Toby Fournier posted a double-double in her first career start, but it wasn't enough as No. 7 Duke fell to No. 16 Baylor, 58-52, in women's non-conference basketball action Monday afternoon at Adidas Arena.

Baylor guard Taliah Scott scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears outscored Duke 15-9 in the final frame and 29-19 in the second half to come away with the win to start the 2025-26 campaign. Duke senior Taina Mair had a solid all-around game with six points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and just one turnover.

Fournier led the Blue Devils with 16 points and 10 rebounds while also blocking a career-high four shots. Senior Ashlon Jackson added nine points and three assists with junior Jordan Wood rounding out Duke's top performers, chipping in seven points and a collegiate-best six rejections.

The Blue Devils forced 19 turnovers in the game, turning those into 16 points. Duke also scored 13 second chance points on 19 offensive rebounds.

Scott finished with 24 points and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bears to the six-point victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke held a 17-15 lead at the end of one, with Ashlon Jackson netting five points in the period to pace five different scorers.
Jackson opened the game scoring with a tough runner in traffic, and Delaney Thomas followed with a short jumper in the paint. Toby Fournier converted an old-fashioned three-point play, pushing the Blue Devils out to an early 7-0 lead. The Bears broke the seal on the basket, scoring the next four, before Jordan Wood cashed in a three to push Duke's lead back to six (10-4).
Baylor used a 9-3 run to claw its way back from the early deficit and level the score at 13 apiece. Thomas and Taina Mair scored the last four points of the period for Duke, with Mair sinking a teardrop from the elbow as time expired to give the Blue Devils a 17-15 edge after 10 minutes of play.
Duke extended its lead to six, 23-17, early in the second period following a 2-of-2 trip at the free throw line by Jackson and a pair of second-chance conversions by Fournier and Wood.
Mair scored inside moments later, but a 10-0 Baylor run allowed it to surge ahead, 29-25, and force a Duke timeout.
The Blue Devils closed the half strong, responding with an 8-0 run of their own. Redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson led the charge with back-to-back triples, giving Duke the 33-29 lead at the half.
Duke and Baylor were deadlocked at 43-43 following a gritty third period. Fournier led the Blue Devils with six of the team's 10 points, but the Bears finished the 10-minute stanza with a plus-four margin on the scoreboard to draw even after 30 minutes of play.
Baylor jumped out to an early fourth-quarter lead, using a 6-0 spurt to go in front, 49-43. Duke locked down defensively over the next two minutes, blocking three shots to keep the Bears from pulling away. Thomas ended Duke's scoring drought with an offensive rebound and putback with 6:07 remaining, but the Blue Devils could never get any closer.
The Blue Devils, trailing by eight with 1:24 left on the clock, refused to lay down, turning consecutive defensive stops into quick points to slice the deficit in half, 56-52, with just under a minute to play in regulation.
Baylor sealed the game with free throws by Scott in the final 30 seconds for the six-point win.

GAME NOTES:

Duke falls to 43-11 all-time in season openers and snaps a six-game winning streak. The Blue Devils also drop their opening game for the first time under head coach Kara Lawson.
Duke drops to 0-2 all-time in its series against Baylor.
The Blue Devils forced 19 Baylor turnovers and turned those into 16 points. Duke also scored 13 second chance points on 19 offensive rebounds.
Duke totaled 14 rejections during the game – tied for No. 6 all-time in program history.
Sophomore Toby Fournier made her first collegiate start versus Baylor. Fournier had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks for her third career double-double. Fournier's four blocks surpassed her previous high of three that she tallied three times last season.
Ashlon Jackson netted the first bucket of the season for Duke and went on to finish the game with nine points and three assists.
Sophomore Jordan Wood chipped in seven points, four caroms and recorded a career-high six blocks, surpassing her previous best of four against Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) in 2024-25.
Taina Mair, Riley Nelson and Delaney Thomas each contributed six points. Mair added six rebounds, four assists and three steals to her statline while Nelson – who made her Duke debut – added two rebounds and an assist.

UP NEXT:

Duke opens its 2025-26 home schedule Nov. 9 against Holy Cross. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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