No. 15 Duke to Close Non-Conference Action Monday at Elon

Monday, March 23

Elon, NC

5 PM

Duke University

Elon

March 21, 2026: The Duke Blue Devils Women’s Lacrosse team win 15-9 against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

No. 15 Duke to Close Non-Conference Action Monday at Elon

3/22/2026 2:19:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Live Stats Watch (FloCollege)Game Notes (PDF)

THE OPENING DRAW:

The Blue Devils continue their road swing with a trip to Elon for a Mar. 23 non-conference tilt against the Phoenix. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m., with the game streaming on FloCollege.
The Blue Devils enter the week 7-4 overall and 2-2 in ACC play, most recently picking up a 15-9 win at Virginia Tech (3/21).
Duke and Elon will meet for their ninth all-time meeting Monday, with the Blue Devils holding a 7-1 lead in the series. Duke is 4-0 when playing the Phoenix on the road.
Freshman midfielder Quinn Whitaker has wasted no time making her presence felt in her first season at Duke, as the rookie was recently tabbed No. 5 on Inside Lacrosse's Early Season Freshman Impact Rankings. Whitaker has started all 11 games for the Blue Devils this season and ranks third on the team with 26 goals.
She has notched six hat tricks this season -- including three in her last five -- and has scored two or more goals nine times. Whitaker currently ranks third in the ACC and 30th in the NCAA in shooting percentage (.578), with her 26 goals ranking third among freshmen.
Junior Ellie White has been the Blue Devils' top draw taker this season. In 11 games, she has posted 109 draw controls and boasts an average of 9.91 per game (ninth in the NCAA) -- both tops in the ACC.
White currently owns 209 draw controls -- fifth all-time on the Duke charts. She is just the fifth Blue Devil all-time to eclipse 200 for their career, and needs just 17 more to move into the top four in program lore.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1 -- Ellie White's ACC ranking in total draw controls (109) and average draw controls per game (9.91)
4 -- Blue Devils ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA individual statistics. Eva Pronti is sixth in total assists, 10th in assists per game and 17th in points, Ellie White ranks ninth in draw controls per game, Avery Doran is 21st in shot percentage and Ava Biancardi checks in at 23rd in total goals
5 -- Rookie Quinn Whitaker's listing on the Inside Lacrosse Early Season Freshman Impact Rankings
6 -- Blue Devils with double-digit goals this season: Ava Biancardi (31), Avery Doran (30), Quinn Whitaker (26), Bella Goodwin (18), Eva Pronti (15), Sadie Stafford (13)
6 -- Duke players with 10-plus points this year: Eva Pronti (47), Avery Doran (44), Ava Biancardi (41), Bella Goodwin (36), Quinn Whitaker (28), Sadie Stafford (18)
7 -- Blue Devil rankings in the top 25 of the NCAA team statistics. Duke is sixth in draw controls per game, 12th in draw control percentage, 17th in total assists and shot percentage, 18th in points per game, 22nd in scoring offense and 25th in shots on goal per game.
12 -- Duke's Week 6 Inside Lacrosse ranking
15 –- Duke's Week 6 IWLCA ranking
17 -- Duke's Week 6 USA Lacrosse Magazine Ranking
90 -- Career assists by Eva Pronti, fourth all-time on the Duke charts
209 -- Career draw controls by Ellie White, fifth all-time on the Duke charts
371 -- Career victories for head coach Kerstin Kimel, with 367 of those wins coming at Duke

DUKE IN THE POLLS:

Duke is ranked in multiple top-25 polls. The Blue Devils currently check in at No. 15 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Duke is also slotted No. 12 by Inside Lacrosse and 17th by USA Lacrosse Magazine.

WHITAKER MAKING AN IMPACT:

Duke freshman midfielder Quinn Whitaker has wasted no time making her presence felt in her first season at Duke, as the rookie was tabbed No. 5 on Inside Lacrosse's Early Season Freshman Impact Rankings.
The Wayne, Pennsylvania, standout has started all 11 games for the Blue Devils this season and ranks third on the team with 26 goals. She has notched six hat tricks this year -- including three in her last five outings -- and has scored two or more goals nine times.
Whitaker posted a career-best four tallies versus Johns Hopkins (2/15) earlier this season. Three of her four goals against the Blue Jays came in the final stanza, including back-to-back markers in the final 90 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime.
She currently ranks No. 3 in the ACC and 30th in the NCAA in shooting percentage (.578), while her 26 tallies are currently third among freshman nationally. In the Duke freshman record books, Whitaker is tied for 11th in goals (26) and ranks 20th in total points (28).

MILESTONE WATCH:

Head coach Kerstin Kimel is four wins shy of 375 career victories.
Caitlin Barrett is 14 points away from reaching 50 career points.
Ava Biancardi is two tallies away from 50 career goals.
Avery Doran is 12 dimes from 50 career assists and nine points away from reaching the 100-point benchmark.
Bella Goodwin is 18 goals away from 100 career markers and seven dimes away from 50 career assists.
Amanda Paci is six ground balls away from 50.
Eva Pronti is 10 assists away from reaching 100 for her career.

DUKE VERSUS ELON / SCOUTING THE PHOENIX:

Duke and Elon will meet for their ninth all-time meeting Monday, with the Blue Devils holding a 7-1 lead in the series. Duke is 4-0 when playing the Phoenix on the road.
In last season's contest -- Feb. 7, 2025 -- the Blue Devils earned a 16-7 win in Durham.
Elon enters the week with a 4-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the CAA after picking up its first conference victory with a 9-8 win over Monmouth this past Friday.
Anna Hackett is the Phoenix's top goal scorer with 15 tallies on the year. Ana Lee Vandiver follows closely behind with 14 goals, while also leading the team in assists (6) and points (20).
Defensively, Reagan Kuehn paces Elon in caused turnovers (13) and ground balls (20). Caitlin Walsh is the team's primary goaltender and owns 52 saves, a 10.43 GAA and a .394 save percentage.

UP NEXT:
Duke returns to conference action to close out its three-game road trip, traveling to Tallahassee, Florida, to face ACC newcomer Florida State Saturday, Mar. 29. Opening draw is set for noon, with the game streaming live on ACCNX.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX."

#GoDuke