brevity
Member
One of Duke WBB's best qualities is their lack of concern about the sport's set-in-stone hierarchy, even when the recruits, announcers, and referees obey the party line. They fought it out against the Olympic team last year!
2024-25 DWBB Season
- Thread starter Phredd3
- Start date
One of Duke WBB's best qualities is their lack of concern about the sport's set-in-stone hierarchy, even when the recruits, announcers, and referees obey the party line. They fought it out against the Olympic team last year!
CameronBlue
Member
They certainly seem to have short-term memory loss. They move onto the next play, pretty doggone well a tribute to Lawson.
DoubleBlue
Member
Well they beat the spread, so that's a positive.
Extremely enjoyable team to watch, the way they never stop playing. But when your leading scorer plays one minute in the first quarter (and scores only three all game) and you get down 20 at South Carolina, you’ve pretty much doomed yourself to playing uphill just to make it respectable.
Just missed a layup to get it down to six in the fourth quarter and make it really interesting. Too many turnovers, not quite enough size or talent at the end.
Just missed a layup to get it down to six in the fourth quarter and make it really interesting. Too many turnovers, not quite enough size or talent at the end.
SC starts a 5th-year senior, 2 seniors, a 4th-year junior, and a junior. If it happens, this will be a different game in March on a neutral floor. Not saying we'd win, but our ladies won't be scared of them (not saying they were tonight).
I wouldn't have believed it a month ago, but this team has a chance of making the Final Four. They can play.
I don't think it's exaggerating to say this was Reigan's worst game in a Duke uniform. 1-8 shooting, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 4 turnovers.
I wouldn't have believed it a month ago, but this team has a chance of making the Final Four. They can play.
I don't think it's exaggerating to say this was Reigan's worst game in a Duke uniform. 1-8 shooting, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 4 turnovers.
brevity
Member
South Carolina 81, Duke 70 (recap, box score, highlights, presser)
Three Blue Devils finished their night as double-figure scorers, but it wasn't enough for No. 8 Duke in an 81-70 setback to third-ranked South Carolina Thursday evening at Colonial Life Arena.
Taina Mair had a fantastic all-around game with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Delaney Thomas contributed 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting while Oluchi Okananwa posted 12 points and seven rebounds. South Carolina finished its night shooting 57 percent from the floor and outscored the Blue Devils in the paint, 48-34.
Duke WBB posted quotes from Coach Lawson here and here.
“We didn’t start the game as we hoped. We spent the game trying to fight out of the hole. The hole was a little too deep with a team of that quality. We showed resiliency — I was proud of that, proud of how we stayed in it.”
“We need to know what our weaknesses are. We need to know where we need to improve. Now we go back and get back to work. Really important game for us on Sunday to start conference play.”
There are also postgame comments from Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley and players Chloe Kitts and Te-Hina Paopao.
Three Blue Devils finished their night as double-figure scorers, but it wasn't enough for No. 8 Duke in an 81-70 setback to third-ranked South Carolina Thursday evening at Colonial Life Arena.
Taina Mair had a fantastic all-around game with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Delaney Thomas contributed 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting while Oluchi Okananwa posted 12 points and seven rebounds. South Carolina finished its night shooting 57 percent from the floor and outscored the Blue Devils in the paint, 48-34.
Duke WBB posted quotes from Coach Lawson here and here.
“We didn’t start the game as we hoped. We spent the game trying to fight out of the hole. The hole was a little too deep with a team of that quality. We showed resiliency — I was proud of that, proud of how we stayed in it.”
“We need to know what our weaknesses are. We need to know where we need to improve. Now we go back and get back to work. Really important game for us on Sunday to start conference play.”
There are also postgame comments from Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley and players Chloe Kitts and Te-Hina Paopao.
King of Defense
Member
ACC did a little better than the men did — 6-10.
Big wins for Notre Dame, NC State and Cal, and Stanford took LSU to OT.
Big wins for Notre Dame, NC State and Cal, and Stanford took LSU to OT.
Phredd3
Member
I agree that a rematch is likely a very different game. I would love to see that happen again, preferably in the Championship game, but anywhere in the Final Four works for me.
One of things I like best about Kara is her upbeat attitude. A lot of coaches will come to the presser after a loss and be surly. Sure this was an ugly loss, but SC may still be the best team in the country despite their #3/#4 ranking and it was on their home floor.
Though I can't believe she refers to opposing players by their number and not their name!!! (iykyk)
If you want more, I recommend you listen to the radio broadcast immediately after the game. A minute after the game (no more than 2), Chris Edwards gets Kara for a very short interview, less than 3 minutes. Point is you can miss it if you're not right there. But unlike the presser where Kara has had time to collect her thoughts, you get her immediately after the heat of the game. She was really gushing about her sophomore class bringing it last night. The future is bright.
Phredd3
Member
Stats v. Columbia
Sorry for the slight delay. Here are the numbers from yesterday's game (I can still say that) against the South Carolina Gamecock's at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.:
OFFENSE
Possessions: 67.7 (our slowest of the season; South Carolina's pace)
oRtg: 1.033 (very good; adj. 1.221, #1)
eFG%: 49.3% (mediocre or slightly worse)
3pt%: 37.5% (good)
2pt%: 47.1% (bad)
%three: 23.9% (very low, especially given they were our most effective weapon)
FT rate: 10.4% (terrible; just 7 total FT attempts)
OR%: 48.6% (outstanding, especially against this opponent)
TO%: 26.6% (terrible)
a/to: 1.000 (surprisingly good)
%assisted: 60.0% (very good)
fast break pts: 15 (21.4%) (really, really good)
DEFENSE
dRtg: 1.196 (bad; 0.926 adj., #193, which is bottom half of DI)
deFG%: 62.0% (really bad)
3pt%: 50% (really bad)
2pt%: 59.1% (really bad, even considering who we faced)
%threes: 18.5% (very low, and that's good)
FT rate: 18.5% (very good)
DR%: 62.5% (very bad)
TO%: 23.6% (very good, but still below average for us - good against this opponent, though)
a/to: 0.875 (really good, and surprisingly, our third worst of the season)
%assisted: 45.2% (good)
stl%: 17.7% (good)
blk%: 2.3% (horrible, one total block in the game)
fast break pts: 16 (19.8%) (pretty bad)
As you might expect, the number one offense in the country made us look pretty average or even a hair below that defensively. They got whatever shot they wanted against us, and they hit them. The real surprise what their lack of possessions. We had 10 more FGAs than they did. And it's a good thing, because they scored more than a full point on every possession, so if they'd shot it as much as we did at the efficiency they generated, we'd have lost by nearly 30. Chloe Kitts was a monster in this one, scoring a quarter of her team's points, and pulling down nearly 40% of their rebounds. I hate her fake eyelashes and makeup face, but dang, she can play.
The good news is that our offense made the number one defense in the country (yes, the Gamecocks are number one in both) look pretty pedestrian. No, we weren't as efficient as they were, but we made up some of the gap by snagging 12 steals and getting some good runouts while winning the Battle of the Boards by five against an outstanding rebounding team. We also shared the ball well, with more total assists and a better assist percentage than they had.
As predicted, out slow start killed us in this one. We were down 19-6 after 6:02, and that hole was bigger than the final margin. We just dug a trench, and then played them basically net even the rest of the way. Except, of course, they couldn't play their starters the whole game, so no telling how that goes if we're actually toe-to-toe with them somewhere in there, but the point is, we never were. The closest margin after the first quarter was eight points. I think we put a little scare in them - Staley put her starters back in - but there just wasn't time or energy enough to keep the comeback on. I'm impressed by our fight, but like the men's team, we need to do a better job of being ready to play right at the tipoff.
Sorry for the slight delay. Here are the numbers from yesterday's game (I can still say that) against the South Carolina Gamecock's at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.:
OFFENSE
Possessions: 67.7 (our slowest of the season; South Carolina's pace)
oRtg: 1.033 (very good; adj. 1.221, #1)
eFG%: 49.3% (mediocre or slightly worse)
3pt%: 37.5% (good)
2pt%: 47.1% (bad)
%three: 23.9% (very low, especially given they were our most effective weapon)
FT rate: 10.4% (terrible; just 7 total FT attempts)
OR%: 48.6% (outstanding, especially against this opponent)
TO%: 26.6% (terrible)
a/to: 1.000 (surprisingly good)
%assisted: 60.0% (very good)
fast break pts: 15 (21.4%) (really, really good)
DEFENSE
dRtg: 1.196 (bad; 0.926 adj., #193, which is bottom half of DI)
deFG%: 62.0% (really bad)
3pt%: 50% (really bad)
2pt%: 59.1% (really bad, even considering who we faced)
%threes: 18.5% (very low, and that's good)
FT rate: 18.5% (very good)
DR%: 62.5% (very bad)
TO%: 23.6% (very good, but still below average for us - good against this opponent, though)
a/to: 0.875 (really good, and surprisingly, our third worst of the season)
%assisted: 45.2% (good)
stl%: 17.7% (good)
blk%: 2.3% (horrible, one total block in the game)
fast break pts: 16 (19.8%) (pretty bad)
As you might expect, the number one offense in the country made us look pretty average or even a hair below that defensively. They got whatever shot they wanted against us, and they hit them. The real surprise what their lack of possessions. We had 10 more FGAs than they did. And it's a good thing, because they scored more than a full point on every possession, so if they'd shot it as much as we did at the efficiency they generated, we'd have lost by nearly 30. Chloe Kitts was a monster in this one, scoring a quarter of her team's points, and pulling down nearly 40% of their rebounds. I hate her fake eyelashes and makeup face, but dang, she can play.
The good news is that our offense made the number one defense in the country (yes, the Gamecocks are number one in both) look pretty pedestrian. No, we weren't as efficient as they were, but we made up some of the gap by snagging 12 steals and getting some good runouts while winning the Battle of the Boards by five against an outstanding rebounding team. We also shared the ball well, with more total assists and a better assist percentage than they had.
As predicted, out slow start killed us in this one. We were down 19-6 after 6:02, and that hole was bigger than the final margin. We just dug a trench, and then played them basically net even the rest of the way. Except, of course, they couldn't play their starters the whole game, so no telling how that goes if we're actually toe-to-toe with them somewhere in there, but the point is, we never were. The closest margin after the first quarter was eight points. I think we put a little scare in them - Staley put her starters back in - but there just wasn't time or energy enough to keep the comeback on. I'm impressed by our fight, but like the men's team, we need to do a better job of being ready to play right at the tipoff.
brevity
Member
Duke WBB hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday 12/8 at 4pm ET on ACCN (streaming link, listen, live stats)
The #8 Blue Devils return to Cameron, and hopefully their winning ways, in their conference opener against the Virginia Tech Hokies this Sunday afternoon. The game is immediately followed by the Duke men's game at Louisville on the ACC Network, so that's 4 straight hours of fandom. If you're in Durham and able to attend, you should know that there is a Teddy Bear Toss promotion, which means that a referee will toss any teddy bear from the game if it criticizes the officiating. No, the above link says "Bring a new teddy bear to toss onto the court during halftime, benefiting Duke Children's Hospital. Stay tuned for more details!"
Sunday's opponent is not the Kenny Brooks/Elizabeth Kitley/Georgia Amoore team we're grown accustomed to seeing for the past few years. Kitley is in the WNBA, while Coach Brooks took the Kentucky job, and brought Amoore with him. Former Marquette head coach Megan Duffy is now in charge, and the team is 7-2 so far. They were the only ACC women's team to win a road game in this week's ACC-SEC Challenge, defeating Georgia in Athens (70-61: recap, box score, highlights), and they also have a home win against Rutgers. Their two losses were on neutral courts against Iowa and Michigan. In the latest NET Rankings, the Hokies are #53.
Coach Duffy did not have to rebuild a roster from scratch; her top 5 scorers played for Virginia Tech last season. Right now it's looking like an 8-player rotation. (Now with jersey numbers!)
PROBABLE STARTERS
6-2 senior forward Rose Micheaux #4 (13.8 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.0 ast)
6-0 redshirt sophomore guard Carleigh Wenzel #1 (13.4 pts, 4.3 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.7 stl)
6-2 senior wing Matilda Ekh #11 (11.7 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.2 ast)
6-2 sophomore forward Carys Baker #10 (10.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.0 blk)
6-0 junior guard Lani White #0 (6.8 pts, 2.8 reb, 1.1 ast)
TOP RESERVES
5-8 sophomore guard Samyha Suffren #12 (7.9 pts, 2.0 reb, 2.1 ast, 1.2 stl)
6-0 freshman wing Kayl Petersen #34 (5.9 pts, 3.8 reb, 0.8 ast)
5-8 redshirt freshman Mackenzie Nelson #3 (5.3 pts, 1.8 reb, 2.8 ast, 2.0 stl)
BENCH PLAYERS
5-9 freshman guard Leila Wells #2 (3.0 pts, 0.6 reb, 0.7 ast)
6-5 freshman center Ramiya White #22 (2.2 pts, 3.0 reb, 0.0 ast)
6-4 freshman forward Myah Hazelton #21(1.5 pts, 0.0 reb, 0.0 ast)
Rose Micheaux had only the second triple-double in program history -- 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists -- in VT's win over Elon a couple of weeks ago. Carys Baker is the daughter of former NBA player Vin Baker. Lani White is the only incoming transfer new to this team; she played for Utah last season.
Here's a two-team comparison. Some stat sources are linked below; the rest come from Basketball Reference.
Speaking of Torvik, he's predicting Duke to win 81-65.
The #8 Blue Devils return to Cameron, and hopefully their winning ways, in their conference opener against the Virginia Tech Hokies this Sunday afternoon. The game is immediately followed by the Duke men's game at Louisville on the ACC Network, so that's 4 straight hours of fandom. If you're in Durham and able to attend, you should know that there is a Teddy Bear Toss promotion, which means that a referee will toss any teddy bear from the game if it criticizes the officiating. No, the above link says "Bring a new teddy bear to toss onto the court during halftime, benefiting Duke Children's Hospital. Stay tuned for more details!"
Sunday's opponent is not the Kenny Brooks/Elizabeth Kitley/Georgia Amoore team we're grown accustomed to seeing for the past few years. Kitley is in the WNBA, while Coach Brooks took the Kentucky job, and brought Amoore with him. Former Marquette head coach Megan Duffy is now in charge, and the team is 7-2 so far. They were the only ACC women's team to win a road game in this week's ACC-SEC Challenge, defeating Georgia in Athens (70-61: recap, box score, highlights), and they also have a home win against Rutgers. Their two losses were on neutral courts against Iowa and Michigan. In the latest NET Rankings, the Hokies are #53.
Coach Duffy did not have to rebuild a roster from scratch; her top 5 scorers played for Virginia Tech last season. Right now it's looking like an 8-player rotation. (Now with jersey numbers!)
PROBABLE STARTERS
6-2 senior forward Rose Micheaux #4 (13.8 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.0 ast)
6-0 redshirt sophomore guard Carleigh Wenzel #1 (13.4 pts, 4.3 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.7 stl)
6-2 senior wing Matilda Ekh #11 (11.7 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.2 ast)
6-2 sophomore forward Carys Baker #10 (10.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.0 blk)
6-0 junior guard Lani White #0 (6.8 pts, 2.8 reb, 1.1 ast)
TOP RESERVES
5-8 sophomore guard Samyha Suffren #12 (7.9 pts, 2.0 reb, 2.1 ast, 1.2 stl)
6-0 freshman wing Kayl Petersen #34 (5.9 pts, 3.8 reb, 0.8 ast)
5-8 redshirt freshman Mackenzie Nelson #3 (5.3 pts, 1.8 reb, 2.8 ast, 2.0 stl)
BENCH PLAYERS
5-9 freshman guard Leila Wells #2 (3.0 pts, 0.6 reb, 0.7 ast)
6-5 freshman center Ramiya White #22 (2.2 pts, 3.0 reb, 0.0 ast)
6-4 freshman forward Myah Hazelton #21(1.5 pts, 0.0 reb, 0.0 ast)
Rose Micheaux had only the second triple-double in program history -- 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists -- in VT's win over Elon a couple of weeks ago. Carys Baker is the daughter of former NBA player Vin Baker. Lani White is the only incoming transfer new to this team; she played for Utah last season.
Here's a two-team comparison. Some stat sources are linked below; the rest come from Basketball Reference.
| Category | Virginia Tech (7-2) | Duke (8-2) |
| Points Scored | 79.3 (39th nationally) | 81.9 (28th) |
| Points Allowed | 64.1 (198th) | 65.8 (229th) |
| Scoring Margin (NCAA.com) | 15.2 (62nd) | 16.1 (59th) |
| Bench Points (NCAA.com) | 23.3 (97th) | 33.3 (18th) |
| Total Rebounds | 37.0 (196th) | 40.4 (82nd) |
| --- Offensive Rebounds | 11.1 (221st) | 14.9 (42nd) |
| --- Defensive Rebounds | 25.9 (160th) | 25.5 (180th) |
| Assists | 16.2 (62nd) | 18.5 (18th) |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio (NCAA.com) | 1.03 (75th) | 1.16 (41st) |
| Steals | 7.2 (256th) | 11.7 (36th) |
| Blocks | 3.0 (184th) | 3.8 (105th) |
| Turnovers | 15.8 (127th fewest) | 16.0 (142nd fewest) |
| Personal Fouls | 15.0 (65th fewest) | 18.0 (238th fewest) |
| Field Goal Percentage | 48.5% (22nd) | 48.0% (25th) |
| 2-Point FG Percentage | 54.0% (36th) | 50.9% (78th) |
| 3-Point FG Percentage | 35.2% (58th) | 38.8% (15th) |
| Free Throw Percentage | 75.2% (57th) | 66.1% (261st) |
| NET Ranking (NCAA.com) | #51 | #10 |
| T-Rank (Bart Torvik) | #1 (T-Page) | #9 (T-Page) |
Speaking of Torvik, he's predicting Duke to win 81-65.
Last edited:
brevity
Member
It's game day, and based on the image below (source), Toby Fournier got a buzzcut? Bold move.
Duke links: preview, PDF game notes
Virginia Tech link: PDF game notes
Dorian Craft (VT softball, bio) and Kelly Gramlich (Clemson basketball, bio) will announce the game for the ACC Network -- watch it on TV or stream it here.
You can also listen to the game on the Blue Devil Sports Network (online/Varsity app/Sirius XM 193 or 211) or the Virginia Tech Sports Network.
In addition to Duke's live stats from Sidearm, HokieSports.com has their own live stats link here.
GoDuke's website doesn't have any more info about today's Teddy Bear Toss promotion, but the team posted this video from Emma Koabel about it:
If you prefer, it's also on Instagram and Threads, and those platforms include this slide:
DoubleBlue
Member
With Coach Lawson, I would call this foul management. She quickly subs for any player whose foul total matches the quarter number. Last game Richardson was pulled in less than a minute after a quick foul which contributed to Duke's slow start. I've groused about this before, and maybe it won't change, but I hope Lawson can learn to trust her players to stay clear of fouls if they are in the danger zone. I think 99% of college teams are not so restrictive.
brevity
Member
Duke 81, Virginia Tech 59 (recap, box score, highlights, condensed game, full replay, presser)
Freshman Toby Fournier scored a career-high 27 points and sophomore Oluchi Okananwa registered a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead the eighth-ranked Blue Devils to an 81-59 victory over Virginia Tech in ACC women's basketball action Sunday evening.
Fournier knocked down 12-of-17 from the floor and collected nine rebounds in her ACC debut. Delaney Thomas added 14 points while Reigan Richardson and Taina Mair combined for 12 assists with seven and five, respectively.
The above-linked highlights are from the ACC Digital Network. Here's the version posted by the team:
Duke WBB also posted Toby Fournier highlights...
... and Coach Lawson's postgame comments.
"I told them that being a part of a great defense a year ago, and some of them two years ago as well, does not entitle you to being a part of great defense this year. It takes work, it takes connectivity, it takes improvement, it takes buy-in, it takes effort... it takes all those things. It was nice to see the Duke defense back in the first half, and so that is what my takeaway is from this game that I'm most proud of."
"Even though we don't have a center, our forwards finish well. Our forwards have a really good field goal percentage, when you look, and this is now 11 games... That's an aspect of our offense that we hadn't had yet here: someone that we can throw the ball to on the block, and they can make you pay on the post up. So Fournier gives us that, Thomas gives us that, and it's nice to have that balance, where you can get those paint points you can throw it in and get some post-ups."
Freshman Toby Fournier scored a career-high 27 points and sophomore Oluchi Okananwa registered a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead the eighth-ranked Blue Devils to an 81-59 victory over Virginia Tech in ACC women's basketball action Sunday evening.
Fournier knocked down 12-of-17 from the floor and collected nine rebounds in her ACC debut. Delaney Thomas added 14 points while Reigan Richardson and Taina Mair combined for 12 assists with seven and five, respectively.
The above-linked highlights are from the ACC Digital Network. Here's the version posted by the team:
Duke WBB also posted Toby Fournier highlights...
... and Coach Lawson's postgame comments.
"I told them that being a part of a great defense a year ago, and some of them two years ago as well, does not entitle you to being a part of great defense this year. It takes work, it takes connectivity, it takes improvement, it takes buy-in, it takes effort... it takes all those things. It was nice to see the Duke defense back in the first half, and so that is what my takeaway is from this game that I'm most proud of."
"Even though we don't have a center, our forwards finish well. Our forwards have a really good field goal percentage, when you look, and this is now 11 games... That's an aspect of our offense that we hadn't had yet here: someone that we can throw the ball to on the block, and they can make you pay on the post up. So Fournier gives us that, Thomas gives us that, and it's nice to have that balance, where you can get those paint points you can throw it in and get some post-ups."
Last edited:
Phredd3
Member
The problem is that we brought the lead back to 11-points right at the end. We were down by 20 at the half. Heck we were down 16 points after just one period. While I'm encouraged by the fact that we didn't give up and brought the lead back to single digits late, after the very first quarter, our win chance never rose above a couple percent. If it's a competitive game that ends in an 11-point loss, that's one thing. But we were never really in that game.
Still, it's much better than a 33-point beat down, and I'll take it over TCU's result any day. Hopefully, we've learned from it, and in a rematch we won't let ourselves fall so far behind early, and we'll still have the gumption and fight down the stretch to make it an exciting contest.
CameronBornAndBred
Well-known member
Duke drops only one, to #9 in the AP poll.