It's a little weird that the Boneyard Forum -- Connecticut's message board -- has a
Duke WBB thread with more information about the 2025-26 schedule than we have here.
Here's what we know so far. Click the opponent or event for more information.
Non-Conference Opponents
11/12
Norfolk State Spartans (home)
-- start of a home-and-home series; Duke will play in Norfolk in 2026-27
Duke's visit to Norfolk will mark a historic milestone, becoming the first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent to compete at Echols Hall in program history. The Blue Devils finished last season with a 29-8 record, making an appearance in the Elite Eight, earning the No. 7 national ranking.
"I appreciate Coach Kara Lawson's willingness to engage in a home-and-home series with our institution," [head coach Jermaine] Woods said. "As we continue to strive for greater visibility for HBCU's, collaborative agreements like this are instrumental in driving progress. Her return to Norfolk will yield numerous benefits to our university, community, and the city."
11/16
Liberty Flames (road)
-- leave it to Coach Lawson to invent the road-and-road series
Duke will play in Lynchburg for the second year in a row on Nov. 16, marking the Lady Flames' third home game within the season's first 13 days... Liberty battled the Blue Devils during an 83-67 setback a year ago, a contest which attracted a Liberty Arena women's basketball-record 2,845 fans.
11/20
South Florida Bulls (road)
-- confirmed as a return trip to Tampa
Last season, USF's nonconference schedule was highlighted by a 65-56 win over No. 9/10-ranked Duke on Dec. 21 in Yuengling Center. That victory marked the 22nd-ranked win in program history, head coach Jose Fernandez's 20th-ranked win, and the program's 30th win against a Power-5 opponent.
11/??
Players Era Festival -- Texas, UCLA, and South Carolina (neutral)
-- three days during Thanksgiving Week TBD, round robin format
The Women's Championship will take place at the MGM in Las Vegas over three days during Thanksgiving Week and coincide with next year's Players Era Men's Championship. The round robin format ensures three marquee matchups for each team, with an overall champion determined by head-to-head record, then a series of tiebreakers including point differential, points scored and points allowed.
Notes:
--
Maryland rematch (home) will be in 2026-27, as announced last year. If Oluchi Okananwa stays with the Terrapins, that would be her return to Cameron.
-- To my knowledge, no rematches have been announced -- yet -- with Radford, Dayton, South Dakota State, Belmont, Kansas State, Oklahoma, DePaul, Columbia, or Wofford. Remember, Jenessa Cotton transferred to Kansas State.
-- One of the things I liked about playing in Tampa last season is that it was also preparation for the Final Four that was later held there. Going back this season doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The 2026 Final Four is in Phoenix, and now that Winston Gandy is the head coach at Grand Canyon, you'd think that Coach Lawson might plan something similar.
ACC Opponents
No scheduled games yet. The conference announced the
matchups way back in February 2024. It's the opposite of last season, with home opponents in 2024-25 becoming road opponents in 2025-26, and vice versa.
Home: UNC, SMU, Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Notre Dame, Boston College
Away: UNC, California, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse
