Cameron Indoor Stadium is a mecca of college basketball, and it’ll be home to what should be a very, very good Duke women’s basketball team this season, too.

The Blue Devils are synonymous with hoops success, qualifying for the Sweet 16 for the 18th time in team history last season as the women’s program will look to celebrate its 50th anniversary this season with a historic postseason run.

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Back-to-back 20-win campaigns has Duke women’s hoops feeling like the program of old, like when it made three Final Fours from 2002-06 or had a run of four straight Elite Eight appearances from 2010-13.

The infrastructure is there in Durham for the Blue Devils to thrive on women’s basketball’s stage once again, leaving only the players suiting up at Duke this season left to act on all of that potential and be as good as they want to be.

Here’s a look ahead at all you need to know about Duke women’s basketball ahead of both the 2024-25 season and the 2024 Ball Dawgs Classic — the latter of which will be streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege:

Last Season 

• 22-12 overall (11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Lost to UConn in NCAA Sweet 16

After a 26-win season in 2022-23 that was Duke’s best year since 2017, a 22-win campaign and Sweet 16 run that followed it signaled to the rest of the country that coach Kara Lawson’s vision for the Blue Devils is working.

Duke broke a six-year drought of making it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament — of which it qualified as an at-large bid and became one of eight ACC teams in the field — by bringing down both Richmond and Ohio State in the first two rounds before blue-blood UConn shut down the Blue Devils.

Wins over NC State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech were the highlights of conference play for Duke, which was ranked as high as No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll last season and enters this season as the No. 11-ranked squad in the same poll entering Lawson’s fifth year at the helm. 

Though Duke’s women’s basketball team doesn’t quite have the lineage and history as its male counterparts, the Blue Devils have made the Final Four four times (the last time of which was in 2006) and have finished as the national runner-up twice. Competing for the ACC title this year, which Duke hasn’t won since 2013, would probably be the biggest indication that the Blue Devils are now good enough to get back to that level.

Returners

1. Reigan Richardson, G, Sr., Charlotte, N.C.
2. Taina Mair, G, Jr., Boston
3. Ashlon Jackson, G, Jr., China, Texas
4. Oluchi Okananwa, G, Soph., Boston
5. Jadyn Donovan, G/F, Soph., Upper Marlboro, Md.
6. Delaney Thomas, F, Soph., Charles Town, W.V.
7. Emma Koabel, G, Jr., Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
8. Jordan Wood, F, Soph., Chicago
9. Louann Battiston, G, Soph., Montigny le Tilleil, Belgium
10. Vanessa de Jesus, G, Gr., Valencia, Calif.
11. Olivia Martin, G, Jr., Gaithersburg, Md. 

When it comes to returning production, the Blue Devils have absolutely no problems in that department as 11 players from last year’s roster are back, including their top four scorers and top six 3-point shooters. Oh, and much of that same ground contributed last season to Duke giving up an ACC-low 57.9 points per game, which put it in the top 40 nationally in scoring defense.

Duke’s star power compared to other teams in the ACC and the elites nationwide, however, is the looming question mark ahead of its push to try and get past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013.

That’s most definitely not to say that the Blue Devils aren’t a talented squad. Richardson was the team’s most reliable scoring threat in 2023-24, averaging a team high 12.4 points per game with strong performances down the stretch, including back-to-back 25-plus point performances in the NCAA Tournament against Richmond and Ohio State. 

Richardson earned an All-ACC Second Team nod last year for her play, but she was one of just two Blue Devils to win end-of-year awards from the conference along with Okananwa, who was a breakout freshman that captured the ACC Sixth Player of the Year Award plus a selection on the All-Freshman Team. 

Still, with four starters back from a team that made the second weekend of March Madness, not having a major household name on the roster may actually be to the Blue Devils’ benefit come March as they could have the ability to fly under the radar, yet stay dangerous.

Mair, Jackson and Donovan are the returning core pieces of the lineup, with Mair leading the team in minutes, assists and steals last season as the Blue Devils’ floor general. Jackson is the team’s best returning deep threat (minimum 70 attempts) after a 36.2% clip from 3 last year, while Donovan was the second-leading rebounder last year at 5.7 per night behind Okananwa’s 6.1.

The departure of 6-foot-6 center Kennedy Brown means that the likes of Wood and Thomas may be fighting for extra playing time in the frontcourt, while Koabel will add continued depth in the backcourt after coming off of the bench in 33 of 34 games last season. Also, de Jesus — who has started 18 games in three seasons but missed all of last year due to injury — is back in the mix, as well.

Duke Transfers/Freshmen 

1. Riley Nelson, G, Soph., Clarksburg, Md. (Maryland)
2. Arianna Roberson, C, Fr., San Antonio, Texas
3. Toby Fournier, F, Fr., Toronto
4. Jenessa Cotton, F, Fr., Orange, Calif.
5. Ella Moore, G, Fr., Poolesville, Md.

Duke didn’t need to do much portal hunting with an esteemed freshman class and so many returners, but it wasn’t going to turn down another guard with Power 4 experience, either.

A lengthy guard at 6-2 who played in 16 games off of the bench for the Terrapins before tearing her ACL in January, Nelson was a five-star recruit out of high school and a McDonald’s All-American who showed bursts of what she could do at Maryland a year ago, most notably a 15-point performance on 7-for-11 shooting against Niagara. Though there likely won’t be a lot of backcourt minutes up for grabs in Durham, Nelson’s potential may lead her to find a role in some way, especially if she starts to get on a roll early in the season.

As for the freshmen, considering that Lawson had no issues giving multiple first-year players significant minutes a season ago, all four of the Blue Devils’ rookies could see the floor at points this year.

Roberson, at 6-4 and the tallest player on the roster, would’ve been in the running to fill in the center spot left behind by Moore’s graduation, but the program announced in September that the five-star recruit would miss all of the 2024-25 season due to injury. 

That leaves Fournier, on the ACC’s Newcomer Watch List, as the freshman with likely the most hype coming into this season — not limited to the fact that the top-10 recruit and Canada native can routinely dunk in-game. Cotton is a top-100, four-star recruit with some size (6-2) to battle for playing time down low, too, while Moore was a later addition to the Blue Devils’ recruiting class.

X-Factor

• Will Reigan Richardson Take Leap?

Though it’s true that Duke having a group of solid, reliable options that it can depend on can help them play spoiler in March, teams that get to the Final Four and beyond almost always have an All-American-type of player who can take over games in a matter of minutes.

Do the Blue Devils have that player right now in Richardson? It’s hard to say until the Blue Devils start playing opponents, but if consistent 20-point nights start happening more frequently against top-tier competition — like when she went 11-for-18 shooting against Ohio State in the second round, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range — then she may become a breakout star in the making.

From Elizabeth Williams to Alana Beard, the Blue Devils have produced their share of elite-level ballers who have led Duke to high heights. Richardson’s promise shown last year, plus the fact that she’s the program’s only senior, could indicate that a surge in her game is coming and that she can match the ACC’s best guards blow for blow.

That’s much easier said than done, especially considering that Notre Dame returns a pair of All-Americans in Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles and NC State returns a backcourt of Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James that led the Wolfpack to the Final Four, among other notable returners across the conference. But if Duke, picked to finish third in the ACC behind the Fighting Irish and NC State, wants to be in the title fight with those two programs, someone in Durham will have to emerge and become elite, too.

Ball Dawgs Classic

Duke will open its Ball Dawgs Classic slate Nov. 25 when the Blue Devils face Kansas State, with the tournament (to be held from Nov. 25-27 at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada) streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege. The Ball Dawgs Classic is part of FloCollege’s extended coverage of men’s and women’s college basketball all winter long, being the exclusive home of hoops across multiple NCAA Divisions I, II and III conferences.

2024 Ball Dawgs Classic Women's Teams

• Oklahoma
• Duke
• Kansas State
• DePaul

How To Watch The Ball Dawgs Classic 2024

The Men's And Women's 2024 Ball Dawgs Classic will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.

Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms. 

Ball Dawgs Classic 2024 Women's Schedule

Monday, November 25

• Duke vs. Kansas State – 3:00 p.m. ET
• Oklahoma vs. DePaul – 30 minutes following game 1 (approximately 3:30 p.m. ET)

Wednesday, November 27

• Women’s Consolation Game – 2:00 p.m. ET
• Women’s Championship Game – 30 minutes following game 1 (approximately 2:30 p.m. ET)

NCAA Women's Basketball Rankings AP Top 25

1. South Carolina (27) – 0-0, 745 points, Previous: 1
2. UConn (2) – 0-0, 708 points, Previous: 3
3. Southern California (1) – 0-0, 697 points, Previous: 5
4. Texas – 0-0, 641 points, Previous: 7
5. UCLA – 0-0, 628 points, Previous: 10
6. Notre Dame – 0-0, 614 points, Previous: 11
7. LSU – 0-0, 549 points, Previous: 6
8. Iowa State – 0-0, 521 points, Previous: 25
9. NC State – 0-0, 510 points, Previous: 4
10. Oklahoma – 0-0, 441 points, Previous: 21
11. Duke – 0-0, 439 points, Previous: 17
12. Baylor – 0-0, 422 points, Previous: 13
13. Kansas State – 0-0, 390 points, Previous: 19
14. Ohio State – 0-0, 372 points, Previous: 16
15. North Carolina – 0-0, 285 points, Previous: NR
16. West Virginia – 0-0, 277 points, Previous: 24
17. Louisville – 0-0, 250 points, Previous: NR
18. Maryland – 0-0, 227 points, Previous: NR
19. Florida State – 0-0, 191 points, Previous: NR
20. Ole Miss – 0-0, 165 points, Previous: NR
21. Creighton – 0-0, 152 points, Previous: 23
22. Kentucky – 0-0, 108 points, Previous: NR
23. Nebraska – 0-0, 106 points, Previous: NR
24. Alabama – 0-0, 67 points, Previous: NR
25. Indiana – 0-0, 46 points, Previous: 12

Others Receiving Votes: Iowa 37, TCU 30, Utah 24, Illinois 23, Stanford 17, Michigan St. 16, Gonzaga 16, Vanderbilt 12, South Dakota St. 7, Miami 4, Tennessee 3, Fairfield 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Georgia Tech 2, Syracuse 1, Princeton 1.

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Watch NCAA Women's Basketball On FloHoops

The NCAA Women's Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app. 

The BIG EAST Digital Network is also on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

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