Blue Devils Host Wingate in Exhibition Contest Thursday

Thursday, November 4

Durham, N.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

Wingate

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Host Wingate in Exhibition Contest Thursday

11/3/2021 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

DUKE GAME NOTES

Wingate Bulldogs At Duke Blue Devils
Exhibition • Thursday, Nov. 4 • 7:00 PM
Durham, N.C.   • Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)

Tickets: Free Admission
Live Stats: www.GoDuke.com
Radio:     Blue Devil Sports Network (WDNC 620 AM, www.GoDuke.com, Varsity Network App)
Radio Talent: Chris Edwards (PXP)

Game Notes l Listen Live l Live Stats l Digital Program l Twitter l Duke Media Hub l Cameron Health & Safety Protocals

Setting the Scene...
   Duke women's basketball fans will get their first look at the 2021-22 Blue Devils on Thursday, Nov. 4 ,as Wingate makes the trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium for an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Admission will be free for all fans.
   As a reminder, all fans looking to attend the game will have to be COVID-19 vaccinated or have a negative COVID test within the last 72 hours. Everyone in attendance will also be asked to wear a mask inside.
   The game will be carried live on the Blue Devil Sports Network via WDNC AM 620, the Varsity Network app and www.GoDuke.com with Chris Edwards (PXP) on the air beginning at 6:45 p.m. (ET).

What is Next?...
   Duke will open the regular season Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., as the Blue Devils host Winthrop at 7 p.m. The game will be aired live on ACC Network Extra as well as the Blue Devil Sports Network. Chris Edwards will be calling the action.

A Look at Wingate...
   Wingate collected a 10-10 record last season under the direction of Ann Hancock. Junior forward Bryanna Troutman led the Bulldogs offensively in 2020-21 by averaging 13.8 points per game and ranked second on the team with an 8.2 rebounding average. Graduate student Haleigh Brandon averaged a double-double last season, scoring 12.4 points per game while leading her squad with 10.3 rebounds per contest. Troutman was recently named a preseason first team All-SAC honoree, while the Bulldogs were picked seventh in the preseason SAC poll, voted on by the league's head coaches.
   Duke and Wingate previously met in exhibition contests on Nov. 3, 2010 and Nov. 5, 2009. In 2010, Duke posted an 88-44 victory, while in 2009 the Blue Devils won 99-31. Duke and Wingate also played on Feb. 22, 1975 with the Blue Devils winning 66-46 at a neutral site.

Lawson Enters Second Season with Blue Devils...
   After a decorated playing career, time as a college basketball analyst and a stint as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, Kara Lawson is in her second season as Duke's head coach.
   Last year, Lawson and the Blue Devils totaled a 3-1 record before COVID-19 shut down the season in late December.
   Just a few highlights of Lawson's career -- Celtics first female coach in the franchise's 73-year history, named one of the 100 most influential people in women's college basketball as announced by Silver Waves Media in the summer of 2020, on January 12, 2007, she became the first female analyst for a nationally-televised NBA game, helped USA Basketball 3x3 teams to six gold medals since 2017, played 13 WNBA seasons and helped lead the Sacramento Monarchs to the 2005 WNBA title, WNBA All-Star in 2007, four-time All-SEC selection and two-time All-America choice at Tennessee, 2008 USA Basketball gold medal winning squad in Beijing, China and leading the 2020 USA Basketball 3x3 squad to a Gold Medal in its inaugural Olympics in Tokyo. The list could go on and on...

New Look for the Blue Devils in 2021-22...
   Head coach Kara Lawson and her staff brought in seven transfers ahead of the 2021-22 campaign with the addition of Elizabeth Balogun (Louisville), Lexi Gordon (Texas Tech), Amaya Finklea-Guity (Syracuse), Imani Lewis (Wisconsin), Jordyn Oliver (Baylor), Celeste Taylor (Texas) and Nyah Green (Louisville). All seven student-athletes were top-41 recruits, including No. 6 (Taylor), No. 9 (Balogun), No. 11 (Gordon), and No. 12 (Oliver & Green), respectively.
   The group of transfers have combined to play in 477 career games with 352 starts and totaling 10,714 minutes played. They have scored 4,223 points, grabbed 2,273 rebounds, dished 519 assists, and blocked 331 shots. The trio of Gordon (15.7), Lewis (15.0), and Taylor (12.3) are coming off averaging double-digit points per game with their respective teams last year.
   To go along with the transfers, Lawson added two incoming freshmen -- Lee Volker (Purcellville, Va. - St. Paul VI Catholic) and Shayeann Day-Wilson (Toronto, Ont., Canada - Crestwood Prep). The Blue Devils return five student-athletes from the 2020-21 campaign -- Onome Akinbode-James, Vanessa de Jesus, Miela Goodchild, Jiselle Havas and Jade Williams. They combined to score 61.4 percent of Duke's points last year.

2021-22 Roster Features Impressive Resumes...
   With the addition of the transfers to the returning student-athletes from the 2020-21 campaign, Duke's 2021-22 roster features players with a wealth of honors and accolades.
   •   Five players were McDonald's All-Americans in high school (Jade Williams, Elizabeth Balogun, Nyah Green, Jordyn Oliver and Celeste Taylor).
   •   Six student-athletes were Jordan Brand All-Americans as prep players (Lexi Gordon, Jade Williams, Elizabeth Balogun, Nyah Green, Jordyn Oliver and Celeste Taylor).
   •   Seven players represented their respective countries' as members of junior and senior national teams in FIBA tournaments: Celeste Taylor, Jordyn Oliver and Jade Williams (USA Basketball); Elizabeth Balogun and Onome Akinbode-James (Nigeria); Miela Goodchild (Australia) and Shayeann Day-Wilson (Canada).

Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...
   •   The Blue Devils will play five of their first seven contests at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2021-22.
   •   Four Blue Devils will return to their home state of Texas on Nov. 21 for the Alabama contest in the Maggie Dixon Classic, which will be played in Fort Worth, Texas at TCU. Jordyn Oliver (Prosper, Texas), Jade Williams (The Colony, Texas), Nyah Green (Allen, Texas) and Lexi Gordon (Fort Worth, Texas) are all from the Longhorn State.
   •   Elizabeth Balogun will step on the court in 2021-22 with Duke marking the third different ACC squad she has played for. She will be the first women's basketball player in ACC history to play for three different teams in the league (Louisville, Georgia Tech).
   •   Imani Lewis' 30 career double-doubles currently ranks tied for 23rd nationally in the NCAA for active career leaders.
   •   Blue Devil senior Elizabeth Balogun represented her home country of Nigeria in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She appeared in all three contests for the Nigerians and played with former Duke standout Oderah Chidom with Nigeria.
   •   Duke features three graduate students in 2021-22 that are all attending the Duke Fuqua School of Business -- Amaya Finklea-Guity, Jade Williams and Lexi Gordon.
   •   Kara Lawson's playing career has her in elite company as she is one of only three NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches to play in a NCAA Final Four, win an Olympic Gold Medal and win a WNBA Championship (Lindsay Whalen of Minnesota and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke of Texas Southern).
   •   Junior transfer Jordyn Oliver will miss the 2021-22 season, after suffering an achilles injury over the summer.
   •   Follow @DukeWBB and @KaraLawson20 on Twitter to get the latest updates on Duke women's basketball. Also, "Like" Duke Women's Basketball on Facebook to get the latest videos, pictures and more. DWB is on Instagram at dukewbb, while Kara Lawson is at KaraLawson.

Day-Wilson Has Impressive Run with Canada...
   In August, Duke freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson competed for her home country of Canada at the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Hungary. Day-Wilson and Canada finished fifth overall.
   She ranked second in scoring for the event with an 18.1 per game average. Day-Wilson also averaged 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals in seven contests. She opened the tournament with 29 points against Japan, then collected 31 points versus the Czech Republic. She also added 22 points and 11 rebounds versus Russia. Day-Wilson's 5.7 assists a game ranked second overall and 5.9 rebounds ranked tied for 21st.

1,000-Point Scorers...
   Duke will feature one 1,000-point scorer on its roster in 2021-22 (Imani Lewis), but Elizabeth Balogun (833), Lexi Gordon (702), Amaya Finklea-Guity (689), Jade Williams (647) and Celeste Taylor (625) will have a chance this season to surpass the 1,000-point mark as well.

A full set of game notes are attached