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7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Thursday, November 9
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
vs
Coastal Carolina
Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics
Duke, Coastal Carolina to Square Off Thursday Night
11/8/2023 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
52ND SEASON OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
LAWSON ENTERS YEAR FOUR
FRESH FACES IN THE BULL CITY
SQUASHED 'EM: RICHARDSON, OKANANWA PACE BLUE DEVILS TO 30-POINT WIN OVER RICHMOND
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CHANTICLEERS
BLUE DEVILS TO HOST USA BASKETBALL IN EXHIBITION NOV. 12
UP NEXT
Duke gears up to host the USA Basketball Women's National Team in an exhibition on Sunday, Nov. 12. The game is slated for a noon tipoff live on ACCNX.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
- Duke (1-0) continues its season-opening home stand Thursday night with a tilt against Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m., live on ACCNX with Dean Linke and Debbie Taylor calling the action.
- Thursday's game marks the first meeting between the Blue Devils and Chanticleers in the history of their respective programs.
- The Blue Devils come into the midweek contest fresh off a convincing, 83-53, victory over Richmond in the season-opener on Monday. Duke improved to 40-9 all-time in season openers, including wins in 19 of its last 20, and won its 25th straight home opener dating back to 1998-99.
- Reigan Richardson scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 from long range, to pace the team in the victory while Oluchi Okananwa turned in a spectacular all-around performance of 22 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists in her collegiate debut.
- Richardson's point total was the highest by a Duke player since Haley Gorecki's 30-point outburst vs. Idaho State back on Nov. 21, 2019. It is also the most points scored by any player in the Kara Era.
- With the win, Duke moves to 8-1 all-time against Richmond and have now won three consecutive meetings with the Spiders, including the last two by an average of 40.5 points.
- The Blue Devils return five letterwinners and two starters from a season ago while also welcoming six newcomers to the roster - two impact transfers, along with a four-member freshman class that ranked sixth nationally.
- Freshman Jadyn Donovan was tabbed to the ACC Preseason Newcomer Watch List while also being named one of ESPN's top impact freshmen for the season.
- Senior Kennedy Brown garnered her second consecutive nod to the Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List.
- Duke enters the 2023-24 season ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll
- Coastal Carolina (0-1) comes into the game after dropping the season opener at Georgia Tech, 83-53.
- Graduate student Deaja Richardson led the Chants with 15 points.
52ND SEASON OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- The 2023-24 season signifies the 52nd season of Duke women's basketball.
- Duke has compiled a 1,005-464 all-time record (.684).
- Over the history of the program, Duke has captured 12 ACC regular season crowns and eight conference tournament titles, made 25 NCAA Tournament appearances and played in four Final Fours (1999, '02, '03, '06), including two appearances in the national final (1999, '06).
LAWSON ENTERS YEAR FOUR
- Head coach Kara Lawson enters her fourth season at the helm of the Duke women's basketball program with an overall career record of 46-21.
- In her third year, Lawson led the Blue Devils to one of their most successful seasons in recent history, as the squad finished the year with a 26-7 overall record, a 14-4 mark in ACC play, a 14-2 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Blue Devils featured one of the nation's most elite defenses over the course of the year, ending the season ranked second in scoring defense, ninth in field goal percentage defense and 10th in blocks. Duke held each of its opponents below its season scoring average, including 17 to 50 points or less.
- Since arriving in Durham, Lawson has also helped the Blue Devils return to relevance on the recruiting trail, signing a pair of top-15 classes in her first two hauls (2022 - No. 11, 2023 - No. 6).
FRESH FACES IN THE BULL CITY
- Duke added six newcomers to the roster ahead of the season - a pair of impact transfers and four freshman.
- The transfers include graduate student Camilla Emsbo (Yale) along with sophomore Taina Mair (Boston College)
- Duke's freshman class features Jadyn Donovan (Washington, D.C.), Oluchi Okananwa (Boston, Mass.), Delaney Thomas (Charles Town, W.Va.) and Jordan Wood (Chicago, Ill.)
- Duke returns five letterwinners and two starters from the 2023-24 roster, including key contributors in junior Reigan Richardson, senior Kennedy Brown and sophomore Ashlon Jackson.
SQUASHED 'EM: RICHARDSON, OKANANWA PACE BLUE DEVILS TO 30-POINT WIN OVER RICHMOND
- Reigan Richardson scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 from long range, to lead the Duke women's basketball to an 83-53 season-opening win over Richmond Monday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Richardson cashed in 15 of her points in the third quarter, which matched the school record for most points in the period set by Rebecca Greenwell on Feb. 25, 2018 vs. North Carolina.
- Oluchi Okananwa also turned in a spectacular all-around performance in her collegiate debut, posting 22 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists in 25 minutes of action.
- Okananwa's statline made her the first freshman since 2014, and just the seventh at Duke all-time, to post a double-double in their first collegiate game. Rebecca Greenwell (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Azura Stevens (10 points, 10 rebounds) were the last two to accomplish the feat, both doing so against Alabama back on Nov. 16, 2014.
- Duke had two players finish with 20 or more points in the same game for the first time since Feb. 6, 2022.
- The Blue Devils shot 54 percent (34-of-63) from the floor and 44 percent (7-of-16) from behind the arc for the game. Defensively, Duke held Richmond to 35-percent shooting and forced the Spiders into 18 turnovers.
- Duke outscored Richmond 46-26 in the paint and 34-15 off the bench, also holding the advantage in second chance points (18-5) and on the fastbreak (16-2).
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CHANTICLEERS
- Thursday's game marks the first meeting between Duke and Coastal Carolina all-time.
- Coastal Carolina (0-1) comes into the game after dropping the season opener at Georgia Tech, 83-53. Graduate student Deaja Richardson led the Chants with 15 points in the loss.
- The Chanticleers return a pair of double-figure scorers in graduate student Deaja Richardson (13.8) and junior Arin Freeman (10.4) who averaged 13.8. Sophomore Anaya Barney and junior Arielle-Vadrelle Belinga also return after seeing significant playing time a season ago, along with two-time All-American Makaila Cange who returns after sitting out last season.
- Coastal was picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt Conference in the preseason coaches poll after ending the 2022-23 season with a 14-16 overall record and 9-9 mark in league action.
- Head coach Kevin Pedersen enters his second season with the Chanticleers and 23rd overall as a coach. Pedersen has compiled a 14-17 mark during his time in Conway, while his career record stands at 458-208.
BLUE DEVILS TO HOST USA BASKETBALL IN EXHIBITION NOV. 12
- The Duke women's basketball team will host USA Basketball's Women's National Team in an exhibition contest on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The matchup with USA Basketball is slated to tipoff at noon ET and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
- "We are excited to host the No. 1 team in the world in the No. 1 venue for college basketball! What an incredible opportunity for our program and our fans," said Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson. "I hope everyone in the Triangle area comes out to see this matchup. As the USA National Team prepares for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, we will do our best to compete and help them along in their journey. Go Team USA and go Duke!"
- The Blue Devils will take on the U.S. Women's National Team for just the second time overall and first since 1999, when USA Basketball defeated Duke 71-45 in Durham.
- In addition to its matchup with the Blue Devils, the USA Basketball Women's National Team will also face off against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The games will be hosted as USA Basketball continues to evaluate the 2021-24 Women's National Team player pool prior to naming a team for the Paris 2024 Olympics. USA roster information will be announced at a later date.
- USA Basketball Women's National Team head coach Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) will coach the USA in both games and lead training camp. She will be assisted by Mike Thibault (Washington Mystics) and Curt Miller (Los Angeles Sparks).
UP NEXT
Duke gears up to host the USA Basketball Women's National Team in an exhibition on Sunday, Nov. 12. The game is slated for a noon tipoff live on ACCNX.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
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