Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus #16 Baylor on November 3, 2025 at 12 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs #16 Baylor
Thursday, February 16
Blacksburg, Va.
7 p.m.
Duke University
at
Virginia Tech
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 9 Duke Gears Up for Showdown at No. 11 Virginia Tech
2/15/2023 1:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
KARA LAWSON NAMED TO 2023 WERNER LADDER NAISMITH WOMEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR LATE SEASON WATCH LIST
SHARING THE WEALTH
DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE
UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY
DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
IN ELITE COMPANY
LAST TIME OUT
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HOKIES
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils close the two-game road swing with a return trip to Virginia, this time heading to Charlottesville for a date with Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m., 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
- Gearing up for the final stretch of the regular season, No. 9 Duke is back on the road for its next two games, heading to the Old Dominion state for a midweek tilt at #11/9 Virginia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., live on ACCNX.
- Bailey Angle and Mack McCarthy will call the action for ACCNX while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
- Duke head coach Kara Lawson was named to the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List.
- Duke is the only Division I school to have both men's and women's basketball teams undefeated at home, combining for a 25-0 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Boasting a 22-3 overall record and a 12-2 record in ACC play, the Blue Devils are having their best season dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
- Duke is slotted No. 9 in the Week 15 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
- Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of its games by an average of 20.3 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 14 of the 25 to 50 points or less.
- Duke has held its foes to 50.2 points per game on 34.3 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank second and seventh in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 13).
- In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted eighth (as of Feb. 13).
- Elizabeth Balogun was one of 10 players selected to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Mid-Season Top-10 list while Celeste Taylor was named to the 2023 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year 2023 Watch List.
- The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from their reserves, averaging 24.5 points off the bench.
- Thursday's game marks the second matchup of the season and the 35th all-time meeting against the Hokies.
- Duke took the first game, 66-55, back on Jan. 26 to improve to 28-6 all-time against Virginia Tech.
KARA LAWSON NAMED TO 2023 WERNER LADDER NAISMITH WOMEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR LATE SEASON WATCH LIST
- Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson was one of 15 coaches named to the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday afternoon.
- The Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists on Wednesday, March 8. The Fan Vote to narrow the field from 10 candidates to four on Monday, March 20. The Fan Vote to help narrow the list down to the final honoree will open Tuesday, March 21 and close Tuesday, March 28. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, March 29 at the Women's Final Four in Dallas.
- Currently in her third year at the helm, Lawson has compiled a 42-17 record (.712) and helped lead the resurgence of the Duke women's basketball team. The 2022-23 season has seen the Blue Devils reach its highest Associated Press (AP) ranking (No. 9) since 2016-17, compile a 22-3 overall record and an ACC-leading 12-2 record in conference play – both program bests dating back to the 2013-14 campaign. Duke has notched three top-25 wins this season and rank eighth in the NET rankings.
- Under Lawson's direction, Duke also boasts one of the country's most elite defenses as the Blue Devils check in at No. 2 in scoring defense (50.2), No. 4 in defensive points per possession (.656) and seventh in field goal percentage defense (34.2 percent). The Blue Devils have held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 14 of the 25 to 50 points or less.
SHARING THE WEALTH
- Duke's quintet of senior Elizabeth Balogun, junior Kennedy Brown, sophomores Shayeann Day-Wilson and Reigan Richardson and senior Celeste Taylor has provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 67.7 percent (44.9 points) of the team's 66.3 points per game.
- Taylor has reached double digits in 17 of the 24 games this season followed by Day-Wilson with 12 and Balogun with 11. Richardson has tallied nine double-digit scoring efforts, followed by Brown with seven.
- Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 11.8 points per game with Balogun (9.8) and Day-Wilson (9.2) right behind in second and third. Richardson and Brown round out the group with 7.2 and 7.0 points a contest, respectively.
- Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 23 games this season, with Taylor (8), Day-Wilson (6), Balogun (5), Richardson (3) and Vanessa de Jesus (2) finishing with the team-high on multiple occasions.
- The squad features 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game with four of them logging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Taylor (28.3), Day-Wilson (24.0), Brown (23.6) and Balogun (22.7).
- Duke has assisted on 361 of its 624 made field goals (.579) for an average of 14.4 dimes per game.
- As a team, the Blue Devils rank second in scoring margin (+16.04) and turnover margin (+3.88) as well as fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.325) and assist/turnover ratio (0.97).
DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE
- Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 50.2 points per game on a 34.3 percent clip from the field.
- Those marks check in at second and seventh in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 13).
- Duke is also fourth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.656 points per possession.
- The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 20.3 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 14 of the 25 to 50 points or less.
- Duke held its opponents to single digits in seven straight quarters, a stretch spanning from the 4th quarter at Notre Dame (Feb. 5) all the way through the first half against Miami (Feb. 12).
- In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also second in the ACC in rebounding defense (31.32), rebound margin (+7.36) and defensive rebounding percentage (.741), along with third in three-point defense (.269) and blocks (5.03).
UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY
- Duke's duo of Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor have seen an uptick in their efficiency, particularly on the offensive end.
- The team's leading scorer this season, Taylor is averaging 12.3 points on 39.5 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from distance since the start of ACC play.
- She has scored double figures in 10 of 14 games, including a season-high 23 points to help the Blue Devils knock off then-No. 6 NC State, 72-58.
- In non-conference play, Taylor put up 11.2 points on 44.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three.
- Day-Wilson has raised her play since the schedule transitioned to conference action, improving her scoring average as well as her shooting percentage.
- After putting up 8.8 ppg on 38.1 percent and 35.7 percent shooting splits in non-conference play, the sophomore has averaged 10.9 points on 43.7 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from deep.
- She has scored double figures in six of her last 10 games.
DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Duke checks in at No. 9 in the Week 15 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
- It marks the Blue Devils' first appearance in the top 10 since 2016-17, when Duke finished the year ranked ninth in the final AP poll of the regular season.
- The Blue Devils are also ranked ninth in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings.
- The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings has the Blue Devils slotted eighth nationally (as of Feb. 13), first in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (12-0), a 9-2 mark in true road contests and a 1-1 record in neutral site games.
- With an average opponent NET ranking of six, the Blue Devils are 6-3 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 15-3 against the top 100, including wins over Notre Dame (No. 9), Virginia Tech (No. 12), NC State (No. 17), Louisville (No. 31), FGCU (No. 45), Miami (No. 47), Virginia (No. 51) and Oregon State (No. 55). Duke's three losses have come against UConn, Florida State and North Carolina, who check in at No. 2, No. 19 and No. 23, respectively, in the NET.
IN ELITE COMPANY
- The Blue Devils are the only women's basketball team so far this season to shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe and 64 percent or higher from beyond the arc in the same game, according to HerHoopStats.
- Duke cashed in nine of its 14 three-point attempts and went 15-of-15 from the foul line in the win over the Wolfpack.
- After tallying 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Syracuse, Celeste Taylor joined Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X), and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women's basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 4+ Assists, and 4+ Steals, according to HerHoopStats.
LAST TIME OUT
- The ninth-ranked Duke women's basketball team pushed its win streak to four games with a 50-40 victory over Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium Feb. 12.
- Reigan Richardson led a balanced scoring effort for the Blue Devils for the second straight game as she matched her season-high of 14 points while also grabbing three rebounds.
- Celeste Taylor added nine points and two rebounds and Elizabeth Balogun chipped in seven points, three rebounds and two assists.
- Kennedy Brown and Shayeann Day-Wilson each contributed six points apiece, with Brown adding three boards and Day-Wilson adding six boards and two assists to their respective statlines.
- Check out the full recap here.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HOKIES
- Virginia Tech (20-4, 10-4 ACC) enters Thursday's game fresh off a 14-point victory (84-70) over No. 19 Florida State that saw junior Georgia Amoore finish with 25 points and nine assists.
- The Hokies own the third-best scoring offense (74.4) in the conference and check in at No. 4 in scoring defense with (58.4).
- VT has four athletes who average 10 or more points per game - Elizabeth Kitley (18.0), Georgia Amoore (14.9), Taylor Soule (12.1) and Kayana Traylor (11.2).
- Kitley leads the rebounding efforts with 10.8 boards per game while Amoore is the team leader in assists with 5.3 per game.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils close the two-game road swing with a return trip to Virginia, this time heading to Charlottesville for a date with Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m., 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
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWomen's Basketball Season Ticket Holder Tailgate
Sunday, September 07
Kara Lawson: 13 Gold Medals. One Standard.
Thursday, August 14
Duke WBB Postgame: NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
Sunday, March 30
Duke WBB Postgame: NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
Friday, March 28
