Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus #16 Baylor on November 3, 2025 at 12 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs #16 Baylor
Sunday, March 24
Columbus, Ohio
12 p.m.
Duke University
at
Ohio State
Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics
Blue Devils Primed for NCAA Tournament Second Round Tilt Versus Ohio State
3/23/2024 2:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE -- BLUE DEVILS RIDE STRONG SECOND HALF TO 72-61 WIN OVER RICHMOND
ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
SERIES HISTORY
A BATTLE TESTED BUNCH – STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
BLOCK PARTY – EVERYONE'S INVITED
UP NEXT
Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Ore., with the game slated to be played on Saturday, March 30 against an opponent to be determined.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu.
#GoDuke
- Behind a strong, all-around second-half performance, Duke rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit and outscored Richmond by 20 points across the final 20 minutes of play en route to notching a 72-61 dub over the Spiders in Friday's NCAA Tournament opening round.
- With the win, Duke punched its ticket to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where the No. 7-seed Blue Devils will take on host and No. 2-seed Ohio State Sunday, March 24 with a spot in the Sweet 16 up for grabs. The game is slated for a noon tip live on ESPN.
- Junior Reigan Richardson netted a game-high 25 points and snagged seven rebounds to lead the charge for the Blue Devils. Sophomore Ashlon Jackson added 14 points and three assists while senior Kennedy Brown rounded out the trio with 10 points, seven caroms and a career-high five assists.
- Freshmen Jadyn Donovan and Oluchi Okananwa also turned in solid performances for Duke as the duo combined for 16 points and 15 rebounds.
- The Blue Devils have now won at least one tournament game in each of their 26 NCAA Tournament appearances en route to compiling an overall record of 60-25 (.706). Duke moved to 2-1 all-time in the big dance as the No. 7 seed and improved to 4-1 overall when playing against teams seeded No. 10.
- Duke has advanced to the regional semifinal 17 times, including four trips to the Final Four (1999, 2002, '03, '06).
- Sunday's contest marks the third all-time meeting between Duke and Ohio State and the first since the 2017 season.
- Duke owns a 2-0 record against the Buckeyes with both wins coming at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
- The Blue Devils opened the series on Dec. 3, 2009 with an 83-67 dub, then posted a 69-60 triumph during the most recent meeting (11. 30.17).
- The Blue Devils have taken on one of the nation's toughest slates this season with their SOS ranking No. 4 nationally (NCAA rankings as of March 21). The Blue Devils are also No. 20 in the NCAA NET rankings.
- The Blue Devils rank fifth nationally in blocks with an average of 5.8 rejections (NCAA rankings as of March 21).
- Brown, graduate student Camilla Emsbo and Donovan have posted 30-plus blocks each, leading the way with 43, 42 and 37 rejections, respectively.
- The Blue Devils have assists on more than 50 percent of their field goals (.563) with 472 dimes on 838 buckets. Sophomore Taina Mair leads the team with 3.7 per contest.
- Duke has had six different leading scorers this season led by Richardson (9), Mair (7) and freshman Okananwa (7).
- Duke has held 31 of 32 opponents this season below their respective season scoring averages. Richmond's 61 points were 12.4 below its average of 73.4.
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE -- BLUE DEVILS RIDE STRONG SECOND HALF TO 72-61 WIN OVER RICHMOND
- Duke junior Reigan Richardson scored 25 points and pulled in seven rebounds as the No. 7-seeded Blue Devils outscored No. 10-seed Richmond 44-24 in the second half to post a 72-61 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Value City Arena.
- Richardson went 10-of-18 from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line for her sixth 20-point performance of the season. She poured in 13 of her points in the first quarter, which is tied for fourth most all-time in program lore.
- Sophomore Ashlon Jackson bolstered the offense with 14 points -- 12 of those points coming from behind the three-point arc. Senior Kennedy Brown rounded out the trio in double figures with 10 points, seven caroms and a career-best five dimes.
- Freshmen Jadyn Donovan and Oluchi Okananwa also turned in solid performances for Duke as the duo combined for 16 points and 15 rebounds.
- Donovan finished with eight points, seven boards, two assists, two steals and three rejections. Okananwa chipped in eight points, eight boards and four dimes of her own.
- The Blue Devils owned the glass as they outrebounded Richmond 40-22 for the game, including a lopsided 26-7 edge in the second half. Duke snagged 19 total offensive rebounds, turning them into 22 second chance points.
- Duke swept the specialty stats battle with the squad outscoring the Spiders in the paint (28-26), second chance points (22-3), points off turnovers (17-8), bench production (15-0) and in transition (4-0).
- Of the Blue Devils' 28 field goals, 18 came via dimes for a 64.3-percent assist rate.
- Duke has now held 31 of 32 opponents this season below their respective season scoring averages. Richmond's 61 points were 12.4 below its average of 73.4.
- The Spiders finished the game with just four offensive rebounds, which is tied for the seventh-fewest offensive rebounds by a Duke foe all-time.
- Duke's 64.7-percent shooting clip in the first quarter tied for 10th all-time on the Duke charts for first period shooting.
ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
- No. 2-seed Ohio State (26-5) enters Sunday's game fresh off an 80-57 victory over No. 15-seed Maine in the first round.
- The Buckeyes, who captured the regular season Big Ten title, are making their 28th NCAA Tournament appearance overall receiving an at-large selection.
- Ohio State features a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures in Jacy Shelton (18.0), Cotie McMahon (14.0), Taylor Thierry (11.5) and Celeste Taylor (10.2).
- McMahon also leads the efforts on the glass corralling 6.4 boards per game while Shelton (3.7) and Taylor (3.5) pace the team in the assist department.
- As a team, the Buckeyes rank fourth and eighth in the NCAA, respectively, in turnover margin (4th) and turnovers forced per game (8th) while also ranking among the top 20 in scoring offense (15th), field goal percentage (15th), assists per game (19th), assist/turnover ratio (19th) and scoring margin (19th).
SERIES HISTORY
- Sunday's contest marks the third all-time meeting between Duke and Ohio State overall and the first since the 2017 season.
- Duke owns a 2-0 record against the Buckeyes with both wins coming at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
- The Blue Devils opened the series on Dec. 3, 2009 with an 83-67 dub, then posted a 69-60 triumph during the most recent meeting (11. 30.17).
A BATTLE TESTED BUNCH – STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Duke has embarked on one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this season with its strength of schedule ranking among the top 10, checking in at No. 4 nationally (NCAA rankings as of March 21). The Blue Devils are also in the top 25 of the NCAA NET, ranking No. 20 on the list.
- The Blue Devils' schedule has gotten progressively more challenging each year under Coach Lawson. Duke finished the 2022-23 season with the 10th toughest schedule in the NCAA.
- The Blue Devils have faced 11 opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 thus far this season (4-7). Five of the teams Duke has played this season also boast a top-30 SOS -- Stanford (5th), South Carolina (20th), NC State (22nd), North Carolina (26th), Georgia (30th).
- Additionally, Duke owns a trio of notable non-conference wins over teams that earned bids to the 2024 NCAA Tournament:
- Nov. 6 – 83-53 vs. Richmond
- Nov. 14 – 66-62 at Columbia
- Dec. 10 – 82-63 vs. Florida Gulf Coast
BLOCK PARTY – EVERYONE'S INVITED
- The Blue Devils' length has proven to be a factor on the defensive end this season as the squad averages 5.8 blocks per game -- No. 5 in the NCAA and tops in the ACC (NCAA rankings as of March 21).
- Duke has registered five or more blocks in 21 games this season, including a pair of games with double-digit swats -- Coastal Carolina (12) and NC Central (11) -- as well as six contests with eight or more rejections -- at Stanford, vs. South Carolina, vs. Florida Gulf Coast, vs. Boston College, at Virginia, vs. North Carolina.
- Senior Kennedy Brown, graduate student Camilla Emsbo and rookie Jadyn Donovan have posted 30-plus blocks each, leading the way with 43, 42 and 37 rejections, respectively. They are joined in double digits by junior Reigan Richardson (14) and freshman Delaney Thomas (12).
- In the victory over Florida State (1.25), Brown set the Duke record for most blocks in a first quarter, tallying four of her game-high five rejections during the period.
UP NEXT
Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Ore., with the game slated to be played on Saturday, March 30 against an opponent to be determined.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu.
#GoDuke
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