Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Countdown to Craziness on October 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Sunday, March 30
Birmingham, Ala.
1 p.m.
Duke University
vs
South Carolina
Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics
Blue Devils Battle South Carolina Sunday for Spot in NCAA Final Four
3/29/2025 4:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THE STARTING FIVE:
Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the program's fifth NCAA Final Four, and first since 2006.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the YouTube channel by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50.
#GoDuke
- Currently amid a nine-game win streak, No. 7 and second-seeded Duke gears up for a Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 2 and the Birmingham Region 2's top overall seed, South Carolina. The Blue Devils and Gamecocks will battle March 30 with a spot in the Final Four up for grabs. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET live on ABC.
- The Blue Devils are making their 12th appearance in the Elite Eight and the first since the 2012-2013 campaign. Overall, Duke is 64-26 (.711) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 25-9 (.735) all-time as the No. 2 seed and 27-7 (.794) overall when earning the automatic bid. The Blue Devils currently own the sixth most NCAA Tournament wins and are tied for sixth all-time in NCAA Tournament games played (90).
- Ashlon Jackson's strong junior campaign has seen her break into the Duke individual season charts, ranking first in three point attempts (226) and second in three pointers (85). She needs just two triples to tie the Duke single-season record (87) set by Tricia Liston in 2013-14. Jackson leads Duke with 24 double-digit scoring games, including six with 20-plus points, and has six games this season with more than five threes. The junior has reached double figures in 17 of her past 23, averaging 12.6 points on a 35-percent clip from three, along with 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists during the stretch.
- With their seven threes against Oregon (3.23), the Blue Devils set the program single-season record for three pointers. Duke has cashed in 220 shots from distance on the year. The 2025 Blue Devils are also first on the Duke single-season charts in three point attempts (648), second in total minutes (7,250) third in fewest turnovers per game (14.8), eighth in assists (598) and field goals made (1,012) and ninth in total points (2,584). Per HerHoopStats, Duke is No. 8 nationally in two-pointers made (792), 14th in field goals made (1,012) and 24th in total points (2,631).
- Reigan Richardson is on the heels of another major milestone. The senior guard has amassed 997 points across her three seasons at Duke and sits just three points away from becoming the 36th player all-time to score 1,000 points as Blue Devil. Richardson eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark earlier this season against Pittsburgh (1.5) and currently has 1,167 points for her career.
- After capturing the ACC's automatic bid, Duke earned the No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 Region of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. It marks Duke's 10th time as a No. 2-seed, having also done so in 1998, 2000, 2005, 2010-14 and 2017. The Blue Devils are 25-9 (.735) all-time as the second seed.
- Among programs competing in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Duke leads all teams in scoring defense (38.7). The Blue Devils are also fourth in field goal percentage defense (29.8%), seventh in forced turnovers per game (20.7) and scoring margin (25.3) and eighth in turnover margin (8.0).
- The Blue Devils are making their 27th all-time appearance in the Big Dance and third straight under head coach Kara Lawson with the No. 2-seed marking the highest of the Kara Era. Duke is 64-26 (.711) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and sports a 27-7 (.794) mark when earning the automatic bid.
- Over the history of the program, the Blue Devils have advanced to 19 Sweet 16's, 12 Elite Eights and four Final Fours.
- Duke currently owns the sixth most NCAA Tournament wins (64) and is tied for sixth in NCAA Tournament games played (90). The Blue Devils also entered the NCAA postseason event ranked No. 8 in all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.701).
- Ashlon Jackson has continued to up her play throughout the 2024-25 campaign, with the junior making significant strides from a season ago and improving all facets of her game throughout the year, including sizeable leaps in scoring, field goal percentage, three pointers, three point percentage and steals.
- Jackson's strong 2024-25 campaign has seen the junior break into the Duke individual season charts, ranking first in three point attempts (226) and second in three pointers (85). She needs just two triples to tie the Duke single-season record for three pointers (87) set by Tricia Liston during the 2013-14 campaign. Additionally, Jackson is eighth on the Duke NCAA Tournament career charts for most threes, having knocked down 15 triples through eight career NCAA Tournament games.
- The China, Texas product leads Duke with 24 double-digit scoring games, including six with 20-plus points, and has six games this season with more than five threes. She leads the squad in three pointers and minutes per game (28.9), while ranking second in scoring (12.4). The junior has reached double figures in 17 of her past 23, averaging 12.6 points on a 35-percent clip from three, along with 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
- Jackson was tapped to the 2025 All-ACC Second Team, becoming the 27th Blue Devil all-time to garner a spot on the all-conference second team. She raised her game during the league slate, putting up 11.5 points on 35-percent shooting and 38 percent from deep, along with 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds.
- She is one of 22 players in the Power 4 this season putting up at least 12 points, 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 38 percent from three.
- Duke boasts one of its strongest offenses in recent memory, putting up 73.1 points per game on 44-percent shooting from the field and 34 percent from deep. Duke's scoring average and shooting percentage are program bests dating back to the 2013-14 and 2016-17 campaigns, respectively. The Blue Devils are also 22nd nationally with an offensive rating of 112.0, per HerHoopStats.
- Duke's balanced attack is led by Toby Fournier (13.1), Ashlon Jackson (12.4) and Oluchi Okananwa (10.1), with Reigan Richardson (9.8) just under double digits. Overall, Duke has had eight different leading scorers on the year with nine different players reaching double figures thus far.
- With their seven threes against Oregon (3.23), the Blue Devils set the program single-season record for three pointers. Duke has cashed in on 220 shots from distance on the year. The 2025 Blue Devils are also first on the Duke single-season charts in three point attempts (648), second in total minutes (7,250) third in fewest turnovers per game (14.8), eighth in assists (598) and field goals made (1,012) and ninth in total points (2,584).
- Per HerHoopStats, Duke is No. 8 in two-pointers made (792), 14th in field goals made (1,012) and 24th in total points (2,631).
- The Blue Devils have scored 70-plus points in 24 games and featured at least three double-figure scorers in 25 contests. Duke opened the 2024-25 slate with a program-best 12 straight 70-plus outings.
- The Blue Devils have shot 50 percent or higher in 11 games and finished with at least five in double digits five times. Duke has eclipsed the 80-point threshold 13 times and scored over 90 in three games.
- Duke's 109 points against then-No. 8 Oklahoma (11.27) were the Blue Devils' most against a ranked foe since Jan. 24, 2002, when the team scored 102 points in a 20-point triumph over No. 21 North Carolina.
- Nine players average over 12 minutes per game, with six playing 20-plus - A. Jackson (28.9), R. Richardson (27.2), J. Donovan (25.1), T. Mair (24.7), O. Okananwa (22.3) and D. Thomas (21.5).
- The Blue Devils have eclipsed the 100-point threshold three times under Kara Lawson with the 109 points ranking second in the Kara Era - just two shy of the 111 scored against Charleston Southern in 2022-23.
- Oluchi Okananwa found her offensive rhythm once the calendar hit December.
- Dating back to the Blue Devils' game at South Carolina (12.5), the sophomore has elevated her play, averaging 11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals with 17 double-figure performances.
- The sophomore turned in a stellar weekend of competition at the 2025 Ally ACC Tournament en route to leading the Blue Devils to the ACC crown, averaging 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Okananwa was tapped the program's sixth ACC Tournament MVP and put herself in a league of her own, becoming the first ACC player this century to earn the distinction while coming off the bench, per ESPN Stats & Info.
- Overall, Okananwa has reached double digits on 20 occasions this season, including 10 times in ACC play, and has tallied 12 games with five-plus boards.
- Defensively, she leads Duke with 62 thefts and sports a 3.8-percent steal rate, per HerHoopStats. Okananwa has nine games with three-plus steals, including a career-high of six at UNC (1.9).
- Duke features one of the nation's most stifling defenses, entering Sunday's contest with the fourth-best defensive rating (72.1) while holding foes to 99.9 points per 100 possessions (4th) and 0.69 points per possession (10th), per HerHoopStats. In the NCAA rankings, Duke is 20th in forced turnovers (20.5), 25th in scoring defense (56.6), 37th in steal average (10.3) and 49th in blocks per game (4.2).
- The Blue Devils have kept 31 opponents this season below their respective scoring averages and 15 teams below 50 points, including five foes - Radford (36), Pitt (31), California (38), Lehigh (25) and North Carolina (38) to fewer than 40. Duke has also limited foes to single digits in 35 quarters and forced 44 shot clock violations on the year.
- In ACC play, Duke held 17 opponents below their respective season scoring averages, limiting foes to 54.1 points on 38-percent shooting. The Blue Devils also averaged 10.6 steals and 4.7 blocks while forcing the opposition into an ACC-leading 22.2 turnovers per game. Duke's defense held ACC teams to 0.67 points per possession, a vast improvement from the 0.86 given up in non-conference action.
- The Blue Devils concluded the league slate ranked in the top five of seven defensive categories, sitting atop the league in scoring defense, steals and turnover margin (+7.9). Duke checked in at No. 2 in three-point percentage defense (.278) and field goal percentage defense, No. 3 in rebounding defense (33.2) and No. 4 in blocks.
- A mainstay on the glass and one of the most versatile defenders in the ACC, Jadyn Donovan paces Duke in rebounds (232) and blocks (47) and is fourth on the team in steals with 49. She has totaled 19 games this season with seven-plus rebounds and seven contests with double-digit boards, while producing 15 contests with at least two steals and 12 tilts with two or more blocks. In ACC play, Donovan was fourth in the league with 1.6 blocks per game.
- The sophomore is currently ninth on the Duke NCAA Tournament career charts in blocks, having rejected 10 shots across six career NCAA Tournament games.
- Per HerHoopStats, Donovan ranks 25th nationally in defensive win shares (2.0) and defensive win shares per 40 minutes (0.09) and 31st in player defensive rating (75.6).
- The Upper Marlboro, Md., product picked up the first conference honor of her career as she was tapped to the ACC All-Defensive Team - the 26th Blue Devil to be named to the conference's all-defensive team.
- Donovan is one of 12 players in the Power 4, and one of three in the ACC (Alyssa Ustby, Saniya Rivers) averaging at least 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
- Following a career-best performance (23 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and four steals) in the victory at South Dakota State (11.17), Jadyn Donovan became just the fifth Duke player, and first since 2019, to post a statline of 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. She joined Alana Beard (2x), Haley Gorecki, Sheana Mosch and Traci Williams as the other Blue Devils to achieve the feat.
Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the program's fifth NCAA Final Four, and first since 2006.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the YouTube channel by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWomen's Basketball Season Ticket Holder Tailgate
Sunday, September 07
Duke WBB: 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
