No. 3 Seed Duke Opens NCAA Play Friday Against Charleston

Friday, March 20

Durham, N.C.

11:30 a.m.

Duke University

Charleston

Top-seeded Duke faced second-seeded Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.

Photo by: Andrew Hancock

No. 3 Seed Duke Opens NCAA Play Friday Against Charleston

3/19/2026 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

The Opening Tip

Duke is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are the No. 3 seed for the fourth time and second time under head coach Kara Lawson. Duke is 27-0 all-time in the opening round and 8-3 all-time as the No. 3 seed.
The Blue Devils are 64-27 all-time in NCAA postseason action and have advanced to the Sweet 16 19 times, including each of the past two seasons, and the Elite Eight 12 times. Duke is 6-3 in the NCAA Tournament under Lawson and making its fourth straight appearance and third as a top four seed.
The Blue Devils are 24-8 overall and ranked eighth in the AP poll heading into postseason play. Duke is 21-2 since starting the year 3-6 overall. This will be Duke's first matchup with Charleston in program history. The Cougars are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after earning the automatic bid from the Colonial Athletic Association with a 68-56 win over Hofstra.
The Blue Devils are led on offense by All-ACC First Team selection Toby Fournier's 17.3 points per game. Taina Mair is averaging 11.4 points, 5.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. Ashlon Jackson is playing both ends of the court at an elite level, dropping 11.4 points per game, a team-best 68 three-pointers and 4.4 assists per game, while drawing the toughest perimeter defensive matchup for Duke's elite defense. Fournier, Delaney Thomas, Mair and Arianna Roberson lead the charge on the glass, averaging 8.2, 6.3, 5.9 and 5.5 rebounds per game, respectively. Thomas also contributes 10.7 points per game on a team-high 60 percent shooting, while Roberson adds 8.2 points and 1.1 blocks per game. Fournier is the top rim protector, averaging 2.3 blocks per game.

NCAA Tournament Notes

Duke is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the fourth straight under head coach Kara Lawson. The Blue Devils earned a top four seed for the 22nd time and third under Lawson.
Head coach Kara Lawson is 6-3 in NCAA Tournament action, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2024 and the Elite Eight in 2025.
Only four of Duke's current seven active players have seen in NCAA Tournament action, playing a combined 27 games. Ashlon Jackson leads the way with nine games, while Delaney Thomas and Taina Mair have played in seven. Toby Fournier got three under her belt in her rookie season.

Postseason Accolades

Postseason awards have started flowing in for the Blue Devils with sophomore Toby Fournier leading the way with the individual accolades.
Fournier, Taina Mair and Ashlon Jackson each garnered All-ACC First Team honors. Fournier was a consensus first-team choice, while Mair and Jackson split first and second team recognition on the coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel lists. Both Fournier and Mair also earned a spot on the ACC All-Defensive Teams.
Fournier was named a semifinalist for the Kartrina McClain award, garnered All-America third team honors from the Associated Press, Sporting News and the USBWA and an honorable mention nod from USA Today.
Duke's starting five of Fournier, Mair, Jackson, Riley Nelson and Delaney Thomas was voted to the ACC All-Tournament Team. Mair was the ACC Tournament MVP.

Chart Climbers

The trio of Toby Fournier, Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair are peppered throughout the Duke and ACC record books.
Fournier hit the 1,000-point benchmark in her 66th career game, making her the fourth fastest Blue Devil to reach 1,000 career points. She sits behind Chris Moreland (51), Alana Beard (56) and Katie Meier (62). Fournier sits in ninth in Duke single-season history with 74 blocks. She is just the fifth different Blue Devil to post 70 denials in a season.
Fournier has shot 185 free throws this season to rank ninth in Duke single-season history. A Blue Devil has shot at least 200 free throws in a season six times and not since 2004-05. Chris Moreland has three of the six on the list.
Duke senior point guard Taina Mair is climbing her way up both the Duke and ACC assists charts. With five assists against NC State, Mair took over sole possession of ninth on the ACC career assists chart. Her 649 helpers are only five away from the No. 8 spot and seven shy of No. 7 on the ACC career list.
In three seasons at Duke, Mair has 432 assists to sit tied for eighth in Duke career history and 13 away from the No. 7 spot.
Mair has 175 assists on the season to sit second in Duke single-season history. Chelsea Gray (2010-14) holds the record at 201.
Ashlon Jackson hit five threes at North Carolina to pass Abby Waner for third in career history and has 230 overall. Jackson has 68 threes this season, leaving her two away from becoming the third Blue Devil to record at least 70 trifectas in multiple seasons.
Jackson and Mair are two of Duke's best free throw shooters. In three seasons, Mair is 112-of-131 (.855), which stands at fourth in Duke history. Jackson is 182-of-222 (.820), which would rank sixth in Duke history. Only six Blue Devils have finished their career shooting at least 80 percent from the line with a minimum of 100 attempts. Mair and Jackson will be the seventh and eighth.

Up Next

A Duke victory over Charleston will pit the Blue Devils against the winner between Baylor and Nebraska, March 22. The time will be announced following all March 20 contests.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB".

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