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It’s not called March Madness for nothing—and the Duke Blue Devils proved that all weekend long in Greensboro, NC.
The No. 3-seed Blue Devils first took out No. 6-seed Louisville on Friday, Mar. 7. That victory advanced the squad to Saturday’s match against No. 2-seed Notre Dame, who Duke defeated 61-56, landing themselves in Sunday’s final against No. 1-seed NC State.
At the beginning of the game, it was immediately clear that fans at First Horizon Coliseum were ready for a battle, and both teams were more than happy to deliver. The Wolfpack came out strong and fast, with Saniya Rivers setting a defensive energy that Duke’s Ashlon Jackson was only too happy to match. Rivers hit the first bucket of the game at the 8:30 mark of the first quarter, and throughout the first half it seemed that NC State had the game in the bag.
But then with 43 seconds until the half, Aziaha James was hit and carried off the court after she attempted to put weight on her foot, a shift that appeared to throw off the team’s energy. And though James returned to the court after the half without any apparent problem, it was clear the basketball gods’ favor had swung to Duke.
By the end of the third, Duke had a comfortable 56-46 lead that NC State just couldn’t cut into. With minutes left in the fourth, both teams hit a fever pitch while urging their players on, but in the end, Duke prevailed, 78-62.
The game is a major boost for Duke head coach Kara Lawson, who took over the team in 2020 after departing the Boston Celtics, where she was an assistant coach. Sunday was first time the program has played in a conference title game since 2017, when Lawson was a broadcaster after an accomplished playing career at Tennessee under the late Pat Summitt and then in the WNBA.
Immediately after the game, Lawson said, “It’s an incredible moment and I think it just speaks to the players that we have in our program. Basketball has always been a game about players, and we have terrific players.” She continued, “We really believe in each other,” praising the team’s second half as “a championship performance.”
“When I first got to the [school] five years ago, we were the worst team in the ACC,” Lawson added. “And now we’re the best in the ACC.” Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa, who was named tournament MVP, echoed her head coach, saying, “We know who we can be on the court when we’re locked in and dialed in. I’m so proud of this team.”
With the win, Duke proved there is no predicting who will and will not—and that they are more than deserving of their time to shine.
