• THE STARTING FIVE:No. 7 Duke gears up for the second round of the NCAA Tournament, squaring off against No. 10-seed Oregon with a spot in the Sweet 16 up for grabs on Sunday, March 23 at 12 p.m., live on ESPN. Sunday marks just the second all-time meeting between the Blue Devils and Ducks and the first since 2017.
• The Blue Devils punched their ticket to the second round by way of an 86-25 rout of No. 15-seed Lehigh. Duke delivered an incredible defensive performance against the Mountain Hawks, holding them to the second-lowest point total in NCAA Women’s Tournament history. Lehigh scored 10 points in the first half – tied for the fourth fewest points in any half in NCAA Women’s Tournament lore.
• With the win over Lehigh, the Blue Devils improved to 14-1 (.933) in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Over the past three seasons, Duke has compiled a 42-6 (.875) when playing at home. The Blue Devils also moved to 62-26 (.705) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 23-9 (.719) all-time as the second seed and 25-7 (.781) overall when earning the automatic bid. Duke currently owns the sixth most NCAA Tournament wins and is tied for the eighth-most NCAA Tournament games played (88).
• Duke features one of the nation’s most stifling defenses, entering Sunday’s tilt with the fourth-best defensive rating (72.9) while holding foes to 79.3 points per 100 possessions (9th) and 0.70 points per possession (12th), per HerHoopStats. In the NCAA rankings, Duke is 20th in forced turnovers (20.8), 33rd in steal average (10.5), 35th in scoring defense (57.2) and 46th in block average (4.2). The Blue Devils have kept 29 opponents below their respective scoring averages and 14 teams below 50 points. Duke has also limited foes to single digits in 33 quarters and forced 43 shot clock violations on the year.
• Ashlon Jackson has continued to up her play this season, improving in all facets of her game. The junior has made significant strides from a season ago, upping her scoring, field goal percentage, total three pointers, three point percentage and steals.
• Jackson’s strong 2024-25 campaign has seen the China, Texas product break into the Duke individual season charts, with the junior currently tied for first in three point attempts (208), No. 4 in three pointers (78) and No. 7 in free throw shooting (.883).
• LAST TIME OUT – BLUE DEVILS PARLAY DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS INTO 86-25 ROUT OF LEHIGH:No. 7 Duke opened the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with a bang, parlaying a defensive masterclass and a balanced offensive effort into a commanding 86-25 rout of Lehigh.
• Oluchi Okananwa led the way with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while also chipping in seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Delaney Thomas and Toby Fournier both added 11 points apiece with Thomas pulling down a game-high eight caroms and Fournier collecting four boards to go with her three steals.
• Duke’s 61-point margin of victory marked the largest by the Blue Devils this season, besting the 53-point spread against Radford (Nov. 4).
• Duke kept Lehigh 44 points below its average points per game. Lehigh entered the contest putting up 69.7 points a night. The Mountain Hawks also entered the game shooting 45 percent from the field but connected on just 19 percent of its field goals against the Blue Devils. Lehigh marks the 29th opponent this season the Blue Devils have held below their respective scoring average.
• Duke limited Lehigh to single digits in all four quarters (8, 2, 7, 8) and has now limited foes to single digits in 33 quarters this season. The Blue Devils also held Lehigh to season lows in points (25), field goals (9), field goal percentage (19.6%) and assists (3) while forcing the Mountain Hawks into a season-high 30 blunders. Duke also forced a pair of shot clock violations, pushing the team’s total to 43 for the year.
• Duke set a trio of program records against Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks’ 25 points, nine field goals and three assists marking the fewest by a Duke opponent in NCAA Tournament history. The previous lows were 27 points and 11 baskets by Southern in 2006, and three dimes by Hampton in 2010.
• The 25 points by the Mountain Hawks also tied for the second fewest points by a Blue Devil foe all-time and were the fewest since holding Ball State to 24 in 2005. The visitors’ point total was also the second-lowest point total in NCAA Women’s Tournament history, trailing only the 21 points by Howard against South Carolina (Mar. 18, 2022). Lehigh scored 10 points in the first half – tied for the fourth fewest points in any half in NCAA Women’s Tournament lore.
• Duke limited Lehigh to two points in the second quarter, which tied for the fewest by a Blue Devil foe this season. Duke also held Boston College to two points in the second period this season. It marks the fourth time Duke has held a team to just two points in the second quarter in program lore and the fifth time in any quarter all-time. The Mountain Hawks shot just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from the floor during the period, the lowest field goal percentage by a Duke opponent this season and tied for sixth lowest in the period in program history.
• TOURNEY TIME – DUKE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: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 23-9 (.719) all-time as the second seed.
• 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 62-26 (.705) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and sports a 25-7 (.781) mark when earning the automatic bid.
• Over the history of the program, the Blue Devils have advanced to 18 Sweet 16’s – most recently in 2024 – 11 Elite Eights and four Final Fours.
• Duke currently owns the sixth most NCAA Tournament wins (62) and is tied for eighth NCAA Tournament in games played (88). The Blue Devils also entered the big dance ranked No. 8 in all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.701).
• OKANANWA TURNING UP THE HEAT: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 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals with 16 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 19 occasions this season, including 10 times in ACC play, and has tallied 17 games with five-plus boards.
• Defensively, she leads Duke with 61 thefts and sports a 4.0-percent steal rate, per HerHoopStats. Okananwa has nine games with three-plus steals, including a career-high of six at UNC (1.9).
• GLASS WORK:Duke has been extremely solid on the glass this season, checking in among the top 30 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (20th) and rebounding margin (29th).
• For the season, Duke averages 39.0 rebounds per game with nearly 15 (14.8) coming on the offensive end. Duke has parlayed its extra opportunities into 441 second-chance points.
• Per HerHoopStats, Duke is ninth in the NCAA in offensive rebounding rate (40.4%), 14th in total offensive rebounds (445), 17th in offensive rebound average (14.8) and 25th in total rebound rate (54.9%).
• In ACC play, Duke led the league in offensive rebound percentage (.396). Duke is also No. 2 in offensive rebounds per game (14.8) and rebounding margin (+4.5) and No. 3 in rebounding defense (33.2).
• Seven other Blue Devils have tallied at least 60 boards this season – Toby Fournier (153), Oluchi Okananwa (147), Delaney Thomas (139), Jordan Wood (93), Taina Mair (88), Reigan Richardson (79) and Ashlon Jackson (68).
• ACTION JACKSON:Ashlon Jackson has continued to up her play this season, improving in all facets of her game. The junior has made significant strides from a season ago, upping her scoring, field goal percentage, total three pointers, three point percentage and steals.
• Jackson’s strong 2024-25 campaign has seen the China, Texas product break into the Duke individual season charts with the junior currently tied for first in three point attempts (208), No. 4 in three pointers (78) and No. 7 in free throw shooting (.883). Jackson needs just nine more triples to tie the Duke single-season record for three pointers set by Tricia Liston (2013-14).
• Jackson leads Duke with 22 double-digit scoring games, including five with over 20 points, and has five games where she has knocked down more than five threes. She leads the squad in three pointers and minutes per game (28.6), while ranking second in scoring (12.3). The junior has reached double figures in 15 of her past 21, averaging 12.3 points on a 35-percent clip from three, along with 2.54 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals.
• 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 24 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 37 percent from three.

UP NEXT: Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the Regional Semifinal of the Birmingham 2 Region to take on the winner of No. 3-seed North Carolina and No. 6-seed West Virginia.

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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