Andy Hancock

Women's Basketball

Blue Devils Top Cardinals in Friday Night Finale

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com)  – Third-seeded Duke became the fourth team to punch its ticket to the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals, handling sixth-seeded Louisville a 61-48 loss in Friday evening's quarterfinal at First Horizon Coliseum.
 
Oluchi Okanawa led the Blue Devils’ scoring with 13 points and Reigan Richardson added 12. 
 
Duke (24-7), ranked 11th nationally, moves on to face second-seeded and No. 6 ranked Notre Dame (26-4) in Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. ET semifinal game (ESPN2). Notre Dame defeated the visiting Blue Devils 64-49 on February 17 in South Bend.
 
Okananwa made 4-of-7 shots with a 3-pointer and 4-of-5 free throws for Duke. Ashlon Jackson scored 11 points, while ACC Rookie of the Year Toby Fournier scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.
 
Reserve Mackenly Randolph scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting to lead the sixth-seeded Cardinals (21-10). Olivia Cochran had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.
 
Six different players had a basket in the early going, as the Blue Devils led 15-11 lead after one quarter.
 
Louisville made 1-of-5 shots and turned the ball over five times in the first seven minutes of the second quarter in falling behind 23-13. Nyla Harris ended the Cardinals' six-minute scoring drought with a basket, but Taina Mair buried a 3-pointer with two seconds left as the Blue Devils closed the half on an 8-3 run for a 31-18 advantage.
 
Duke held Louisville to two points through the first four minutes of the third quarter and the Blue Devils used back-to-back 3-pointers by Jackson and a three-point play by Fournier to up their lead to 41-20. Jackson finished with eight points in the period, as Duke led 45-30 going into the fourth quarter.
 
Louisville scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, but Okananwa answered with a three-point play and Duke maintained a double-digit lead from there.
 
Louisville played its second consecutive game without First-Team All-ACC guard Jayda Curry, who missed her second consecutive game due to a shoulder injury. Curry scored 24 points in the Cardinals’ 70-62 win at Duke on February 20. Reserve guard Merissah Russell (4.6 points, 13.5 minutes per game) was also sidelined.
 
Of note
  • Duke improved to 52-38 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including a 42-15 mark in Greensboro. The Blue Devils have won at least one game in 27 of their last 30 tournament appearances.
  • This year marked the first meeting between Duke and Louisville in the Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Cardinals had defeated the Blue Devils in seven of their eight most recent meetings prior to Friday night and now lead the all-time series 9-5.
  • Duke was the 13th ranked opponent the Cardinals have faced this season.
  • Louisville is 16-10 all-time in the ACC tourney with one championship (2018) in its 11 seasons as a league member.
 
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)