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Duke women's basketball reflects on 2024-25 season following Elite Eight loss to South Carolina
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- Duke women's basketball reflects on 2024-25 season following Elite Eight loss to South Carolina
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It was a season of firsts for Duke women's basketball in the Kara Lawson era.
A season of firsts since 2013, to be exact, with the Blue Devils claiming the ACC tournament title and making it to the Elite Eight for the first time in 12 years. They also took down rival North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen to make it to within one win of the Final Four.
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Duke ultimately fell short of more firsts on Sunday, falling 54-50 to South Carolina , the reigning NCAA champion, at Legacy Arena in the 2025 NCAA Tournament . The Blue Devils were looking to make their fifth Final Four appearance and claim their first NCAA title.
"I'm just really proud of my team," said Lawson, who took over the Duke program in 2020. "What a battle it was. Just fighting tooth and nail out there to try and see if we could finish the game on top. ... Honestly, throughout the whole game, I just had a great sense of pride walking the sidelines watching them compete at the highest level. Just really proud of the season overall."
Duke overcame a sluggish start against the Gamecocks , shooting just 25.8% in the first half. Duke took the lead in the third quarter, holding the narrow 42-38 advantage heading into the final period. The Gamecocks outscored the Blue Devils 16-8 in the final quarter to punch their ticket to the Final Four.
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FROM THE GAME: Duke women's basketball eliminated by South Carolina in Elite Eight: Key observations
Duke finished shooting 31.7% (19-of-60) from the field, South Carolina shooting 43.2% (19-of-44). Duke had its best shooting quarter in the third, going 53.8% (7-of-13) from the field, but the South Carolina defense continued to make things difficult for the Blue Devils.
"I thought our team played really hard," Lawson said. "I though we defended at a high level, at a level well enough to advance. Our offense was not at a level high enough to advance."
Good news for the Blue Devils: They are a young squad set to return their three leading scorers from this season in Toby Fournier (13.1 points per game), Ashlon Jackson (12.4) and Oluchi Okananwa (10.1). Duke has just one senior on its roster who will be out of eligibility in senior guard Reigan Richardson . Richardson was the fourth-leading scorer for Duke, averaging 9.8 points.
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Duke will also have the addition of Emilee Skinner next season, a 6-foot point guard out of Millville, Utah, who is tabbed as the No. 7 player in the ESPNW 2025 class. Skinner is Duke's lone signee in its 2025 class.
"We feel like we can continue this momentum," Lawson said. "There's things we know we need to work on. But having continuity in a group and having a shared hunger and desire to continue to grow hopefully helps us in the offseason."
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke women's basketball reflects on 2024-25 season following Elite Eight
