Toby Fournier scores 24, Duke beats Charleston 81-64 in 1st round of women's NCAA Tournament

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Toby Fournier scores 24, Duke beats Charleston 81-64 in 1st round of women's NCAA Tournament

Duke's Toby Fornier, right, handles the ball as Charleston's Sophia Tougas, left, defends during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Duke's Riley Nelson, right, drives against Charleston's Tyja Beans (15) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Duke head coach Kara Lawson reacts to a play during the first half against Charleston in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NATE RYAN · Associated Press

Fri, Mar 20, 2026 ·

4 min read

Final Four bound?

Harmony said she would be unsurprised if Duke made the Final Four after reaching the Elite Eight last season. But does Lawson, who said Thursday her team "isn't perfect," think the Blue Devils can fix their weaknesses in time to go a round further this year?

"It's not like a broken light bulb where you can just go to Home Depot and get it and twist it in," Lawson said. "It's a gradual growth toward having a higher percentage of adherence to the scheme. We're going to have mess-ups, right? We want to lower the amount of them. Even if we play great, we still might have 12 turnovers.

"So it's really about shrinking those numbers down. We want to have as few as possible, but these teams are good, so you're going to have some. So it's not having zero tolerance for mistakes but having a low tolerance."

Taryn's future

Despite Taryn Barbot turning in a big performance on a national stage, Harmony remains unworried about a powerhouse team poaching her star player. The Barbot sisters stayed at Charleston despite contact from more than 80 teams about transfer offers after last season, according to Harmony.

"She's 20 and is going to make her own decisions," Harmony said. "She's an adult. It's whatever is best for her. So I'm not even thinking about that. There's no doubt that she is a Power 4 player, and this is where she's happy. And that's the important part is the kid's happy with where she's playing. If she's not, then she has to change."

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Toby Fournier scores 24, Duke beats Charleston 81-64 in 1st round of women's NCAA Tournament

NCAA Charleston Duke Basketball

NCAA Charleston Duke Basketball

NCAA Charleston Duke Basketball

NCAA Charleston Duke Basketball

Final Four bound?

Taryn's future

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