Blue Devils picked to finish seventh in ACC women's basketball preseason poll

We are another year into the Kara Era and things are continuing to move in the right direction for Duke.

The Blue Devils were picked to finish seventh in the ACC by members of the Blue Ribbon Panel following the Oct. 11 ACC Tipoff event in Charlotte. A year removed from a 17-13 record with a 7-11 record within the conference, head coach Kara Lawson's squad will feature sophomore Shayeann Day-Wilson and senior Celeste Taylor along with freshman and former top recruit Ashlon Jackson as it aims to make a run into the ACC tournament and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017-18.

Duke received 627 points from head coaches and media, which slotted it between Miami and Georgia Tech and behind projected regular-season champion Louisville, which received 1,068 points from the 60 members of the voting panel. The Cardinals are followed by Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Notre Dame, with North Carolina rounding out the top five. The middle-of-the-pack projection comes after Duke's 2021-22 team was picked eighth, finished 10th and bowed out in the ACC tournament's second round before turning down an invitation to compete in the NIT. 

Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley was named the Preseason Player of the Year. No Blue Devils were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team or the Newcomer Watch List.

Duke also received two votes in the AP Poll, making the Blue Devils the seventh-ranked ACC team in the preseason poll with No. 7 Louisville leading the way. Duke opens its season Nov. 7 at home against North Carolina A&T.

The complete results from the Blue Ribbon Panel can be found here.