X-Factor: Okananwa's prowess on both sides of the court crucial for Duke women's basketball against Richmond

After losing to N.C. State in the ACC tournament, No. 7-seed Duke is back in action in the NCAA tournament against No. 10-seed Richmond Friday. The Blue Zone is here with a potential difference-maker from each squad:

Duke: Oluchi Okananwa 

When Oluchi Okananwa comes off the bench for the Blue Devils, the entire energy of the team shifts. The 5-foot-10 guard doesn’t let her slight build stop her from jumping up for rebounds or swiping the ball away from opponents. On the offensive side, Okananwa has a talent for weaving defenders for the easy layup but can just as easily step back for the jumper. In short, when Okananwa plays her best, opposing teams have to be on notice, and the Richmond Spiders already know about the threat she poses all too well. 

These two teams have faced off before this season in the Blue Devils’ home opener that they ran away with 83-53. In that game, the ACC Sixth Player of the Year came off the bench in an electric fashion for Duke, bursting onto the scene with 12 rebounds, a season-high 22 points and three steals. Despite it only being her first outing in college basketball, the Boston, Mass., native showed a spark of what has now become regularly expected of her. Indeed, since the season opener, Okananwa has only grown on both sides of the court, becoming a threat any opponent looking to take on head coach Kara Lawson’s team must plan for. 

In her first taste of March Madness action, Okananwa looks poised to play a key role for the Blue Devils as they vie for victory this weekend. Of course, it is well known that anything can happen in March, but if Okananwa comes off the bench and lights a spark for Duke’s offense — as she always does — the Blue Devils will have no problem sweeping their matchup with the Spiders. 

Richmond: Maggie Doogan 

The last time Richmond faced off against Duke, the Blue Devils’ dominant defense managed to stifle all of the Spiders' attempts at producing an offense. For Richmond to sneak past Duke and advance to the round of 32, it will need to rely on Maggie Doogan to put on an offensive master class.

When these two teams faced off months ago, Doogan only put up six points, one of only four games this season where she scored less than 10. Since then, the 6-foot-2 forward has hit her offensive stride and now leads her team, averaging 15.4 points per game. The Broomall, Pa., native also poses a significant rebounding threat, another category where she leads her team with 5.7 on average. Doogan’s improved efforts have transformed the Spiders into a completely different and far more dangerous opponent than the Blue Devils faced off against in November. Momentum is on the whole team's side after winning the Atlantic 10 championship and breaking the record for the most wins in program history. If Doogan properly uses that momentum and gets off to a hot shooting streak right from the start, she and Richmond might just walk away with the win.