With the college basketball season right around the corner, it's time for the Blue Zone to break down the 2024-25 Duke women's basketball roster. We previously looked at Jenessa Cotton, Jordan Wood, Louann Battiston, Riley Nelson and Arianna Roberson. Next up is sophomore forward Delaney Thomas:
Delaney Thomas
Year: Sophomore
Height: 6-foot-3
Position: Forward
Last year’s stat line: 16.6 MPG, 5.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Game breakdown: The Charles Town, W.Va., native brings experience to a young frontcourt after the departures of Kennedy Brown and Camilla Emsbo. Coming off of the bench last year, Thomas shot an efficient 55.4% from the field, with most of her attempts coming close to the rim. An area for improvement for the young forward will need to be her scoring outside of the paint after shooting 70.0% from the free throw line and not being a threat from deep.
The former four-star prospect shined in her first taste of Duke’s biggest rivalry, scoring a season high of 19 points at home in an overtime win against North Carolina last season. Alongside her success against the Tar Heels, Thomas was a standout in most all of the Blue Devils’ big games, scoring a combined 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting against top teams Stanford and South Carolina.
Role on the team: The sophomore should see some action in the frontcourt alongside freshman Toby Fournier. Thomas earned head coach Kara Lawson’s trust throughout last season, and with another offseason of training and a year of college basketball under her belt, she should be a key contributor to this season’s team.
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