With 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, Arianna Roberson, Delaney Thomas, Emma Koabel, Vanessa de Jesus, Toby Fournier, Ashlon Jackson, Jadyn Donovan, Oluchi Okananwa and Taina Mair. Last up is veteran leader Reigan Richardson:
Reigan Richardson
Year: Senior
Height: 5-foot-11
Position: Guard
Last year’s stat line: 12.4 PPG, 29.1 MPG, 2.5 RPG
Game breakdown: The exceptional senior guard is heading into her final season coming off of a stellar performance her junior year which she will certainly look to build on. Head coach Kara Lawson’s trust and belief in Richardson were made clear early. She started 26 of 34 games as a sophomore, as she was consistently a defensive powerhouse against strong competition. Similar to her time at Georgia, Richardson gradually got into her offensive groove during her second year where she developed a strong 3-point percentage. Heading into her junior season, her duties as a guard were elevated especially given the loss of tremendous guards Celeste Taylor and Shayeann Day-Wilson. Richardson’s lethal shooting abilities, particularly off of the dribble, and strong finishing capabilities were something the Blue Devils were desperately looking for in the 2023-24 season. With these new roles on the team needing to be fulfilled, Richardson swooped in and continued to elevate her game.
Not intimidated by the increased level of play required for Duke to succeed, the Charlotte, N.C., native instead embraced this opportunity, leading the team last season in scoring and starting all 34 games. During Duke's first game of the season against Richmond, the Blue Devil had a career-high 28-point game where she shot 12-of-15 from the field including 4-of-4 from deep.
Playing well in the regular season is not just Richardson’s speciality because she had stellar performances during Duke’s March Madness run that truly highlighted her talent. During back-to-back NCAA Tournament games, she had 25 and 28 points respectively in a rematch against the Spiders and a comeback win against Ohio State to help propel the team to its 18th Sweet 16 appearance. Originally, Duke was trailing a strong Buckeye team that included former Blue Devil Taylor, but Richardson rose to the occasion and contributed 10 points in the fourth quarter. In those two games she tallied a 58.3% shooting clip from the floor as well as a 62.5% rate from beyond the arc. Her total of 53 points across these two games amounted to 36% of the Blue Devils’ total scoring, underscoring the invaluable impact Richardson had on Duke’s postseason run last year.
While Richardson is not afraid to make a shot from beyond the arc and drive to the basket efficiently and effectively, her defensive skills are also tremendous. She helped the Blue Devils go down as the ACC’s top defense for the second consecutive season, particularly through her quick foot speed, length to defend both guards and forwards alike and her ability to rebound and block shots.
Role on the team: With this being Richardon’s final season, her leadership will be seminal for her younger teammates. She was tapped as a Preseason All-ACC selection heading into the 2024-25 campaign, so she will be looked towards to consistently provide the Blue Devils with strong and composed games.
Since the senior had such a great season last year, both her offensive and defensive assets will be heavily relied upon by the team to continue to deeply advance in the postseason. Heading into her final year with the Blue Devils it will likely be that she starts all of the games as well as has strong statistics both in terms of her offensive and defensive play but also in regards to her minutes per game. Overall, given Richardson’s tremendous progression as a player from Georgia and eventually to spending her final three years at Duke, she will be looked upon this season to continue to comprise a lot of Duke’s points along with being a remarkable defender.
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