A team that stays together, wins together.
In today’s women’s college basketball world, it has become increasingly rare that a player stays all four years with the same team. The transfer portal brings hope, for many, of earning more playing time at a different program.
For the first time in Kara Lawson’s tenure as head coach, that did not happen in Durham. All 10 players with eligibility remaining used it to stay with the Blue Devils, making Duke one of only a handful of teams across the country to keep all of its players.
“It speaks more to our players and their commitment to each other,” Lawson said at ACC Tipoff Oct. 8.
This year, in stark comparison to last, Duke has an ample supply of players who have played under Lawson, and those who are ready to step into leadership roles. But it is not just about the leadership and playing experience that those players bring to the table — it is also the depth of the relationships that they have built along the way.
“Our strengths for our team are our chemistry and our togetherness,” Lawson said.
Chemistry, commitment and togetherness define The Sisterhood, a term that Lawson and her players have taken to heart. The Blue Devils will be looking to replicate their impressive postseason run this year, and knowing that the entire team is wholly committed to each other and to Duke will only strengthen them. As Lawson settles into her fifth year as head coach, returning every player provides a sense of comfort and familiarity. They know her and her coaching style; she knows them and their strengths and weaknesses.
Lawson spoke about how much she values the relationships she has with the returning players, saying that “[she] can just look at them,” and they know exactly what she wants them to do both in practice and in games.
Those relationships are strongest with the veterans on the squad, some of whom, like graduate student Vanessa de Jesus, have been with Lawson all five years she has been at Duke. Others, like junior Ashlon Jackson and senior Reigan Richardson, are going into their third year under Lawson. She likes that she can build deep connections with her players over multiple years instead of losing them after one or two.
“I know that’s going out of style in a lot of places,” Lawson said. “I like the whole part of a four-year relationship. I like the struggle, I like the growth, I like the successes, I like the failures. I like all of that. I think you're just connected in a different way when you have that.”
Lawson and her players share a deep connection built upon what she describes as “a great trust” that allows them to work through the good parts and the bad parts of college basketball. The level of trust that Lawson has in her players and the trust they have in her allows the team to understand each other on a different level. Because of their close personal relationships, Lawson knows just how to challenge her players and push them to improve efficiently. Above all, she can help them understand just how important The Sisterhood is to the culture of women’s basketball at Duke.
To Kara Lawson’s squad, The Sisterhood is not just a logo that they wear on their jerseys or just a catchy marketing slogan plastered on banners or in Instagram captions, it truly is a way of life and the guiding principle for how the team operates on and off the court.
“It means togetherness,” junior guard Taina Mair said. “Everyone says, ‘Oh, my program is a family.’ But here, it’s really a family.”
Lawson has built a culture of family at Duke and challenged her players to work for each other just as hard as they work for a win. Under her careful tutelage, The Sisterhood has transformed from a simple saying into an absolute truth.
“We're hard on each other, we battle with each other,” sophomore forward Delaney Thomas said. “But we love each other at the end of the day, and I think that's what's most special and what keeps us together.”
“Our chemistry levels are off the charts. We trust each other. We know each other, we know how to play with one another,” said Oluchi Okananwa, sophomore guard and 2024 ACC Sixth Player of the Year.
“Those are like my real sisters,” Thomas said.
These tight sisterly bonds will carry Lawson’s squad through the good times and the bad of the 2024-25 season, providing them with a built-in support system during the most difficult stretches of the season.
“We know throughout the season it’s going to be tough times,” junior guard Ashlon Jackon said. “But as long as we’re together, that alone is just going to excel our game to the next level.”
Last season, the future was uncertain for Duke. Several players transferred out of the program and freshmen made up nearly half of the already small roster. With little time to integrate them into the system, the Blue Devils faced a host of adversity. Instead of falling short, the team outperformed even the highest of expectations for them, making a postseason run all the way to the Sweet 16.
Weathering the uncertainty of last year proved how the relationships they have with one another allow the Blue Devils to battle against adversity and come out stronger and more competitive on the other side. As Jackson and Lawson both said, there will assuredly be tough times in this upcoming season, but with the example of last year’s success to guide them, the team will rely on each other and their closeness when those times come.
That togetherness does not stop with the returning players. Both Lawson and her veterans spoke about how quickly the freshman have assimilated into the culture Lawson has painstakingly built over the past five years.
“It’s been so easy bonding with them and connecting with them,” Okananwa said. The Boston native is the youngest of four siblings and views Duke’s newcomers as the younger sisters she never had. “They make me want to just be there for them and help them with anything.”
Okananwa’s eagerness to help the freshmen learn is just one example of her commitment to The Sisterhood. According to Lawson, that commitment is for life.
“Not everybody's built to make those types of commitments,” Lawson said. “But when you come to Duke, you're basically saying that you are built to make that type of commitment to your team and to a program.”
It’s the pitch Lawson gives to all of her potential recruits: come to Duke ready to be part of this. The new freshman class signed up for The Sisterhood when they committed to Duke, so their early buy-in should come as no surprise. With both the returners and the newcomers believing wholeheartedly in the power of The Sisterhood, Duke seems primed for success going into this season. Chemistry is vital to success on the court, and it’s a box the Blue Devils have already checked.
The Sisterhood is stronger than ever.
Editor’s note: This piece is one of many in The Chronicle’s 2024-25 Duke women’s basketball preview. Check out the rest here.
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