No. 16 Duke women’s basketball will take on No. 18 Cal in a key ranked matchup Thursday. The Blue Zone is here with an overview of the Golden Bears and three keys to a Blue Devil victory:
Overview
2023-24 record: 19-15, 7-11 in the Pac-12
2024-25 record: 16-2, 4-1 in the ACC
Head coach: Charmin Smith
History: Duke leads 2-1
Last meeting: 70-58 Duke, Nov. 10, 2013
Cal may have not been in the ACC for long, but it is already making plenty of noise. Duke will take on a 16-2 Golden Bears squad Thursday night that is sitting at third in a very competitive conference and coming off three straight wins — including a home victory against No. 21 N.C. State. Cal boasts a productive offense, averaging 77.5 points per night, led by guards Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale, who each average over 14 points per game and a little more than 40% from the field. As a team, the Golden Bears are also one of the best in the ACC from beyond the arc, connecting on more than 37% of 3-point shots.
Duke is coming off of a rebound win against Virginia that saw the Blue Devils bounce back from being down ten points in the third quarter. Sparked by guards Oluchi Okananwa and Taina Mair, the Duke offense finally showed signs of life after a brutal first half against the Cavaliers and a defensive slugfest with No. 14 North Carolina before that. Head coach Kara Lawson’s group will look to keep the offensive momentum going and its defensive intensity on par with a stellar season thus far in its matchup with Cal in yet another conference challenge.
3 keys
Start strong: Duke has ended two consecutive games in dramatic fashion — with mixed results — after a slow start that allowed both the Tar Heels and Virginia to jump ahead by double-digit margins. Though the Blue Devils have demonstrated terrific tenacity in clawing back from the deficits in both games, Lawson will definitely look to calm things down and get her offense in a groove earlier in the game against the Golden Bears. Facing an efficient offense, Duke will lean on its best scorers to find opportunities to score and keep the game in control early.
Duke has played its best games when it comes out swinging. Prior to last week’s road trip, the Blue Devils had a stellar offensive showing, shooting over 45% from the field without star forward Toby Fournier against Pittsburgh in their last home matchup.
Keep Cal from running: Duke will have to contend with a potent Cal offense that can really break away. Even in games that appeared close, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story; the Golden Bears led Florida State by as much as 34 in the first two quarters and fought off a resilient Seminole squad that fell short of a miraculous comeback. The Blue Devils can’t rely on miracles. While the Duke defense has been generally stellar, the team’s losses to No. 8 Maryland and North Carolina have come after letting an opposing offense get hot and pad the lead early.
Forcing turnovers is a specialty of Lawson’s defense, and it could keep the Golden Bears contained. They average 17.4 turnovers per contest, which could allow a blitzing backcourt defense including Okananwa, along with upperclassmen Reigan Richardson and Ashlon Jackson, to keep the Cal offense on its heels. Duke sits towards the top of the ACC in opponent turnovers, so it will look to take advantage to put points on the board and keep the Golden Bears in check.
Finding Fournier: Freshman forward Toby Fournier was on a tear before a collision against Boston College forced her to miss the home matchup against the Panthers. Two games back from injury, Fournier has not yet scored in double digits despite averaging almost 12 points per contest overall. The phenom will have to get back to firing up the Duke offense before matching up with an impressive Cal squad.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.