By: Ben McCormick
November 25, 2022
The Duke women's basketball team has gotten off to a hot start in November. The Blue Devils are 5-0 with notable road victories over Toledo and Davidson. Their closest game to date came against Toledo as the Blue Devils won by 17. Whenever you are winning every game by at least 17 points, you must be on a roll. True, but that roll could easily come to a halt Friday night in Portland as Duke faces an opponent much tougher than any of its previous five: No. 3 UConn.
The Huskies have already captured convincing wins over ranked opponents NC State and Texas. Even without star guard Paige Bueckers who is out for the season with an injury, UConn is rolling and in championship contention once again. Sophomore guard Azzi Fudd is off to a scorching start for the third-ranked Huskies, as she is averaging 30 PPG through the team's first three games. UConn is five double-digit scorers deep, and will be a hard matchup for Duke at every position.
In opposition to UConn, Duke's offense is split up more evenly through its 17 woman roster. Only two Blue Devils average 10 PPG or better: Celeste Taylor and Kennedy Brown. Taylor, the team's leading scorer at 12 PPG is also averaging 2.2 SPG, an indication of the defensive beacon she has been for Kara Lawson's squad.
Duke matches up with the Huskies in Portland for the first of two games at the PK85 tournament. The game will tip at approximately 6 p.m. ET. Depending on the outcome of the game, Duke will play either the winner or loser of No. 9 Iowa vs. Oregon State.
The Hawkeyes recently picked up their first loss of the season in a 1-point loss to Kansas State. And much like Duke, Oregon State is unranked despite being undefeated. Betting odds would project the Blue Devils to matchup with the Beavers in the consolation game, but you can never count Kara Lawson's Blue Devils out.
Blue Devils vs. Huskies, Black Friday at 6 p.m.
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