Defensive Masterclass Sends Duke to NCAA Second Round

Friday, March 21

Durham, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

27-7,14-4ACC

Lehigh

27-7,15-3Patriot

Lehigh

Duke

Oluchi Okananwa smiling as she walks to the bench

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Defensive Masterclass Sends Duke to NCAA Second Round

3/21/2025 11:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. – Three Blue Devils scored in double figures and 10 players got in the scoring column in a commanding 86-25 victory for second-seeded Duke over No. 15-seed Lehigh in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Friday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa led the way with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Delaney Thomas and Toby Fournier both added 11 points apiece with Thomas pulling down a game-high eight caroms and Fournier collecting four boards to go with her three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke jumped out to an early lead and held a 13-8 advantage following the opening 10 minutes of action. The Blue Devils opened the game with eight unanswered, getting scores by Thomas (4), Reigan Richardson and Fournier.
Ella Stemmer broke the seal on the basket for the visitors with a triple from the top of the key at the 4:53 mark, but Duke quickly pushed the lead back to double digits on Okananwa's bucket and free throws by Fournier and Richardson.
The visitors scored the final five points of the period to pull within five at the end of one.
Duke commanded the second quarter and broke the game open, parlaying a 20-2 margin into a 33-10 lead at the break. Okananwa paced the offensive efforts in the frame with eight points while Thomas controlled the glass with seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
Defensively, the Blue Devils held Lehigh to just 1-of-12 (8.3%) shooting in the period and forced 10 turnovers while keeping the Mountain Hawks scoreless over the final six minutes of the frame.
Duke continued to stifle Lehigh's offense, holding the Mountain Hawks without a point for the first 4:49 of the third quarter while extending the lead to 46-10. Lily Fandre knocked down a long two to end Lehigh's scoring drought at 11:03.
Fournier paced Duke's 13-0 run to start the stanza with six points while Ashlon Jackson dropped in five points. Okananwa and Emma Koabel capped the period with back-to-back threes in the final 29 seconds for a 57-17 lead after 30 minutes of action.
The threes continued to fall in the fourth quarter with Duke draining seven from long range to secure the 61-point victory.

NOTES:

Duke's 61-point margin of victory marks the largest by the Blue Devils this season, besting the 53-point spread against Radford (11.4.24).
Duke kept Lehigh 44 points below its average points per game. Lehigh entered the contest putting up 69.7 points a night. The Mountain Hawks also entered the game shooting 45 percent from the field but connected on just 19 percent of its field goals against the Blue Devils. Lehigh marks the 29th opponent this season the Blue Devils have held below their respective scoring average.
Duke limited Lehigh to single digits in all four quarters (8, 2, 7, 8) and has now limited foes to single digits in 33 quarters this season. The Blue Devils also held Lehigh to season lows in points (25), field goals (9), field goal percentage (19.6%) and assists (3) while forcing the Mountain Hawks into a season-high 30 blunders. Duke also forced a pair of shot clock violations, pushing the team's total to 43 for the year.
Duke set a pair of program records against Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks' 25 points and nine field goals marking the fewest by a Duke opponent in NCAA Tournament history. The previous lows were 27 points and 11 baskets by Southern in 2006.
The 25 points by the Mountain Hawks also tied for the second fewest points by a Blue Devil foe all-time and the fewest since holding Ball State to 24 in 2005. The visitors' point total was also the second-lowest point total in NCAA Women's Tournament history, trailing only the 21 points by Howard against South Carolina (3.18.22). Lehigh scored 10 points in the first half - tied for the fourth fewest points in any half in NCAA Women's Tournament lore.
Duke limited Lehigh to two points in the second quarter, which tied for the fewest by a Blue Devil foe this season. Duke also held Boston College to two points in the second period this season. It marks the fourth time Duke has held a team to just two points in the second quarter in program lore and the fifth time in any quarter in all-time. The Mountain Hawks shot just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from the floor during the period, the lowest field goal percentage by a Duke opponent this season and tied for sixth lowest in the period in program history.
Offensively, the Blue Devils shot 31-of-67 (46.3%) from the field, 11-of-29 (37.9%) from distance and 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the foul line.
Duke assisted on 55 percent of its field goals against the Mountain Hawks with 17 dimes on 31 buckets. The Blue Devils have dropped at least 17 dimes in 22 games this season.
Duke eclipsed the 70-point threshold and finished with three players in double figures for the 24th time in 2024-25. The Blue Devils finished the contest with 86 points, marking their 13th 80-point outing of the year.
The Blue Devils commanded the glass and finished with a plus-21 margin on the boards, outrebounding Lehigh 48-27.
Duke swept all five categories to win the superlative battle, commanding the advantage in points off the bench (48-6), points off turnovers (35-8), paint scoring (36-12), second chance buckets (26-5) and in transition (14-0).
Oluchi Okananwa reached double figures for the 19th time this season, pacing the Duke offense with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The sophomore was all over the stat sheet, rounding out her night with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Delaney Thomas turned in a strong all-around game with 11 points, eight rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. It marks the 11th time this season Thomas has scored 10 or more points and improves Duke to 10-1 this season when she reaches double digits. The sophomore snagged seven of her rebounds in the second period - tied for the most caroms all-time by a Duke player in the quarter.
Toby Fournier had a solid all-around performance with 11 points (5-of-8), four rebounds, three steals and two assists - the latter two matching career highs. The rookie has produced 21 games this season with 10 or more points and moves into No. 6 all-time on the Duke freshman records with 441 career points. Her 165 field goals this season also rank sixth on the Duke freshman charts.
Senior Reigan Richardson chipped in nine points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal while Louann Battiston, Ashlon Jackson, Emma Koabel and Taina Mair each chipped in eight points.
Mair added four caroms and two dimes to her stat line with Koabel chipping in two rebounds, two assists and two steals as well. Battiston tallied career highs in points, field goals (3), triples (2) and assists (2).
Sophomore Jordan Wood rounded out the group of top Blue Devil contributors with six points, six caroms and three blocks.

UP NEXT:
Duke advances to the NCAA Second Round to take on No. 10-seed Oregon on Sunday, March 23. Stay tuned for official game time announcements.

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