The 2025–26 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team represents Duke University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Devils, led by sixth-year head coach Kara Lawson, played their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Blue Devils began the season ranked seventh in the AP poll and traveled to Paris, France for their opening game in the Oui-Play against sixteenth-ranked Baylor Bears. Duke was defeated 52–58 and fell to fifteenth in the rankings. After two non-conference victories, they lost 49–57 to West Virginia at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. A win against could not keep the Blue Devils in the rankings as they fell out. The team then went on a four-game losing streak which included a thirteen-point loss at South Florida before the team traveled to Las Vegas to participate in the Players Era Women's Championship. There they lost to second-ranked South Carolina and third-ranked UCLA. They also lost their ACC–SEC Challenge game against fifth-ranked LSU. The Blue Devils rebounded with a victory to open ACC play against Virginia Tech and won their final two games of the non-conference season. Those wins sparked a seventeen-game winning streak for the Blue Devils. Over the stretch they defeated eighteenth-ranked Notre Dame by fourteen points, and returned to the rankings at the end of January at number twenty-one. They were ranked twentieth when they defeated rivals Wake Forest by thirty-six points. They advanced to seventeenth and upset sixth-ranked Louisville by one point. They were eleventh when they defeated rivals and twenty-first-ranked North Carolina and NC State. Their winning streak was broken when they were upset by two-points at Clemson. The team fell to twelfth in the rankings and defeated Florida State but lost their rivalry re-match against twenty-first-ranked North Carolina by five-points. They ended the regular season ranked thirteenth.

The Blue Devils finished the regular season 21–8 overall and 16–2 in ACC play to finish as regular season conference champions. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where they avenged a regular season loss to ninth-seed Clemson, 60–46. They defeated fifth-seed Notre Dame 65–63 in the semifinals. They won the final 70–65 over second-seed, twelfth-ranked, Louisville to defend their tournament title from the prior year. The Blue Devils had two players named to the All-Tournament First Team and three to the All-Tournament Second Team. As tournament champions, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and were the three-seed in the Sacramento 2 region. They defeated fourteen-seed Charleston and avenged their loss in the season opener against six-seed and twenty-first ranked Baylor at home to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they faced two-seed and fifth-ranked LSU in a re-match of their ACC–SEC Challenge game. This time Duke prevailed 87–85 to advance to the Elite Eight. There they faced first-seed and second-ranked UCLA in another regular-season rematch. Duke lost to UCLA for the second time this season, this time by twelve points, to end their season. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 27–9 record, and ranked fifth in both the AP and Coaches polls.

Previous season

The Blue Devils finished the regular season 23–7 overall and 14–4 in ACC play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the ACC tournament, earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where they defeated sixth seed Louisville, 61–48. They defeated second seed and sixth ranked Notre Dame 61–56 in the semifinals. They won the final 76–62 over top seed, seventh ranked, rival NC State. The Blue Devils defeated three teams they lost to during the regular season on the way to their tournament title. Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa was named tournament MVP and Ashlon Jackson was named to the All-Tournament First Team. As tournament champions, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and were the two-seed in the Birmingham 2 region. They defeated fifteen seed Lehigh and ten seed Oregon at home to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they faced three seed and twelfth ranked North Carolina for a third time this season. After splitting the regular season games 1–1, Duke prevailed in the tournament to advance to the Elite Eight. There they lost to first seed and second ranked South Carolina 54–50 to end their season. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 29–8 record, and ranked seventh in both the AP and Coaches polls. Their 29 wins were the most since 2012–13.

Off-season

Departures Departures 2 G 5'8" Valencia, California Graduated; transferredto Notre Dame 5 G 5'10" Boston, Massachusetts Transferred to Maryland 7 G 5'5" Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium Transferred to Rice 24 G 5'11" Charlotte, North Carolina Graduated 42 F 6'2" Orange, California Transferred to Kansas State

Incoming transfers Incoming transfers Hailey Johnson 42 F 5'11" Graduate student Coto de Caza, California Pepperdine

Recruiting class

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Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

References