Duke women defeat No. 18 Notre Dame, extend winning streak to six games

Duke looked like a shell of itself early this season. It wasn’t even the record causing concerns as much as the seeming lack of toughness — a staple for Kara Lawson’s teams.

The team flipped a switch in early December, winning five straight games by an average margin of 32 points. Early last week, it beat Boston College by 51 points … on the road. The Blue Devils’ matchup on Sunday, however, was expected to be a barometer for their improvements.

How would they show up against their first top 25 opponent since Dec. 4 and prior to their big turnaround?

Duke (9-6, 4-0 ACC) passed its test with flying colors.

The Blue Devils defeated No. 18 Notre Dame, 82-68, to win their sixth straight game and pick up the team’s first win over a ranked team.

“Being able to play with a lead against a really good team is not an easy thing to do,” Lawson said. “Proud of how we finished. Went plus-2 in the third quarter and then plus-3 in the fourth quarter to finish out the game. A great win for us, and, obviously, you want to take care of home court in our league and in our league race. It’s a good thing to have for have the first four games under our belt.”

Notre Dame (10-4, 2-2) got out to a 6-2 lead, but a 13-0 run gave Duke a three possession lead. It was all Blue Devils the rest of the way — Lawson’s group looked like a late postseason team — with a lead that grew to as much as 18 points.

“They’re very good defensive team,” Duke’s Taina Mair said. “Coach Kara said that, so did the coaching staff. Understanding what they want to do, and not allowing them to speed us up or to control the tempo allowed us to go out there and perform.”

Duke had a well-rounded outing, led by a trio of senior Mair, sophomore Toby Fournier and junior Delaney Thomas.

Fournier, last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year and All-ACC First Team selection looked, for the most part, like a first teamer again. Notre Dame double-teamed Fournier for most of the first half — it backed off that some in the second half — but she still found the basket with ease, scoring 20 points.

Fournier struggled from 3-point range (0-4) and at the line (2-6), but her efficiency in the lane, ball distribution (5 assists) and rebounding (7 rebounds) more than made up for those misses. Her assist total was a new career high.

“Fournier is one of the top players in the country, and she doesn’t get a lot of publicity from that standpoint relative to a lot of the other top players,” Lawson said, “but she gets so much attention with double teams and triple teams. ... The defense knows where Toby is at all times.”

Mair led the team with 23 points and six assists. She went 4 for 4 from distance, a career high. Lawson complimented Mair for stepping into a larger scoring role this season due to somewhat limited depth. Last year, she was more of a distributor and on-court director. There were a lot of “mouths to feed” from a scoring perspective.

“She does that, and she never complains about any of it. And she does it because her goal is to win,” Lawson said. “It’s just unique in this day and age to have a player like that.”

Thomas ended the game with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double.

The team opened the game 9 of 13 (69.2%) from the field and ended the afternoon 30-66 (45.5%). Five players finished in double figures.

On the defensive end, the Blue Devils significantly limited Hannah Hidalgo’s ability to get clean looks through the first three quarters, when she shot 4 of 12 from the field and scored 10 points. She stepped on the gas in the final period to score 22 overall points, grab nine rebounds and dish out seven assists.

Hidalgo entered the game scoring 25.5 points per game, which led the ACC and ranked No. 2 in the nation. She also led Division I with 6.1 steals per game, while adding 6.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

Cassandre Prosper added 15 points, six rebounds and only shot 33.3% from the field, 21.5% lower than her average.

The Fighting Irish had a few runs, but the Blue Devils were disruptive and generally difficult to deal with. That led to 16 Notre Dame turnovers and three blocked shots.

“We have so much experience against top teams,” Lawson said. “We know when you go in a game like this, there’s going to be runs. We talk about that going into these types of games, They’re good, so they’re going to do stuff good, too. You can’t let it take your spirit when somebody makes good plays.”

Much of Duke’s turnaround, and its win on Sunday, came without the services of hybrid guard Jadyn Donovan. Donovan, an All-ACC Defensive Team selection last year, missed the fourth straight game.

The team was also without Emilee Skinner and Emma Koabel. Koabel has not played this season. Skinner has played three games; her most recent appearance came on Dec. 7.

Mair said the team matured through the ups and downs of the nonconference season, which is one of the reasons it’s in the current position.

“We understand what it takes to win,” Mair said. “We know that we’re very beatable, but we can beat very good teams. Just staying steady, in that sense, and going to practice, practicing hard. It turns out that if you practice hard, you win a lot of games.”

Rebounding, ball movement lift Duke offense

Much of Duke’s success can be attributed to its aggressiveness off the glass, leading to more opportunities on the offensive end, and its ball movement.

The Blue Devils recorded 17 offensive rebounds, which lead to 19 second-chance points. They were particularly effective in the first half, grabbing nine o-rebounds and 12 second-chance points.

Duke finished with a 39-31 rebounding advantage and took seven more shots than Notre Dame. The team’s rebounding total was lower than normal, but both squads shot more than 45% from the field.

Seven different Blue Devils pulled down multiple rebounds.

“We have to be tougher, be more relentless on the boards,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said. “We knew that they were very physical, have really good posts. They were great on the glass. That was a big key for us.”

The Blue Devils recorded 19 assists on 30 made field goals, roughly two more assists than their season average. They moved well with and without the ball, opening up the lane and shots from the outside.

De Jesus returns to Duke

Former Duke guard Vanessa De Jesus made her first trip back to Cameron Indoor Stadium, a place with which she is acutely familiar. She was met with cheers from the Duke faithful, despite being on the other bench this time.

The graduate student entered the game averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals. She finished the matchup with 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, hitting a shot at the first-half buzzer to cut Notre Dame’s deficit to nine points.

De Jesus was part of the Blue Devils program for five years, though she missed the 2023-24 season due to injury. She was recruited by previous Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie and honored her commitment after the program hired Kara Lawson. De Jesus stayed with the team through COVID19 and the early years when it wasn’t winning.

“I knew what we had. Duke has been one of the greatest programs in college basketball forever,” De Jesus said prior to Duke’s 2025 Elite Eight game against South Carolina. “I feel like that kind of a legacy is going to rebuild either way. And, I knew Coach Kara; her past history of coaching at the highest level, and also playing at the highest level. I had faith that hard work pays off. I think with us, it just shows that — where we are now.”

She was one of the unexpected transfers in the offseason. De Jesus averaged 3.1 points per game last season.

“I’m very committed to this team,” De Jesus said in March. “I’ve been here since day one. I’ve been wanting to win a championship, and I really just wanted to see that through with this team and with this group of girls. I love Duke, and I just knew that this is a place that I can see us doing it.”

She opted to join Notre Dame’s program, replacing players like Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, in hopes of one day making a WNBA team.

Poise with physicality

Fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium shouted at the officials on multiple occasions, begging for foul calls. They didn’t always get them, but the same could be said for Notre Dame.

Officials allowed both teams to play through a lot of contact, a frustration Duke’s players expressed to the officials. Mair spoke to officials a couple of times in an attempt to get additional information about the decisions.

The Blue Devils’ maturity, even when they didn’t get calls they thought were deserved, was praiseworthy, as well. They didn’t allow their frustrations to bubble over into outbursts nor did it lead to forced plays.

While the lack of calls irritated both teams, the experience of playing through contact should serve the Blue Devils well as the ACC schedule continues.

A combined 24 fouls were called, despite each team typically picking up 15 per game.

This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Duke women defeat No. 18 Notre Dame, extend winning streak to six games."

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer