Duke basketball off to scorching start under Kara Lawson

Duke basketball is off to a promising start under new head coach Kara Lawson.

Under new head coach Kara Lawson, the Duke basketball program (2-0) is off to a promising start as ACC competition looms.

Lawson picked up her first victory as a head coach with a 94-64 victory over Longwood on Wednesday afternoon before landing her second win on Sunday with an 83-56 advantage over Western Carolina.

Duke will now have a week off before facing East Carolina on Saturday and then the start of conference play on Wednesday against Louisville.

All games thus far have been inside Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Blue Devils.

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Lawson might have found a future star in freshman Vanessa de Jesus, who is leading the team with junior Miela Goodchild, averaging 15.0 points per game.

Vanessa de Jesus is shooting 68.8 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from 3-point range through her first two collegiate games while graduate transfer Sara Anastasieska is averaging 14.5 points per game for the Blue Devis.

Sophomore Jaida Patrick has also provided a scoring punch with 14.0 points per game, but two have stood out in the rebounding category with Onome Akinbode-James and Jade Williams.

Akinbode-James is averaging 11.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game while Williams is posting 10.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest in the early going for the Blue Devils.

How will Duke basketball fare going forward?

Following the departure of Joanne P. McCallie, many did not expect the Blue Devils to thrive, even with the hire of Kara Lawson.

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Despite her outstanding resume, Lawson was still taking over a roster that was left barren due to poor recruiting and a veteran roster in 2019-20. But the brilliant basketball mind has figured out how to put the pieces together for Duke very early in the 2020-21 season.

There is still way too much basketball to be played to judge the Lady Blue Devils this year, but these first two games further prove that Duke made a home run hire.