Over the past few years, the Duke women's basketball program has flown up the rankings, reaching the respect level long ago obtained by the men's program. This year, the Blue Devils started ranked No. 7 in the nation, but a tough matchup to start the season spelled trouble.
In the first game of the year, the Duke Blue Devils faced the No. 16 Baylor Bears as a part of the Oui-Play double-header in Paris, France.
Despite holding a small lead at halftime, Duke couldn't keep up with the Bears' consistency on offense and eventually lost to Baylor by six points.
Toby Fournier's double-double not enough to topple Baylor
Sophomore forward Toby Fournier was expected to be a leader before the season even tipped off, and she proved herself worthy of those expectations on Monday, even though the Blue Devils couldn't secure the win.
By the end of the game, Fournier had earned a double-double behind 16 points and 10 rebounds, as well as four blocks on the defensive end of the court. She was the only Blue Devil to earn double-digit points or rebounds in the game, as head coach Kara Lawson only rotated through seven players.
While Duke's defense held Baylor to just 58 points, the minimal 52-point performance by the offense is far from enough for the Blue Devils to live up to their preseason hype.
Fairly quickly after the game, fans were calling for Lawson, who was also recently named as the new head coach of Team USA, to add an offensive assistant to her staff, as they were far from satisfied with the first game of the year.
Kara Lawson’s gotta add an offensive-minded coach to her staff. Defense is key, sure, but her team struggles way too much on the offensive end given the personnel she’s got……
— madam Maziel (@MadamMaziel) November 3, 2025
Duke will return home for its next game, a matchup against the unranked Holy Cross Crusaders on Sunday, Nov. 9, where the Blue Devils should undeniably blow their opponent out of the water. Duke and Holy Cross are scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. ET.