The Duke Blue Devils dominated their first-round game against the Charleston Cougars, and head coach Kara Lawson was proud of her team's effort, but she was far from satisfied with just one win in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, the three-seed Blue Devils have to take on the six-seed Baylor Bears. While it's a formidable opponent, Duke is favored by double digits.
Maybe, just maybe, the 12.5-spread in favor of Duke has a little something to do with Lawson's mindset after her team had already secured a 17-point victory just a few minutes earlier.
"I wake up intense. I'm always at the next level. That's how I am. There's an urgency about me," Lawson said after a reporter asked what made her so lively on the sidelines. "It's March, you want to win. You want to play well. You want to build momentum."
Kara Lawson is no stranger to success, but wants more for Duke
Of course, just a year ago, Lawson led the Blue Devils to an appearance in the Elite Eight, where they lost by just four points to the South Carolina Gamecocks. This year, Lawson clearly wants to take at least one more step in the postseason.
"No matter who's on the court, no matter what the score is, there's a standard by which we play," Lawson said. "If we don't play that, then it's my job to get them to that level. So, that's not new to them."
My goodness, if you're a Blue Devil fan and you don't want to run through a brick wall after hearing what Lawson had to say after a nearly 20-point victory, then you definitely don't have the competitiveness that the Duke head coach expects out of her team.
“There’s an urgency about me. It’s March. You want to win. ” - Kara Lawson on her intensity towards her players. @DukeWBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IyhGjxwk9B
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 20, 2026
Well, even with a nearly 20-point win to kick off their NCAA Tournament run, Lawson wasn't satisfied with Duke's level of play and wants (or more accurately, expects) more from the Blue Devils.
In the Round of 32, Duke and Baylor are scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 22, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Fans can tune in to see Lawson's consistent intensity and if her players match her level.