HENDERSON, Nev. — Duke senior guard Reigan Richardson (RAY-Gun) asserted herself as a star in women’s college basketball in the Ball Dawgs Classic in the Blue Devils 109-99 overtime win against the Oklahoma Sooners. Duke won the championship game after the Kansas State Wildcats won the third-place match over the DePaul Blue Demons, 92-66.

In a game full of momentum swings, the 13th-ranked Blue Devils faced the eighth-ranked Sooners in a battle of two top teams. Similarly to their previous game, Duke faced an early 14-5 deficit. However, despite Oklahoma's early start, the Blue Devils stayed composed and finished the first quarter on a 22-6 run to lead 27-20. The first half was powered by a sophomore off the bench, Jordan Wood, who scored 13 points on 100% efficiency. Despite missing two shots in the second half, Coach Kara Lawson spoke highly of her impact and willingness to step up regardless of her age. “(Wood) provides a unique element to our team from that forward position, and she could really knock down the three-point shot, which I thought gave us better spacing as they were playing off some of our players.” One of the players who benefitted from the spacing Wood provided was Richardson, who finished with a career-high 35 points, seven assists, and five threes on nine attempts. Her performance in the win was worthy of winning the Ball Dawgs Classic Most Outstanding Player and proves she could be a star in women’s college basketball. To end the third quarter, Richardson made a halfcourt shot as time expired to bring the Blue Devils lead to four, which eventually got her going in the fourth. Of her 35 points, 15 of them occurred in the fourth quarter/overtime and were all massive for Duke.

Oklahoma fought the Blue Devils until the end, being down by as much as 16 points. Facing a three-point deficit with two seconds left, senior guard Payton Verhulst (VER-HULST) made a game-tying three-pointer as time expired to force overtime. She finished with 29 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists, her first career triple-double. The comeback for the Sooners and the shot to force overtime seemingly shifted the momentum in their favor, however, Duke wasn’t fazed. Despite the close loss, Oklahoma has proven they will be tough competition against any top team they face down the road, especially in the SEC.

In the third-place game, Kansas State beat DePaul in a wire-to-wire victory. Starring for the Wildcats in the win was Ayoka Lee (A-YOAK-Uh), who finished with a double-double, scoring 23 points and 10 rebounds. She scored most of her points in the second half, but K-State used her 6’6” height in different ways throughout the game. In the first half, Lee’s presence helped her teammates gain more open shots, which they converted to take an early lead. One of the players who benefited was Serena Sundell, who finished with a double-double herself with 15 points and 11 assists. Although DePaul struggled throughout the tournament, they can learn more about themselves given the competition they faced. 

For Duke, their next game will take place Sunday, December 1st against Columbia, while Oklahoma will match up against Louisville on Wednesday, December 4th. Kansas State will face Northern Arkansas on Sunday, December 1st as well, along with DePaul when they face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.