Duke University Women's Basketball

Former WNBA and three-time Olympic champion Kara Lawson was named Duke University’s sixth women’s basketball head coach July 11, 2020. Lawson enters her sixth season at the helm in 2025-26. An icon in women’s college basketball, Lawson’s impact on the women’s hoops community is evident. Lawson brought her decorated basketball career, both on and off the court, to the Blue Devils after spending the 2020 season as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. She was the franchise’s first female coach in its 73-year history. Additionally, Lawson's playing career has her in a league of her own as she is currently the only active NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach to play in a NCAA Final Four, win a WNBA Championship and win an Olympic Gold Medal. THE KARA ERA Through five seasons at Duke, Lawson has led the resurgence of Duke women’s basketball, elevating the Blue Devils into one of the nation's most elite teams. She has compiled a 97-41 (.703) overall record and is just three wins away from reaching 100 career victories. In those five seasons, Lawson has guided the Blue Devils to three consecutive 20-win seasons and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2024-25 season saw Lawson lead the Blue Devils to an incredibly successful season as Duke compiled a 29-8 overall record, including a 14-4 mark in ACC play, captured the program's ninth ACC Tournament title and advanced to its 12th Elite Eight – all three marking program bests dating back to the 2012-13 campaign. A

Karen Lange joined the Duke women’s basketball staff in April of 2022 and serves as an assistant coach with the Blue Devils. In three seasons with the Blue Devils, Lange has helped Duke compile a 77-27 record, win the 2025 ACC Tournament title and make three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s 18th Regional Semifinal in 2023-24 and 12th Regional Final in 2024-25. Lange has also been instrumental in helping orchestrate Duke’s stout defense the past three years. The Blue Devils boasted the nation’s No. 4 defensive rating (72.7) and ranked 10th in opponent points per possession (0.69) in 2024-25, per HerHoopStats. Duke held 32 opponents below their respective season scoring averages and limited 15 teams to 50 points or less, including five foes to fewer than 40. Duke also held its opponents to single digits in 35 quarters and forced 44 shot clock violations during the year. The 2023-24 campaign saw the Blue Devils hold 33 of 34 opponents below their respective season scoring averages and lead the ACC in two categories - scoring defense and blocks. Duke also checked in at No. 2 in field goal percentage defense, rebounding defense and rebounding margin. Nationally, the Blue Devils’ defense checked in at No. 4 nationally per HerHoopStats, while ranking sixth in the NCAA in rejections and in the top 30 in both field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. In 2022-23, Duke ranked third in the NCAA in scoring defense (51.0) and 10th in field goal percentage def

Karen Middleton was hired to the Duke women’s basketball staff in May of 2023 and serves as an assistant coach with the Blue Devils. Middleton aided the Blue Devils to a 29-8 overall record in 2024-25, including a 14-4 mark in ACC play, while helping Duke capture the program's ninth ACC Tournament title and advance to its 12th Elite Eight. Additionally, Middleton helped coach Toby Fournier (ACC Rookie of the Year, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Freshman Team), Jadyn Donovan (ACC All-Defensive Team) and Ashlon Jackson (All-ACC Second Team, ACC All-Tournament First Team) to major conference honors. In her first season at Duke, Middleton helped lead the Blue Devils to a 22-12 overall record and the program’s 18th NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. Additionally, under her guidance, she helped Oluchi Okananwa earn 2024 ACC Sixth Player of the Year honors and a place on the ACC All-Freshman Team, while assisting Reigan Richardson to All-ACC Second Team honors. Middleton, a 30-plus-year coaching veteran with 13 years of head coaching experience, came to Duke after serving as head coach of the UW-La Crosse women’s basketball team from 2016-2023. During her seven-year tenure with the Eagles, Middleton compiled a 111-58 record (.657), coached 18 players to All-WIAC honors while leading the squad to an at-large bid to the 2020 NCAA Division III Tournament. A native of Jefferson, S.C., Middleton served as associate head coach at Cal State Fullerton University in 2015-16, overseeing the day-to-day as

Kyra Elzy was hired to the Duke women’s basketball staff in the summer of 2024 and serves as an assistant coach with the Blue Devils. Regarded as one of the country’s elite recruiters and player development coaches, Elzy has helped sign nine top-20 recruiting classes, including four top-10 classes, since 2007 and helped develop some of the best talent in the SEC over the last decade. In her first season with the Blue Devils, Elzy aided Duke to a 29-8 overall record (14-4 ACC), the ACC Tournament Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. Under her direct tutelage, Jadyn Donovan earned All-ACC Defensive Team honors while Oluchi Okananwa garnered ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors and a place on the ACC All-Tournament First Team. Elzy also helped coach Toby Fournier (2025 ACC Rookie of the Year, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Freshman Team) and Ashlon Jackson (2025 All-ACC Second Team) to major conference accolades. Elzy came to Duke after previously serving as the head coach at the University of Kentucky from 2020-24. Overall, she spent 12 seasons on the UK sidelines, serving as an assistant coach and an associate head coach for the Wildcats (2008-12, 2016-20), before being named the eighth head coach in program history in 2020. In her first two seasons at the helm in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Elzy became the first head coach in program history to lead Kentucky to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in their first couple of seasons. The 2021 Women’s Basketball Coaches A

Pierre Miller joined the Duke women’s basketball staff in May of 2023 as the director of player development before being elevated to an assistant coach on Ju...

Tia Jackson rejoined the Duke women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in July of 2020. She was elevated to associate head coach on July 1, 2022. Jackson is a coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience, including four as a head coach. She makes Durham, N.C., home for a second time, having spent the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons at Duke as an assistant coach. During her first stint at Duke, the Blue Devils compiled 63 victories and made a trip to the 2006 NCAA championship game. Currently in her second stint with Duke, Jackson has aided the Blue Devils to a 97-41 overall record, the 2025 ACC Tournament title and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2024 NCAA Sweet 16 and 2025 NCAA Elite Eight. Under her guidance, Toby Fournier turned in a sensational freshman season en route to being tapped the 2025 ACC Rookie of the Year while earning spots on the All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Freshman Team and Birmingham 2 Region All-Tournament Team. Fournier led Duke in scoring, field goal percentage, field goals, three-point percentage and free throws while ranking second in rebound average, defensive rebounds and blocks and third in offensive and total rebounds. She concluded the season ranked No. 2 on the Duke freshman charts in free throw attempts (169), No. 3 in 20-point games (9), No. 4 in free throws (110) and three point percentage (.429), No. 5 in points (462) and field goals (173), No. 6 in offensive rebounds (76), No. 7 in field goal attempts