Duke Outclassed By The US National Team, 87-58

And a fun surprise in Raleigh too

One of the more interesting games on the women’s schedule doesn't even count. That’s because Duke played an exhibition game against the US Women’s National Team on Sunday and, not surprisingly, got clobbered, losing 87-58.

But the Blue Devils competed well and, as coach Kara Lawson said after the game, learned a lot: “Failure or times where you have to show your resilience. That’s when you get better as a player and as a team. And so that’s what this provided for us. It was hard to play against them. And we did it. And I think the growth that we can get from it is why you play the game.”

One area where Duke did outperform Team USA was in rebounding: Duke pulled down 39 rebounds to 37 for the national team, and nearly matched them on the offensive boards, grabbing 13 to Team USA’s 15.

But the Blue Devils didn’t shoot as well as the national team and had 19 turnovers, and the game turned out pretty much the way everyone expected.

That was not the case in Reynolds Coliseum where NC State upset mighty UConn, 92-81.

To be clear, #2 UConn is still a formidable program but it’s not what it once was: the Huskies haven’t won a national championship since 2016 which is kind of shocking. LSU, South Carolina and Iowa have really seized the spotlight.

Still, it’s a huge win for State and great for the ACC, so congrats to them.

• U.S. Women’s National Team exhibition vs. Duke about more than just playing basketball
• ‘A lot of good lessons’: Duke women’s basketball impresses despite defeat to USA Basketball in home exhibition
• Recap: Team USA WBB blows out Blue Devils, 87-58
• Blue Devils battle against USA Basketball Women’s National Team
• NC State women’s basketball stuns UConn, Paige Bueckers. How the Pack handled the Huskies
• Propelled by history, classic Reynolds crowd, NC State women upset No. 2 UConn