No. 2 Duke survived a major scare from No. 10 Oregon in the second round of the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday, but hung on for a 59-53 win to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
The surprise absence of Duke star Toby Fournier was one of the many reasons the game ended up being much closer than expected. Fournier, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer at 13.4 points per game and the ACC Rookie of the Year, was a late scratch due to an illness.
Duke coach Kara Lawson said after the game she’s not sure what’s wrong with Fournier or when she could be back on the floor.
“She wasn’t feeling well and the doctors didn’t clear her,” Lawson said. “We found out right before the game, so that’s the way it goes. I don’t have a diagnosis or a timetable either.”
Without Fournier, Duke struggled to get much going on the offensive end. They managed just two points over the first five-plus minutes of the game and had seven different stretches where they went at least two minutes without scoring. All told, they shot 21 of 55 (38.2%) from the field.
Defense has been Duke’s calling card all season, and offensive issues are nothing new, but they were exacerbated by Fournier’s absence.
Fournier, who is Duke’s most efficient regular rotation player (57.3% true shooting), is extremely reliable around the basket. When the Blue Devils don’t have much going, particularly in the halfcourt, they can always get the ball into their freshman star. At the very least, she is likely to get them a solid look.
While the Blue Devils were able to sneak past the Ducks without Fournier, it’s hard to imagine them going on a deep run without her. The good news is they now have nearly a week off until their Sweet 16 matchup against either No. 3 North Carolina or No. 6 West Virginia on Friday in Birmingham.
That should hopefully be enough time for Fournier to recover, but we’ll have to wait for a timeline from Lawson and Duke.
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