Duke women’s basketball announced its extremely challenging 11-game nonconference slate Monday, which includes contests against three of last season’s four Final Four teams.
The group of teams the Blue Devils will face off against finished a combined 236-81 last year, making for one of the toughest non-conference schedules in all of college basketball.
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Head coach Kara Lawson and her squad will open the season on Nov. 3 inside the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium against the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, the second all-time meeting between the schools. The Phoenix are the class of the Horizon League, having won the conference in each of the last three seasons.
Then, just five days later on Nov. 8, Duke will visit the American Airlines Center in Dallas for the Foundry Classic versus North Texas. This will be the school’s first-ever meeting.
The Blue Devils will then be tasked with a road game against Norfolk State, before returning home for matchups with Marshall and Fordham on Nov. 15 and 19.
Duke will then travel to the Big Apple for a Nov. 21 duel with Columbia, before running an absolute gauntlet in the games to follow.
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After playing three games in seven days, the Blue Devils will take a short break before playing three straight games against Final Four teams.
First up, Duke will ship up to Boston for a high-profile meeting with the UConn Huskies on Nov. 28. The showdown marks the 18th all-time meeting between the schools, the first since the Huskies beat the Blue Devils in the 2024 Sweet 16. The program’s last regular-season meeting was back in 2022.
Duke will get its next opponent at home when it faces off against last year’s national runners-up, South Carolina, on Dec. 3 in the 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge. The 2026 season marks the fifth-straight year that the Blue Devils and Gamecocks will square off.
Lawson and her team will return to action out west for a trio of games to close out the non-conference slate.
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Duke will first square off against defending national champions UCLA in Phoenix for the Hoop Hall Women’s Showcase. The Blue Devils will then head to Las Vegas for a pair of games in the Player’s Era Women’s Championship event Dec. 19-20 with opponents still undecided.
Lawson’s squad heads into 2026 with a ton of confidence after a 27-9 overall record in 2025, which included an ACC regular season and tournament title, along with a trip to the Elite Eight. The program returns three starters from last year’s team, and nine players total. A talented freshman class and Texas transfer guard Aaliyah Crump complement Duke’s depth.
Duke’s full non-conference schedule can be found below:
Nov. 3 Green Bay (home)
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Nov. 8 North Texas (neutral)
Nov. 12 Norfolk State (away)
Nov. 15 Marshall (home)
Nov. 19 Fordham (home)
Nov. 21 Columbia (away)
Nov. 28 UConn (neutral)
Dec. 3 South Carolina (home)
Dec. 16 UCLA (neutral)
Dec. 19 Player’s Era
Dec. 20 Player’s Era
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke WBB set to face three 2025-26 Final Four teams in non-con slate
