Duke women’s basketball made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The team entered its game against West Virginia as a top-15 team in the country. West Virginia, meanwhile, came into the game unranked. Nevertheless, the Mountaineers got the 57-49 win.
Losing to an unranked team would have been bad enough for Duke, but the way the loss happened made it sting even more. After an on-court scuffle between Jordan Wood and Jordan Harrison that prompted several West Virginia players to leave the bench, the team was left with only five players. Gia Cooke, Carter McCray, Madison Parrish, Kierra Wheeler, Jordan Thomas, and Harrison were all ejected, taking three of the team’s four double-digit scorers and four of its five starters out of the game.
Sydney Shaw was left as the lone starter. She played 38 minutes and finished the game with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. If reserve Cèlia Rivière, who had barely played in West Virginia’s previous three games, hadn’t stepped up, the Mountaineers might not have won the game.
Cèlia Rivière played a strong game
Cèlia Rivière played 26 games for the Mountaineers in the 2024-25 season and averaged only 10.7 minutes per game. Her playing time didn’t change much going into this season. She played seven minutes against Purdue Fort Wayne, ten minutes against Kent State, and five minutes against Temple. Since Rivière was one of the five players who hadn’t been ejected, she had to step into a bigger role against Duke, the toughest competition the team faced all season long.
She responded well, putting up 12 points on efficient shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Rivière also showed resilience on the defensive end. With just over six minutes left in the game, she picked up her fourth foul, but avoided fouling out. It was arguably her best game at West Virginia yet.
The Mountaineers will go up against App State next week. With her performance against Duke, Rivière likely earned herself a few extra minutes in the team’s next outing.
Duke isn’t off to a great start
This was already Duke’s second loss in only four games. Kara Lawson’s team opened the season with a 58-52 loss to Baylor. Then, the Blue Devils got two dominant wins over Holy Cross and Norfolk State, outscoring both teams by over 40 points.
Duke struggled offensively against West Virginia, shooting 21-56 from the field and 2-12 from three. They shot similarly badly against Baylor.
Two of Duke’s next four games are against South Carolina and LSU. If they don’t figure out their offensive struggles, they may suffer two more losses soon.