Blue Devil Country

Duke Comes Up Empty In Pursuit Of Top WBB Targets

Kara Lawson failed to keep her hot streak going as she missed out on two of Duke's top women's basketball targets.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Dec 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson directs her team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Dec 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson directs her team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

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Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson already has an elite Class of 2026. Come Halloween, she had her eyes on a few more targets. Lola Lampley and Chamiah Francis were two of the top recruits left on the board, but ultimately, neither went her way.

Lawson's hot streak included landing a pair of five-star recruits in the same week: Autumn Fleary and Bella Flemings. The two joined a pair of Top-50 recruits, making Lawson's Class of '26 exclusively players in the Top 50.

Had the team landed Francis, that streak would've come to an end. That goes to show just how much work Lawson has put into her Class of 2026, one that the nation shouldn't be taking lightly.

Lola Lampley - LSU

Lampley, who's had Duke in her Top 5 since February, decided the Tigers would be a better fit for her. One of her main reasons for choosing LSU was its competitiveness and her trust in coach Kim Mulkey to lead the team to the National Championship.

"I'm playing for a competitive program that'll compete for a national championship," she told 247Sports Dushawn London. While it might not be a diss at the Blue Devils, it sure feels like one to Duke fans.

Duke's Class of 2026 has become one of, if not the top set of recruits in the country. Head coach Kara Lawson has done everything in her power to bring the best of the best to Durham, NC, a place Lampley simply didn't see herself fitting. After nearly a year of waiting, the Blue Devils can finally move on.

Chamiah Francis - Florida State

In this battle, Duke was competing against their rival North Carolina, but neither had a shot. Francis was always going to pick a school in her home state. Whether it was Miami or Florida State, Francis never truly seemed interested in any of her other teams in the Top 7.

Francis chose the Seminoles over the Hurricanes, Alabama, UNC, Ole Miss, Duke, and LSU. Mulkey would've loved to land both Francis and Lampley on the same day, but that simply was never a reality.

The Booker T. Washington High Schooler was another Top 100 recruit in the Class of 2026. Her decision came on just a few days notice, so it was a much easier pill to swallow than Lampley, who the Blue Devils had been waiting on for close to nine months.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.