Duke women’s basketball joins three other teams in Paris to open next season
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- Duke will open the 2025-26 season against Baylor on Nov. 3 in Paris, France.
- The matchup is part of the Oui-Play Paris 2025 doubleheader at Adidas Arena.
- Duke returns four starters after finishing 2024-25 ranked No. 7 nationally.
Duke’s women’s basketball team is headed overseas to begin next season.
The Blue Devils will face the Baylor Bears in Paris on Nov. 3 to open the 2025-26 season, the schools announced Thursday.
The game is part of a doubleheader at the Adidas Arena for the Oui-Play Paris 2025 event with Vanderbilt and California facing off in the other slot. Tipoff time will be announced at a later date.
“Paris! What an incredible city. I can’t wait to go back and open our 2025-26 season in Paris at the Oui-Play event,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said in the news release. “Our team, our program and our university are so excited to be over in France and be able to showcase our team and our talent to start the season. We couldn’t think of a better place, a better country or a better opportunity to get our journey started next year.”
It’s the third season in a row NCAA women’s basketball has opened regular-season play in Paris. South Carolina beat Notre Dame, 100-71, on Nov. 6, 2023. Last season began with a Nov. 4 doubleheader in Paris, with Southern California beating Ole Miss, 68-66, and UCLA topping Louisville, 66-59.
The November game will be only the second time Baylor and Duke have faced off. The two teams last squared off in the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, where the Bears advanced with a 51-48 win.
The matchup in Paris marks the second nonconference game that has been announced for next season. Duke will also welcome LSU on Dec. 4 to Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Baylor finished the 2024-25 season ranked No. 18 in the nation, dropping 69-63 to Ole Miss in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Duke ended its season at No. 7 in the AP top-25 poll after clinching the ACC Tournament title and falling to South Carolina 54-50 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils return four starters from last season’s squad.
Tickets for Oui-Play will go on sale to the general public on Friday at 1 p.m.
This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM.