NCAAW: Duke freshman Toby Fournier making early impact in ACC

Through one week of college hoops, the ACC has debuted as the powerhouse that fans know and love. It champions eight undefeated teams, a combined 79 percent win percentage and no program with a losing record. Although we’re a few weeks out from any wild claims being justified, it’s time to crown some early winners and losers:

Winners

Notre Dame’s title hopes

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In the weeks leading up to the season, No. 6-ranked Notre Dame were showered equally in praise and expectations. Seventy out of 79 voters predicted the Irish to finish first in the ACC preseason poll. Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo was named conference Preseason Player of the Year. Senior guard Olivia Miles and junior forward Sonia Citron joined Hidalgo in the top-six vote getters for Preseason All-ACC selections.

Two games into the season, two 100-point outings for Notre Dame. It’s hard to imagine a better start for a team with a genuine shot at a national championship in April. Graduate transfer Liatu King has quickly impressed, already surpassing her commanding offensive resume from last season at Pitt. King is averaging 21 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The starting backcourt of Hidalgo, Miles and King are combining for 63 points, 29 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 steals per game, lapping the entire production of certain 15-player rosters. As dominant as the Fighting Irish have been, they won’t see a real challenge until they travel to Los Angeles to face No. 3-ranked USC on Nov. 23.

Toby Fournier and Kara Lawson

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Kara Lawson is one of the best coaches in the business. After a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics, Lawson took the steering wheel for the Blue Devils while remaining a lead assistant for Team USA women’s basketball. Since her first full season at Duke in 2022, Lawson has helped her team improve on their finish in each consecutive season. After a heartbreaking eight-point loss to UConn in last season’s Sweet 16, Lawson and Duke have proven that they have what it takes to be true title contenders.

Perhaps more importantly, Lawson is beginning to find big wins on the recruiting trail. Last year, the Blue Devils landed five-star guard Jadyn Donovan, ranked third in the country. This season, they’ve added Canadian star Toby Fournier, who was ranked 10th in the most recent ESPN HoopGurlz rankings for the class of 2024. Fournier’s debut has been even louder than expected, as she leads the team in points per game at 12.7 through three contests. Despite dropping a five-point loss to No. 11 Maryland, No. 16 Duke is on pace for their most successful season in recent memory, and their youth suggests that Lawson will have an arsenal for years to come.

Losers

NC State’s frontcourt

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It’s unfair to judge a team solely based on their performance against a team that’s won 40-straight games, but the No. 13-ranked Wolfpack looked like an incomplete roster in an early dog fight with Dawn Staley and No. 1 South Carolina. Mimi Collins and River Baldwin, the starting frontcourt from last season’s No. 4-ranked NC State team, both graduated in the spring. Their absence was disappointingly apparent. South Carolina dominated the rebounding battle 38-20 en route to a 14-point win.

While it’s only two games into the season, it’s hard to argue that NC State hasn’t regressed. Advertised improvements to their roster have yet proven to be as such. Their biggest offseason move hasn’t manifested at all: Patriot League Player of the Year Caitlin Weimar, coming to Raleigh by way of Boston University, had hip surgery in late October and will be sidelined for an indefinite amount of time. Weimar averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks last season, and was projected to fill the void at center for the Wolfpack. If she could return before March, NC State’s title hopes may be revived. If not, it’s hard to see them competing with the assertive size of other ranked teams.

Still Pitt-iful

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It’s been exactly one decade since the Panthers won more than four games in ACC conference play. Since joining the conference in 2013, the program’s 19.1 percent conference win percentage has stuck out like a sore thumb. Second-year head coach Tory Verdi was hired to stimulate a change in direction after leading UMass to back-to-back 25-plus win seasons, but it seems like the program is still far from the promised land.

The Panthers are staying afloat at 2-1, but they barely squeezed out a three-point win against generally unimpressive mid-major Bucknell. Pitt most recently lost by 28 to No. 15-ranked West Virginia, echoing their historical inability to compete with other Power 5 rosters. Graduate Texas transfer Khadija Faye is an awesome addition to Verdi’s lineup, but experience will only take them so far. Pitt will have to turn some recruiting miracles if they want to find themselves in the upper echelon of ACC teams anytime soon.