On Tuesday, the announcement of Duke's full ACC schedule seemed to be the conclusion of the months-long saga regarding who the Blue Devils would play in 2023-24, and when.
Wait two days.
On Thursday afternoon, the program announced a Nov. 12 scrimmage with the USA Women's National Team at Cameron Indoor Stadium, just the second meeting in both teams' history. The announcement also outlined an additional nonconference game against head coach Kara Lawson's alma mater, Tennessee, Nov. 5 in Knoxville, Tenn.
“We are excited to host the No. 1 team in the world in the No. 1 venue for college basketball! What an incredible opportunity for our program and our fans,” Lawson said in a team release. “I hope everyone in the Triangle area comes out to see this matchup. As the USA National Team prepares for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, we will do our best to compete and help them along in their journey.”
Lawson has worked extensively with Team USA, most recently in the summer of 2022, when she was an assistant on head coach Cheryl Reeves' staff for the FIBA Women's World Cup, where the Americans won gold. She also coached Team USA's three-on-three team at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, similarly winning gold.
Team USA and the Blue Devils have only met one other time, a 71-45 victory for the national team in 1999.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.