Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson believes a men’s ball was used in the first half of the Blue Devils’ 70-57 loss Sunday at Florida State.
Following her team’s win over Pitt on Thursday, Lawson addressed the issue from the previous game, saying Duke players had been complaining about the ball throughout the first half. Duke shot 7-for-34 from the field in the first 20 minutes of the game.
When assistant coach Winston Gandy investigated at halftime, he determined the teams had been using a men’s ball. Gandy is a former NBA assistant coach. The officials switched to a different ball for the second half, Lawson said.
“This would never happen in a men’s game,” Lawson said. “This just wouldn’t happen. And it’s embarrassing for our sport.”
A women’s ball is about an inch smaller in circumference and 2 ounces lighter than a men’s ball. In the second half of the game, both teams improved their shooting percentage – Duke by 11 percentage points and Florida State by 15. Each team also had less turnovers.
“To have a game that, at the end of the season, could be the difference between a seed, between a title, my players don’t deserve that and neither do their players,” Lawson said. “It’s a complete failure. And you can figure out who the people I’m talking about that failed the sport and our players and both teams.”
“It’s very frustrating that a game that has so many conference implications, selection and seeding implications was not treated with the utmost respect that players on both teams deserve,” she continued. “Both teams are fighting for a title, both teams have had great seasons. And to do that for players is unacceptable.”
Both the ACC and Florida State contend that a men’s ball wasn’t used. The conference conducted a review of the incident but found “no evidence” of Duke’s claim, it said in a statement.
The ACC has released a statement regarding the allegations that the first half of Duke’s recent women’s basketball game against Florida State was played with a men’s ball in the first half: pic.twitter.com/7Bh91pwIWj
— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) February 3, 2023
“Let me be clear: Florida State beat us,” Lawson said. “They beat us playing with a men’s ball in the first half and a women’s ball in the second half. But I can’t say if we’d have played with a women’s ball in the first half and the second half that we would have won. But they can’t say that, either.”
While Lawson attempted to “appeal and protest” the result, the ACC did not allow it.
“It shouldn’t be this way,” Lawson said. “And to have a game that, at the end of the season, could be the difference between a seed, between a title – my players don’t deserve that and neither do their players. It’s a complete failure. And you can figure out who the people I’m talking about (are) that failed the sport, our players and both teams.
“The lack of accountability is striking. When you make a mistake, you own it and you own it right away. You don’t pass the buck… A mistake was made here, and it’s a big one.”
