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…
