SMU (8-15, 1-10 ACC) at No. 17/22 Duke (17-6, 12-0 ACC)
Cameron Indoor Stadium– Durham, N.C.
Sunday, January 8, 2026– 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET
TV: ACCNX | The CW | SMU Radio:  SMU Mobile App | The Varsity Network | SiriusXM
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball team continues its 50^th season in program and conference slate by traveling to Durham, N.C. to face No. 17/22 Duke on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT inside Cameron Indoor.  Fans can watch the game on The CW, listen on the SMU Mobile App or Sirius XM (380) or follow along via live stats found here.

SMU earned its first ACC win of the season after the team defeated Pitt 83-76 on the road in Pittsburgh. Zahra King scored 40 points while Anaya Brown dropped 20 in the team's first ACC win under Adia Barnes. The. Mustangs will look to get back in the win column after dropping their last four games including falling to Wake Forest last time out.

SMU enters the game with five players averaging at least nine points per game: Zahra King (14.9), Paulina Paris (9.6), Sahnya Jah (9.3), Tyi Skinner (13.6), and Kyla Deck (10.1).

King made history against Pitt, becoming the third ever Mustang to score 40 points in a game as she went 7-of-12 from three-point range, which is tied for the second most three pointers made in a single game in school history.

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native leads SMU in points scored with 342 total points and has recorded 16 games scoring in double figures, including back-to-back 20-point performances against Georgia Tech (21) and NC State (22). She is averaging 17.2 ppg in ACC play and has scored over 20 points in three ACC games this season.

King has been incredibly efficient, shooting 47.7% from the field, the second-best mark among ACC guards.  She ranks eighth overall in the ACC in field goal percentage, 10^th overall in total points and 11^th in points per game.  

Anaya Brown has stepped up for the Mustangs during ACC action. Brown scored 20 points in back-to-back games (22 vs VT, 20 at Pitt) and has been one rebound shy of a double-double in her last three games against FSU (10pts, 9reb), Miami (15pts, 9reb), and at Clemson (18pts, 9reb). She is coming off an 11-rebound performance against Wake Forest.

During ACC play, Brown is averaging 10.4 points and 6.05rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in her last five games, including a team-high 18 points against Clemson.  

Paulina Paris is averaging 9.0 points per game in ACC play and is coming off scoring a season high 20 points against Louisville, her fourth career 20-point game.

On offense, SMU ranks eighth in the ACC in bench points per game (20.2). SMU has had six games with 30+ points off the bench, including a season-high of 38 against Arkansas. SMU has also had eight games with over 30 points in the paint this season, with the most recent occurrence against Southern (30).

SMU's defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank third in the ACC / 48^th in the NCAA in steals per game at 10.5. SMU also ranks sixth in the ACC / 39^th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.6) and fifth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (17.6).

SMU is third in the ACC in total steals with 242 and has recorded double-digit steals in 14 games this season, most since the 2012-13 season (18). SMU is coming off recording 15 steals against FSU. The team's 84 steals in the first seven games were the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season.

SMU is 8-15 under head coach  Adia Barnes. Barnes, a former WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist and Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 5.

As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a Power 4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

// THE MATCH UP

• SMU enters the game 1-10 in ACC play and 16^th in the conference standings, while Duke sits atop the ACC with a record of 12-0 in conference play and has won its last 14 games. Duke is 8-1 at home this season, while the Mustangs are 2-6 on the road.
• A win over No. 17 Duke would be SMU's first win over a ranked opponent since the team defeated No. 19 (Coaches Poll) Texas A&M 54-53 in 2016. The last time SMU beat an AP Top 25 Team was a 73-57 win vs No.18 UTEP in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
• A win would be SMU's highest-ranked win since the team defeated No. 15 Oklahoma 71-68 on the road on Dec. 12, 2002.
• Sunday's game will be the second meeting between SMU and Duke. Duke has won the last two games between the two programs. SMU fell 81-46 at home last season to the Blue Devils. It will be the first time the game between the two schools will be played in Durham.

// KING'S COURT

• Zahra King has been a bright spot for the Mustangs all season long, but dazzled in the team's victory over Pitt.
• King reached 40 points on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting and went 7-of-12 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 at the line. She scored 29 of her 40 points in the second half to lead SMU to victory. King also had four steals and three assists in the game.
• Her historic 40-point performance is the third-most points scored in a single game in program history and the most since Shawna Ford scored 42 against TCU in 1997. Her seven made three pointers are also tied for the second most in a single game in school history.
• As a sophomore, King is also only the third ACC underclassman to score 40 points in a game this century, joining Jewel Spear (40-Wake Forest vs. ETSU 12/13/2) and Tiana Mangakahia (44-Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech 1/4/18). It was also the 38^th time an ACC player has ever scored 40 points in a game and is one of three players to do so this season.
• King is averaging 14.9 points per game overall (11^thin the ACC) and 17.2 points per game in ACC play (6^th in the ACC). She has made 127 field goals (10^th in the ACC) while shooting 47.7% from the floor this season (8^th in the ACC). Her 342 total points also rank 10th in the conference.
• King is also shooting 43.9% from downtown this season and leads the team in made three pointers with 36.

// (ACC)OMPLISH GREATNESS

• ACC teams have combined to register 144 nonconference victories this season.
• The ACC has played 31 nonconference games against AP Top 25 opponents this season (32 against USA TODAY Coaches Poll teams), the most among peer power conferences.
• Three ACC teams are currently ranked in the AP Poll: Louisville (No. 6), Duke (No. 17), and North Carolina (No. 25), while NC State and Syracuse received votes.
• Three ACC teams appear in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll: Louisville (No. 6), North Carolina (No. 21) and Duke (No. 22). NC State received votes.
•  The ACC currently has 11 teams in the top 50 of the NET: Louisville (No. 8), Duke (No. 14), North Carolina (No. 21), NC State (No. 28), Notre Dame (No. 31), Stanford (No. 36), Clemson (No. 37), Syracuse (No. 38), Virginia (No. 39), Virginia Tech (No. 41), and Miami (No. 48)

// ARIZONA DUO

• Sahnya Jah and Paulina Paris, who transferred from Arizona to SMU, have been on a tear recently, as each of the duo is averaging over nine points per game this season.
• Paris has reached double figures in four ACC games, including a 20-point performance against Louisville
• Sahnya Jah scored 22 points in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Arkansas and had a team-high 16 points in the win over Coppin State. She led SMU with 14 points last time out against FSU and had 15 points against Miami.

// KYLA 1K DECK

• Kyla Deck scored her 1,000^th career point on the road at Sam Houston State.
• Deck scored her 1,000th career point at the end of the third quarter and finished the game with 14 points. Deck made two three-pointers, including a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter, to help seal the win for SMU.

// OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• As a team, SMU is shooting 38.7% from the field and has shot over 40% in 11 games this season, including shooting 46.2% last time out against Wake Forest.
• SMU has had five games with four or more players reaching double figures, most recently against the Hurricanes.
• The Mustangs had five players reach double figures in their win over Grambling State, a feat achieved only twice last season. SMU defeated GSU 96-70, the most points scored in a game since SMU scored 96 against Alabama State in 2023.

// DOMINATE DEFENSE

• SMU has forced 405 turnovers this season and has forced 20 or more in 10 games, including 21 against FSU and 21 at Pitt.
• SMU tied its season high, forcing 24 turnovers in the win over Coppin State.  SMU's 10 games with 20 or more turnovers are now the most in a single season since the 2019-20 season (12).
• The Mustangs also forced 24 turnovers and recorded a season high 16 steals against GCU. Four mustangs finished with three steals in the game.
• SMU has recorded 242 steals this season and ranks third in the ACC in steals per game (10.5) and third in the conference in total steals. The Mustangs have recorded 14 games with double-digit steals, the most since the 2012-13 season (18).
• Deck ranks fifth in the ACC in total steals with 49 and has recorded 215 steals in her career.  Deck has totaled five games with five or more steals this season, including two six-steal games and a seven-steal game against Southern.
• Deck recorded six steals against Grambling State, which was tied for the most by any ACC player in their team's season-opening game.

// LETTING IT FLY

• The Mustangs have shot over 35% from three-point range in eight of the last 14 games, including a season high of 47.4% (9-19) against Southern.  SMU has shot over 40% from three in seven games this season, including last time out against Wake Forest, 41.2%
• SMU knocked down a season high 11 three pointers against Texas Tech. The team was 11-33 from behind the arc. The 33 attempts are tied for second-most in program history. SMU made 10 three pointers in the win over Pitt, it was the third time this season the Mustangs have made double-digit three pointers in a game.
• The Mustangs have made 142 three-pointers this season, while King leads the team with 36 made.

 // IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

• SMU has totaled 105 blocks this season, the sixth most in the ACC. The team's 4.6 blocks per game also ranks sixth in the conference.
• SMU tied its season high with eight blocks against Miami, as Grace Hall had her second four-block game of the season. Anaya Brown leads the team in total blocks with 32, while Hall, who also had four blocks against Virginia Tech, is second with 27.  
• Brown has had four games this season with three blocks and has totaled 20 career games with three or more. She has now totaled 163 blocks in her career. Her 32 blocks this season rank ninth in the ACC. Grace Hall is second on the team with 29 blocks and ranks 8^th in the ACC in blocks per game (1.45).

// GETTING TO THE LINE

• The Mustangs have made getting to the line a point of emphasis recently, making over 10 or more in four of their past six games, including going 19-28 from the line at Pitt. SMU is eighth in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (17.7) and ninth in the conference in free throws made per game (12.2).
• The team was 23-of-28 (82%) from the line against Southern Miss. Tyi Skinner (7-8), Zahra King (4-5) and Kyla Deck (4-4) led the way at the stripe.
• SMU got to the line a lot against Grambling and was 28-37 from the stripe in the game. The Mustangs' 28 made free throws are the most since the team made 40 at Memphis during the 2023-24 season.

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• The Mustangs have been attacking the paint this season. The team scored a season-high 50 points in the paint against Arkansas. It was the first time the Mustangs had scored 50 points in the paint in a game since the team scored 52 against Air Force in 2023.
• SMU has had eight games scoring 30 or more points this season, as the team recorded 30 points in the paint against Southern.