ACC Women's Basketball Gears Up for 2026‑27 Season
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its women’s basketball schedule for the 2026‑27 season, setting the stage for a demanding nonconference slate that will test the mettle of Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State as they open the winter months.
Duke enters the season with a particularly rugged road, slated to face five opponents projected to rank among the Top 25, including Connecticut, Texas, UCLA, South Carolina and another powerhouse, a schedule that coach Kara Lawson says will force her freshmen and sophomores into accelerated learning.
Meanwhile, N.C. State will test its mettle against four Power Four programs — Kentucky, LSU, Kansas State and Ole Miss — while North Carolina’s slate features matchups with Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama and LSU, culminating in a highly anticipated rivalry showdown on December 13 in Chapel Hill that pits the two in‑state rivals against each other before conference play even begins.
The rivalry between the two schools will continue later in the season with meetings on January 31 and February 28, giving both programs additional chances to shape their identities, and Lawson notes that the tougher-than-average schedule should accelerate the development of younger players who will be called upon to contribute early.
Recent tournament runs by UCLA and South Carolina — the former reaching the Final Four and the latter advancing to the Round of 32 — underscore the caliber of competition awaiting the ACC teams, while a February 2, 2026, thriller saw N.C. State’s Zoe Brooks force a turnover by North Carolina’s Reniya Kelly in a 61‑59 loss, highlighting the intensity of the in‑state battles that define the conference’s early narrative.