By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

Duke senior Reigan Richardson’s favorite memory in Durham? Her final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium: Senior Night.

“Being able to do it just around the group of girls you’ve been playing with for the past years, it just felt like a different kind of special for me, especially with my entire family being there as well,” Richardson said.

A 2021 McDonald’s All-American, Richardson started her career at Georgia before transferring to Duke as a sophomore. She started as a young player, quiet, looking for her voice. Now she’s coming to the end of her third season, her third NCAA appearance with the Blue Devils.

“She’s had some incredible moments, incredible highlight moments of her career here,” head coach Kara Lawson said after Richardson’s final regular season game in Durham.

Consider last year’s NCAA Tournament. Richardson averaged 26.5 points per game during the first weekend, culminating in an upst over 2-seed Ohio State to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. It was the team’s first regional semifinal appearance since 2018.

“She’s just had some moments where we wouldn’t have been where we are without Reigan,” Lawson said. “We’ve won a lot of ACC games over the last three years, and Richardson’s been in the middle of all of that.”

It’s clear the senior cares about this group around her. As she’s stepped into a leadership role, that’s come with added pressure.

“It put a lot on my mental, just to try and perform at the best of my ability. I’m a perfectionist, so of course I want to try and please my coaches, my teammates. I want to make sure I’m doing everything right for them,” Richardson said.

That’s the thing about sports though, you can’t be perfect, you won’t make every shot.

“I just start overthinking everything, my heart starts beating fast, and it kind of gets out of control in a sense. I kind of just had to learn the hard way, that your mental is very important,” Richardson said.

In her junior season, Richardson was named second team All-ACC. She started every game and led the team with 12.4 points per game. Success didn’t make things any easier. Richardson started seeing a sports psychologist, crafting a plan, staying grounded in the moment.

“Really having to figure out how to talk through my emotions was really hard for me, because I’ve never really had to do that,” Richardson said.

She’s grateful for what she learned and how she’s adapted it to her life. Now before pregame, the previously quiet Richardson sits down and talks with Lawson about everything but basketball.

“We’ve just been tight, and we’ve just grown as her career has gone on. We didn’t really understand each other in the beginning too much, personality wise, and so we’ve had to spend a lot of time together,” Lawson said.

Before heading out to the court, there’s always a reminder.

“She’ll let me know how confident she is in me, how much she believes in me going into the game, and to just remain myself and play,” Richardson said.

Once tipoff approaches, Richardson whispers a quick prayer, gets a few more words from Lawson and then fist bumps assistant coach Karen Lange.

“That gives me a sense of, they believe in me and I’m ready to go,” Richardson said.

As Richardson competes in her final NCAA Tournament she has a bit of advice for players coming up through the ranks, handling what this pressure-packed sport can have in store: enjoy it.

“There’s going to be days where you’re not playing very well, there’s going to be days when you’re having the best game of your life, but at the end of the day, you just need to have fun.”

Duke is sure having fun. The Blue Devils advance to the Elite Eight with a 47-38 win over rival North Carolina. The first time they’ve gotten to the regional final since the 2012-13 season.

Source: wralsportsfan.com