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If the Duke Blue Devils plan on making it to the NCAA Tournament, they’ll have to do it without one of their starting guards.
Freshman guard Mikayla Boykin, the centerpiece of their 2016 recruiting class, injured her left knee in a 101-30 win over Winthrop on December 10. As a result, she’ll be out for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.
Boykin has started the first eight games of the season for Duke, averaging 4.6 points, 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals a game, with a season-high 12 points in the season opener against Grand Canyon. A 5’9” guard from Clinton, N.C., Boykin was part of the preseason ACC Newcomer Watch List.
Boykin was also the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of North Carolina last season as a senior at Clinton High, where she averaged 37.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.6 steals a game.