DURHAM, NC — The Duke Blue Devils, ranked fourth in the USA TODAY Sports' preseason Coaches Poll, won their season-opener on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating the Green Bay Phoenix, 76-60.

Duke, however, had to grind out the victory over the reigning three-time champions of the Horizon League without arguably its best player.

All-American junior forward Toby Fournier was sidelined for the game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium with what head coach Kara Lawson called a “lower leg injury.”

“Toby has a lower leg injury. We're hopeful she'll be back soon,” Lawson said. “But I don't have a timetable for you. It'd be by the medical staff. So, yeah, we did miss her.”

A 6-foot–2 forward from Canada who gained stardom before she stepped onto a college court for her viral dunking abilities, Fournier led the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding and blocks last season as Duke won its second consecutive ACC Tournament title and went to the Elite Eight for the second straight year. She averaged 17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.5% from the floor.

She was the ACC Rookie of the Year as a freshman, and has twice been named to the conference’s All-Defense team. Fournier was an All-American last season and was named to the NCAA Tournament All-Region team in Sacramento.

Fournier wasn’t dressed for the game and did not participate in pregame warmups.

The Blue Devils led 33-31 at halftime after falling behind by six points early. They pounded the paint in the second half and cleaned up their turnovers, going onto lead by as much as 16 points.

In Fournier’s absence, fellow junior Arianna Roberson patrolled the paint and piled up 15 points, five rebounds, four blocks and an assist in 22 minutes off the bench. Roberson also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

“Arianna brings a unique skill to the (center) position because she can make 3s and she made two of them tonight, and so that gives us spacing. We like her aggressiveness and we like her ability to score.” Lawson said. “I'm confident. We just have a long way to go. We're not anywhere near where we need to be, and I told them that after the game, not as a knock – it's okay to not be where you need to be on Game 1.”

Riley Nelson also scored 15 points, while Texas transfer Aaliyah Crump was impressive in her Duke debut with 11 points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Duke is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 8, hosting North Texas.