Jan. 22, 2003

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Game Time

The Dukes look to extend their two game winning streak while the Bonnies eye and end to their five-game losing skid. Duquesne hopes to snap a four-game road losing streak and stands 3-5 when away from the Palumbo hardwood. The Bonnies' home record is 3-4 with the last home win coming on Dec. 31 vs. Fordham (80-63). Head Coach Dan Durkin is looking for his 125th career victory tonight as well.

The Series

Duquesne holds a 20-9 lead in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure. The Dukes have won the past four outings and eight of the last 10 match-ups. Last year, Duquesne took a 75-58 victory at home during the regular season and followed suit with a 77-75 victory in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 championship. Duquesne is 5-7 vs. the Bonnies on the road. Coach Durkin posts an 11-4 mark vs. SBU.

About the Dukes

Duquesne won its second-straight with a 66-57 victory over visiting Fordham this past Sunday. All-America candidate Beth Friday notched her 43rd career double-double performance tying her career high with 24 points and adding 16 rebounds. Two Dukes average double-figure scoring in Candace Futrell (19.3) and Friday (14.9). Shiri Sharon leads the Dukes and the Atlantic 10 with 6.5 assists per game.

^ Redshirted 1999-2000 season
+ Redshirted 2001-2002 season

About the Bonnies

St. Bonaventure lost its fifth-straight with a 48-70 fall at UMass this past Saturday, despite a game-high 20 point effort from Courtney Mattingly. Two Bonnies are netting double figures as Mattingly averages 12.3 points and Lyndsey Maurer adds 11.1 points per game. A number of players held control the offense as five players have recorded 20 or more assists. SBU has 200 assists on the season.

The Last Game ... Dukes vs. Fordham

The Dukes took a 66-57 victory over Fordham Sunday to improve to 9-7 overall, 2-3 in league play. Beth Friday led all scorers matching her career-high with 24 points while hauling down a game-best 16 rebounds for her 43rd career double-double performance. Candace Futrell was second in the contest with 20 points while Shiri Sharon dished out a game-high eight assists. Fordham's Beth Ann Dickinson led the Rams with 18 points while Stacey Price grabbed 13 rebounds.

Duquesne held an early 10-5 lead before Fordham sprang to a 10-0 drive for a 15-10 edge at 14:03. They would lead by as many as nine points with the last being a 28-14 lead with 3:09 ticking. The Dukes then used an 8-0 run paced by back-to-back three-point goals by Futrell for a 27-28 reach with :59 ticking. Fordham connected on two free throws to end the frame and take a 30-27 edge into the half.

Beth Friday scored 11 of her 17 second-half points to open the frame before the Red & Blue grabbed its first lead since a 10-7 edge with a 28-27 margin on a Nikolina Pender three-point goal. The Dukes would out-score the Rams 22-3 over a 5:56 span to grab a 53-40 edge with 11:08 to go. Fordham would not get within nine-points thereafter. Duquesne shot .429 (21-49) for the game from the field and was 6-12 from three-point land. The Rams shot just .299 (20-67) from the field, but held the rebounding edge 43 to 38.

In the Latest NCAA Statistics Released Jan. 20

Beth Friday is tied for 10th in rebounds per game (11.0) while Sharon is 20th in assists per game (6.5).

Comparatively Speaking

Here is how Duquesne and St. Bonaventure compare statistically.

Friday the First ... And Fourth

Beth Friday became the first Duquesne women's basketball player to grab 1,000 career rebounds with her second board at the 15:13 mark at Dayton Jan. 12. She posted a game-high 11 that Sunday and now has 1,042 over her not-yet-complete four seasons. She also has tallied 1,225 points, which gives her the distinction to be the first Duquesne and just the fourth Atlantic 10 player to register 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

Friday joins George Washington's Darlene Saar (1,809 pts, 1,139 rbs) who competed from 1992 to 1995 and Rutgers' Sue Wicks (2,655 pts, 1,135 rbs) who played from 1985 to 1988. Jen Butler of UMass hit the mark this year and had 1,255 points and 1,131 rebounds entering the week.

The Pittsburgh native quickly took over the top of DU's career rebounding list six games into the season. With 922 boards entering the Towson game, Friday needed just seven rebounds to surpass Kathy Ridilla's mark of 928. Ridilla, a Duquesne Hall of Fame inductee, also posted 1,312 points from 1986-89.

Friday will also challenge Ridilla's senior class rebounding mark of 279 boards. Thus far, Friday has bettered each class' rebounding title as she grabbed 297 as a freshman, 298 as a sophomore and 271 last year as a junior. And through 16 games this season, the Upper St. Clair High School grad has grabbed 176 rebounds.

Currently, Friday is in seventh place among the Dukes' all-time scorers. with 1,249 points entering Thursday's game. She needs 43 points to join Becky Oglvee in sixth place; Oglvee poured in 1,292 points (1983-86).

Futrell Returns

Junior Candace Futrell, the team's leading scorer, had been sidelined after an ankle injury she suffered in the first half of the Robert Morris game on Nov. 30. She made her return Jan. 10 at Xavier and hardly missed a beat.

The 5-9 guard came off the bench to net 17 points shooting 7-15 from the field and was 2-2 from the free throw line. She added three rebounds and an assist, before fouling out. Futrell is averaging a team-best 19.3 ppg.

My Sharon-ah

Junior Shiri Sharon has been nearly perfect from the free throw line this season hitting 36 of her 46 attempts for an 78.3% accuracy. Her first miss was in the Pitt game where she was 7-8 overall from the charity stripe. Sharon posted a 4-4 effort in the Dukes' win at Towson, where, as a team, Duquesne was just 8-14 (.571) from the line. Sharon was 5-5 from the line vs. Loyola and 2-2 vs. the Hokies at the Virginia Tech Classic where she netted her 600th career point. She was 2-2 from the line at La Salle. She has five perfect games from the free throw line to date.

Sharon also leads the Dukes and the Atlantic 10 with her 6.5 assists per game average. She dished out 12 assists in the Dukes' loss at Xavier marking a career high and a league single-game best. It was also the first time since Jan. 15, 1994 that a Duquesne player recorded 12 or more assists. The DU single-game mark is 15 set by Michelle Bouldin back on that date in 1994. She also recorded 10 assists vs. James Madison.

Her season total is 104 entering tonight's contest. The Israeli native stands sixth all-time at Duquesne in just her third season and with five dishes will move into five place, passing Kathy Folk who gave out 421 assists (1979-82). Sharon also has 652 career points.

Korie Hlede To Enter Sports Hall of Fame

Korie Hlede, who virtually rewrote Duquesne's women's basketball records book from 1995-98, is one of three student-athletes who will inducted into Duquesne's Sports Hall of Fame.

A 1998 Women's Basketball News Service First Team All-American, she was tabbed the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in 1995, A-10 Player of the Year in 1996 and 1998 and is Duquesne's all-time leading scorer with 2,631 points. Hlede is also DU's career assist leader with 570.

She is also second all-time in Atlantic 10 scoring, was third in the nation in scoring in 1998 and recorded the first triple-double in the program's history with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists versus Cleveland State.

The Croatian native, who was the fourth overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, completed her fifth season in the U.S. women's professional league this past summer with the New York Liberty. She also is the only DU women's basketball player to have her jersey retired.

Hlede, who was selected in her first year of eligibility, will be honored at halftime of the Dukes' men's basketball game versus La Salle on Saturday, Feb. 8th along with Dan DeFelice (football '81) and Katie Michalski (volleyball '96).

Last Time vs. St. Bonaventure

Duquesne defeated St. Bonaventure 77-75 in the opening round of the 2002 Atlantic 10 Championships behind Candace Futrell's career-best 28 points. Beth Friday added 19 points to become the 15th Duke to hit 1,000 career points while Shiri Sharon netted 11 points and dished out a game-best eight assists. St. Bonaventure was led by Christina Cole with 19 points and Courtney Mattingly with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Futrell opened the game hitting the first five points before an 8-0 St. Bonaventure run gave them an 8-7 lead. The Dukes answered back with a 10-1 run for a 15-9 edge before St. Bonaventure hit two three point goals for a 15-15 tie at the 11:19 mark. SBU got within a one at 20-19 at 7:01, but they would never lead in the opening frame as Duquesne held a 30- 23 lead at the half.

St. Bonaventure cut into the spread to open the second at 30-26, but a 10-0 Duquesne run gave them a 40-28 lead at the 16:26 mark. DU grabbed its largest lead, 58-40, with 8:57 ticking. A 16-1 SBU scoring drive cut the lead to a 59-56 DU advantage with 6:03 on the clock. Erin Wehrle connected on a three-point play for a 62-56 lead at 5:27 before the Bonnies tied the game 62-62 at the 4:17 mark. Friday's lay-up at 4:01 gave the Dukes a 64-62 edge and put her at the 1,000 career point total. The Bonnies took their first lead, 66-64, on a 5-0 run with 3:41 ticking. A steal and lay-up by Futrell knotted the game at 67-67 at 2:18, who was fouled on the play to send her to the line. The Bonnies bench was then given a technical foul, which sent Sharon to the line. She made both shots before Futrell converted the three-point play for a 70-67 edge with 2:10 ticking. Six lead changes would follow and St. Bonaventure held its last edge, 75-74, with :43 to go on two made free throws. Futrell put the Dukes up 76-75 on a basket at :25 and got some reassurance as SBU stepped out of bounds under its goal with :09 ticking. Friday connected on one of two free throws with :07 to go after being fouled on the in-bounds for a 77-75 cushion. The Bonnies' jumper bounced off the rim as time expired to give the Dukes the win.

Duquesne shot .527 (27-60) from the field for the game and .467 (7-15) from behind the three-point arc.

Next Up

Duquesne hosts Richmond (12-4, 3-2) this Sunday, Jan. 26, in a 2:00 pm Atlantic 10 tip-off at the Palumbo Center. The game can be heard over the internet at RedZoneMedia.com with Alex Panormios and Tad Maurey providing the action.