11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2003
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Friday, Nov. 21 - 5:30 pm
Lehigh, Pa. - Stabler Arena
Lehigh Radio (91.3 FM WLVR) - www.LehighSports.com
About the Dukes
Duquesne opens the 2003-04 season tonight vs. the Mountain Hawks. They return three starters from last year's 15-14 squad led by All-America candidate, senior Candace Futrell. Shiri Sharon is back as the Atlantic 10's assist leader with 6.6 per game. The Dukes biggest loss was senior Beth Friday, the team's all-time leading rebounder. The All-Atlantic 10 performer led the Dukes with 10.1 rebounds and added 13.8 points per game.
Duquesne Probable Starters| No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT |
| 10 | Shiri Sharon | SR | G | 5-7 |
| 21 | Candace Futrell | SR | G | 5-10 |
| 5 | Aiga Bautre | S0 | G | 5-11 |
| 52 | Erin Wehrle | JR | C | 6-2 |
| 34 | Nicole Sinclair | SO | F | 6-0 |
| No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT |
| 35 | Adrienne Blount | FR | G | 5-9 |
| 32 | Mary Francis Hynoski | JR | G | 5-9 |
| 21 | Sara Ellis | FR | G | 5-9 |
| 50 | Lauren Reini | SO | C | 6-3 |
| 30 | Jessica DePalo | JR | F | 6-1 |
Pre-Season Atlantic 10 Picks
Duquesne was picked to finish fourh in the West Division of the Atlantic 10 in the 2003-04 Atlantic 10 Pre-Season Coaches and Media Poll. The Dukes finished in a tie for fourth in the West last year with a 15-14 overall mark and a 7-9 A-10 record. Two Dukes have been named to the 2003-04 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Pre-Season honors. Senior Candace Futrell (Altoona, Pa./ Altoona) has been named a first team pre-season selection while freshman Loui Hall (Masontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) has been chosen as a pre-season All-Rookie pick. Duquesne finished the 2003 campaign tied for fourth in the West Division of the Atlantic 10.
About the Mountain Hawks
Lehigh also opens the 2003-04 season tonight hosting the Dukes. They welcome back four starters from last season, which went 12-15 overall. They are led by Dawn Corynski who averaged 10.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Lehigh was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot league pre-season poll.
They hosted NWBL in an exhibition bout Nov. 8 and took a 93-73 victory. Jessica DePalo led the game with 26 points and 14 rebounds, which included a 10-19 showing from the field. Mary Hynoski dished out a game-best 10 assists.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 130-149 overall over his tenure. Sue Troyan enters her ninth season at Lehigh and as a head coach. She is 108-188 all-time at the helm of the Mountain Hawks.
The Series
Duquesne holds the 1-0 edge over Lehigh in the all-time series. They met for the first time last year with the Dukes taking a 64-48 advantage in Pittsburgh.
Last Game
Duquesne played the Pittsburgh Lady Legends Nov. 2 and took an 82- 70 edge. Candace Futrell posted a game-best 34 points including an 18-18 effort from the free throw line. Loui Hall added 13 points shooting 6-10 from the field. Nicole Sinclair grabbed a team-best 17 rebounds followed by 10 boards from Futrell.
Next Game
Duquesne opens the home season this Sunday as the Dukes host crosstown rival Robert Morris at 2:00 pm at the Palumbo Center.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and Lehigh compare statistically (from pre-season contests)
| 2004 | GP | FGM | FGA | PCT | RBS | AST | BLK | ST | PPG |
| DU | 1 | 24 | 64 | .464 | 43 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 82 |
| LU | 1 | 34 | 64 | .618 | 56 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 93 |
The Duquesne - Lehigh Series: (1-0)
At Home: 1-0 On the Road: 0-0
Date Site W/L DU LU11/24/03 Pittsburgh W 64 48
In the Season Opener
The Red & Blue post a 13-15 overall mark in the season opener. They have won seven of the past eight openers after last year's 48-88 loss to visiting Ohio State. Prior to that, Duquesne's last loss was during the 1994-95 slate when they suffered an 82-59 fall to #21 ranked Western Kentucky in the Bowling Green Bank Classic. Coach Durkin is 7-3 all-time at Duquesne in the season opener as the Dukes suffered a 66- 50 loss at Pitt in his coaching debut.
The Schedule
A total of seven post-season teams dot the 2003- 04 schedule with NCAA tournament teams Vanderbilt, George Washington and Xavier as well as WNIT participants Siena, Toledo, Saint Joseph's and Richmond. Duquesne will host four of these teams - Siena, GW, Xavier and Richmond. The schedule tips-off today, Nov. 21, at Lehigh followed by a home game with crosstown rival Robert Morris Nov. 23. The Dukes then take to the road again to face Toledo Nov. 25 before heading to the West Coast for the University of San Francisco Tournament Nov. 28-29 with Kentucky, Davidson and the host Dons. In all, the Red & Blue will face five opponents over a nine-day stretch to start the season. Duquesne heads to Pitt Dec. 3 before traveling to Nashville to meet Vandy, which advanced to the second round of the 2003 NCAA tournament, on Dec. 6. A trip to James Madison Dec. 30 concludes the year after a break for finals. Other teams visiting the Palumbo Center are West Virginia, Siena and Cornell. Siena ended the 2003 season 25-8 overall and advanced to the second round of the WNIT. Game times and the Atlantic 10 schedule will be announced this fall.
Facing Tough Competition
The Dukes ended the 2003 season 15-14 overall. Five of those falls came at the hands of teams ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press or ESPN/ USAToday Top 25 polls. The teams which defeated Duquesne post a combined mark of 203-128 for a .613 winning percentage. Non-conference opponents were 80-43 (.650) while the A-10 teams boasted a 123-85 (.591) combined record.
Bright Futrell
All-America candidate Candace Futrell became the first Duquesne player to compete in USA Basketball Team Trials when she was invited to participate this past summer. The 5-10 guard did not make either of the 12-member rosters, but had the chance to compete with some of the top talent in the country. A total of 60 student-athletes were on hand looking to make the elite cut. One of the top scoring threats in Duquesne history, she enters her senior campaign with 1,047 career points, even with missing eight games last year with injuries. Futrell averaged 19.5 ppg last year as a junior and stands 12th on the Duquesne career list. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. Futrell would need to net 492 markers to do so. The all-time scoring title is held by 1998 graduate Korie Hlede, who netted 2,631 over her four-year career.
Sharon at the Charity Stripe
Shiri Sharon had an impressive season from the free throw line last season hitting 66 of her 88 attempts for an 75.0% 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, 4-4 vs. Richmond and 6-6 vs. Dayton. All told, she had eight perfect games from the free throw line.
Bau"TREY"
Aiga Bautre (BOU-Tray) led the team with 48 threepoint goals, which stood eighth in the Atlantic 10. Bautre hit a gamebest five extra-point goals going 5-6 in all at Robert Morris and followed that with a 3-3 effort in the win vs. Pitt Dec. 3. Bautre also netted four vs. Toledo and at Virginia Tech. She was 3-3 from behind the arc at St. Bonaventure as well. Bautre was 48-98 from three-point range for a .490 accuracy, which ranked first in the A-10. She earned 10 starts in her 29 contests and is tied for seventh on the DU single-season list with her 48 treys.
Sharon Becomes Fourth to Hit 500 Assists
Shiri Sharon posted a DU and Atlantic 10 best 6.6 apg average last year, which also stood 12th in the NCAA. She became the first player at Duquesne over the past nine-years to record 12 assists when she did so at Xavier marking a career high and a league single-game best mark. On the season she had four total games with double-figure dishes. She moved into fourth all-time at Duquesne in just her third season dishing out 505. Sharon also has 744 career points and is on track to be the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists.
