DU Women Face Pitt Wed. At 7 PM - Duquesne University Athletics

Dec. 2, 2003

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Dukes (2-3, 0-0) vs. Pittsburgh (1-1, 0-0)
Dec. 3 - 7:00 pm
Pittsburgh, Pa. - Petersen Events Center

Game broadcast Pitt Radio, WPTS 92.1 FM
Duquesne internet broadcast, RedZoneMedia.com Duquesne Probable Starters

No.	NAME	YR	POS	HT	PPG	RPG
10	Shiri Sharon	JR	G	5-7	8.0	4.2 apg
21	Candace Futrell	JR	G	5-10	20.6	7.8
5	Aiga Bautre	FR	G	5-11	5.4	2.6
52	Erin Wehrle	SO	C	6-2	4.8	2.4
34	Nicole Sinclair	SO	F	6-0	6.2	9.0

Pitt Probable Starters

No.	NAME	YR	POS	HT	PPG	RPG
45	Latoya Kincaid	SR	F	6-1	16.0	9.0
54	Sheila Stufflet	SR	F	6-2	8.5	6.5
55	Allisha Morris	JR	C	6-3	6.5	1.5
22	Amy Kunich	JR	G	5-6	6.5	7.0 apg
23	Jessica Allen	SO	G	5-8	12.5	3.0

About the Dukes

The Dukes look to snap a three-game losing skid as the face their sixth opponent over a 13-day span. DU has not had a home game since Nov. 23 vs. Robert Morris. The Dukes are led by Candace Futrell (20.6 ppg) and Nicole Sinclair (9.0 rpg). Duquesne returns three starters (Futrell, Shiri Sharon and Erin Wehrle) from last year's 15-14 squad.

About the Panthers

Pitt holds a 15-6 lead in the all-time series with Duquesne. The Dukes took a 62-60 victory over the Panthers last season at the Palumbo Center. Duquesne has won four of the past five meetings with the last fall being a 57-62 overtime loss in the 2000 season. Coach Durkin is 6-4 vs. the Panthers and is the only women's basketball coach at Duquesne to defeat Pitt.

The Series

This is the first meeting between the Dukes and the Wildcats.

The Coaches

Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 3-2 this season and 132-152 overall over his tenure. Agnes Berenato is in her first season at the helm of the Panthers and is 284--263 in her 20 years as a head coach. She is 1-1 in her first season with the Panthers.

Next Game

The Red & Blue travel to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Dec. 6 before a 14-day break for finals.

Last Games

Duquesne went 0-2 over the Thanksgiving weekend at the USF odwalla Tournament in California. The Dukes opened the tourney with an 90-83 loss to Kentucky, despite a valent comeback effort from a 45-27 halftime deficit. The Dukes out-scored the Wildcats 56-45 in the second frame as Candace Futrell netted 29 of her game-best 32 points after the intermission to help get Duquesne within an 80-73 reach with :48 ticking. Kentucky went up 73-88 on made free throws, but the Dukes refused to give up chipping away at the lead before Shiri Sharon netted a three-point goal at the buzzer for the 83-90 loss.

In game two, the Red & Blue faced Davidson in the consolation bout and suffered a 70-59 loss. Candace Futrell and Omega Harrington tied the team lead with 10 points each while Nicole Sinclair grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds followed by 10 boards from Maria Stankevich. The first half saw five ties and three lead changes before the Dukes snagged a 17-15 edge with 11:45 ticking. Davidson gained a 21-19 margin as 7:06 remained before DU went ahead 24-2. The Wildcats than grabbed a 25-24 edge, but The Dukes finished the frame on a 7-4 run to take a 31-29 lead into the break. Davidson opened the second frame with a 16-7 run for a 45-38 lead. Before a 13-0 Duquesne run that gave the Red & Blue a 51-47 advantage midway through. DU went 5:43 without a goal, allowing Davidson to take a 53-51 lead at 5:45. Harrington hit two three-point goals to giving DU a 57-54 edge with 3:45 ticking, but the Wildcats hit key three-point goals and took advantage of several Duquesne turnovers to end the game on a 16-2 run for the final.

The Last Time They Met

Aiga Bautre lead the Dukes tying her personal-best with 17 points shooting 7-10 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range as Duquesne took a 62-60 come-from-behind victory over visiting Pitt to improved to 4-1 on the season Dec. 3, 2002. Beth Friday posted her 35th career double-double with a game-best 14 rebounds while adding 14 points. Nikolina Pender led the game with a career-best nine assists and added 11 points as well. Pitt was led by Laine Selwyn with a game-best 22 points. Pitt opened the contest out-scoring Duquesne 10-6 with 14:46 on the clock before the Dukes hit seven unanswered points to take a 13-10 edge at the 11:41 mark. Pitt then took control of the contest and sprang to a 14-0 run keeping the Dukes scoreless for 7:20 for a 24-13 lead - their largest of the contest. Bautre's jumper at 4:21 put the Dukes on the board again with a 13-22 deficit and she would cap a 7-0 run with a three-point goal with :50 ticking to get the Dukes within a 22-26 reach. Selwyn's jumper at :18 gave the Panthers a 28-22 edge at the intermission. The Dukes' played solid defense to open the second frame and out-scored the Panthers 12-2 for a 34-30 lead with 13:25 remaining and took their largest lead of the contest (45-37) with just under nine minutes remaining. Pitt hit back-to-back three-point goals to stay alive and regained the lead via a 14-3 run for a 49-48 edge at the 5:06 mark. Bautre it another key three for a 51-49 DU lead and the Dukes gained a 53-49 advantage at 4:12 as Shiri Sharon hit two free throws on a Pitt technical. Consecutive treys by Pitt gave the visitor a 57-55 lead with 2:36 remaining before Pender's three put DU up 58-57 with 2:22 remaining. Two ties and two lead changes followed before Friday gave Duquesne a 61-60 edge on a miss and make free throw with :34. Sharon made the first of two free throws at :10 for the 62-60 final, but it wasn't over as a held ball was called with :08 on the missed free throw, which gave Pitt possession at the Dukes' basket. Selwyn drove hard into the paint, but her shot fell short to secure the Dukes' victory.

Pre-Season Atlantic 10 Picks

Duquesne was picked to finish fourth 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.

Comparatively Speaking

Here is how Duquesne and Kentucky compare statistically

2004	GP	FGM	FGA	PCT	RPG	AST	BLK	ST	PPG
DU	5	116	318	.365	41.2	58	13	37	65.2
UP	2	51	112	.455	36.5	33	5	15	68.0

Game-by-Game Series with the Panthers
Overall: 6-15
Home: 3-4
Away: 1-9
Neutral: 2-2

Date     Site     W/L   DU UP2/1/76   Away     L     35 10512/5/79  Away     L     37 722/1/84   Away     L     55 842/9/85   Away     L     84 9612/11/86 Home +   L     68 6912/11/87 Away     L     69 8512/28/88 Home     L     70 7912/9/89  Away     L     51 8811/29/90 Home     L     68 8011/30/91 Neutral* L     71 7712/1/92  Home     L     67 8011/27/93 Away     L     50 6611/30/94 Home     L     71 7411/29/95 Home+    W     55 5312/21/96 Home+    L     59 742/5/98   Away +   W     68 6212/4/98  Home     W     65 581/1/00   Away     L     57 62 OT11/29/00 Home     W     67 5912/8/02  Away     W     63 5412/3/02  Home     W     62 60

* Lady Panther Invite
+ Civic (Mellon) Arena

No Stop'n Futrell

All-America candidate Candace Futrell notched the third 30+ point game of her career pouring in a game-best 32 points in the Dukes' loss to Kentucky at the USF odwalla Classic. This past summer, she became the first Duquesne player to compete in the USA Basketball Team Trials when she was one of 60 Division I athletes invited to participate. 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. One of the top scoring threats in Duquesne history, she entered her senior campaign with 1,047 career points, even after missing eight games last year with injuries. Futrell averaged 19.5 ppg as a junior and stands 10th on the Duquesne career list with 1,150. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. Futrell would need to net 452 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.

Duquesne Career Points Leaders

 1 Korie Hlede      2,631  1995-98 2 Darcie Vincent   1,538  1989-92 3 Beth Friday      1,410  2000-03 4 Kris Sebastian   1,374  1991-94 5 Kathy Ridilla    1,312  1986-89 6 Amy Alger        1,306  1986-89 7 Becky Oglevee    1,292  1983-86 8 Katie Collins    1,186  1987-90 9 Chrissi Stough   1,152  1981-8410 Candace Futrell  1,150  2001-present

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 games with double-figure dishes. She moved into fourth all-time at Duquesne in just her third season with 505. She is on track to be the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists. Sharon is currently ninth among A-10 leaders with a 4.20 assist per game average.

Duquesne Career Assists Leaders

1 Korie Hlede       570  1995-982 Darcie Vincent    555  1989-923 Becky Oglevee     528  1983-864 Shiri Sharon      526  2001-present5 Michelle Bouldin  446  1992-94

Top Returning NCAA Assist Leaders
(class entering 2004 season)

   Name,             School           CL  GM  AST   AVG1  La'Terrica Dobin  Northwestern St  Sr  28  298  10.62  Latesha Lee       Jackson St       Sr  29  214   7.43  Ivelina Vrancheva Florida Int'l    Sr  30  217   7.24  Yolanda Paige     West Virginia    Jr  28  199   7.15  Sara Nord         Louisville       Sr  29  199   6.9   Cricket Williams  San Jose St      Sr  28  192   6.97  Cristina Ciocan   South Carolina   Sr  31  207   6.78  Shiri Sharon      Duquesne         Sr  29  192   6.6   Nancy Bowden      Butler           Sr  29  191   6.610 Lisa Faulkner     UC Irvine        Jr  29  189   6.5   Erin Grant        Texas Tech       So  35  228   6.5

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