Dec. 5, 2003
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Dukes (3-3, 0-0) vs. Vanderbilt (5-0, 0-0)
Dec. 3 - 7:00 pm
Nashville, Tenn. - Memorial Gym
Vanderbilt broadcast, WNSR 560 AM / WMGC 810 AM in Nashville, Tenn.
Internet at
www.vucommodores.com Duquesne Probable Starters Vanderbilt Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 32 | Ashley Earley | JR | F | 5-10 | 13.4 | 9.8 |
| 42 | Jenni Benningfield | SR | F | 6-3 | 17.8 | 7.4 |
| 4 | Katie Antony | FR | G | 5-10 | 5.6 | 1.8 |
| 10 | Dee Davis | FR | G | 5-7 | 6.0 | 2.0 |
| 24 | Hillary Hager | SR | G | 5-11 | 13.4 | 4.8 |
About the Dukes
The Dukes have six games under their belts and own a 3-3 mark after halting a 3-game losing streak with a 92-80 victory at Pitt this past Wednesday. DU has faced its last four opponents on the road and today's contest marks the fifthstraight. The Dukes are led by Candace Futrell (21.3 ppg) and Nicole Sinclair (8.0 rpg). Duquesne returns three starters (Futrell, Shiri Sharon and Erin Wehrle) from last year's 15-14 squad.
About the Commodores
Vanderbilt is 5-0 with wins over South Alabama, Vermont, Samford, Louisville and New Orleans. Vandy welcomes back three starters from last year's 22-10 squad which advanced to the Sweet 16 and ended the slate ranked 14th in the Associated Press poll. They are receiving votes in the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA Coaches' Poll and the AP Poll. They are led by Jenni Benningfield with 17.8 ppg and Ashley Earley's 9.8 rebounds per game.
The Series
Vanderbilt leads the series 0-1 as the then-ranked #14 Commodores took a 78-56 victory over the Dukes last season at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 3-3 this season and 133-152 overall over his tenure. Melanie Balcomb is in her second year leading the Commodores and owns a 26-10 mark. She is in her 11th year as a head coach and posts an overall mark of 189-114.
Next Game
The Red & Blue have a 14-day break for finals before hosting West Virginia at 6:35 pm at the Palumbo Center.
Last Game
Duquesne snapped a three-game losing skid with a 92-80 victory at the University of Pittsburgh Wednesday evening. Candace Futrell led the Dukes and tied the game lead with 25 points while Shiri Sharon led the contest with seven assists. Four other Dukes hit double figures in Sharon (16 points), Aiga Bautre (15 points), Omega Harrington (12 points) and Nicole Sinclair (10 points). The Dukes improve to 3-3 overall while Pitt falls to 1-2 on the season. Pitt was led by LaToya Kincaid with 25 points and Jennifer Brown with nine rebounds.
Duquesne snagged an early 12-7 lead on an 8-2 run at 17:23 mark and extended its lead to a 24-11 edge on back-to-back three-point goals by Sharon and Bautre with 7:34 ticking in the first frame. The Dukes grabbed a 40-20 margin with 5:28 ticking and never looked back as they took a 54-28 lead into the half. Three Dukes had double-figure scoring in the first frame in Futrell (14), Bautre (12) and Sharon (10). The Dukes shot the lights out hitting 20-29 from the field (.690), 8-10 (.800) from the three and 6-6 from the free throw and committed just five turnovers while forcing 12.
Duquesne held a solid lead in the second half keeping it to at least 21 points before a 7-0 Pitt spree got the Panthers to a 57-75 reach at 8:16. Maria Stankevich hit two free throws later in the frame for an 81-62 Duquesne lead at 6:12, but Pitt took advantage of some Duquesne turnovers and missed shots to inch within a 10-point reach several times with the last being 80- 90 with :08 showing. Bautre ended the game's scoring netting two free throws for the 92-80 final.
Duquesne shot an impressive .609 (28-46) for the game and hit 12- 17 three pointers (.706) for the game while Pitt shot just .358 (24-67) from the field and 8-26 (.308) from the three. The Panthers led the rebounding with a 38-26 edge. The win marks the fourth-straight for the Dukes over the Panthers and it is the first 90+ point game for the Dukes since a 99-point effort vs. Virginia Tech back in 1998.
The Last Time They Met
Duquesne suffered a 78-56 loss to #14 Vanderbilt in a non-conference bout Jan. 6, 2003 at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Beth Friday led the Dukes with 14 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for her 40th career doubledouble. Aiga Bautre added 11 points in the loss. Jenni Benningfield led the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds while All-American Chantelle Anderson netted 20 points on 11-12 shooting. Duquesne was a winner though, as 1,606 fans were on hand for the Coaches vs. Cancer game.
Duquesne held a 5-2 edge early on before Vanderbilt tied the contest at 6-6 and took its first lead, 9-6, on a three-point goal at 16:23. A 6-0 Commodores run gave them a 15-8 lead at 13:23. The Dukes chipped away at the lead and got within a 16-18 reach on a Selma Delibasic lay-up with 9:06 ticking. Duquesne saw a 21-23 reach on a Shiri Sharon three pointer, but a 9-0 Vanderbilt drive gave the visitor a 32-21 edge as 3:03 remained. Sharon broke a 3:06 scoring drought for the Dukes for a 23-32 deficit, but Vandy took a 38-25 lead into the break. Friday scored the team's first eight points, but the Dukes would not get closer than a 31-44 reach in the second frame. Up 51-36 with just under 12 minute to go, Vanderbilt sprang to an 11-2 scoring drive for a 62-38 lead with 7:28 remaining. The Commodores grabbed their largest lead of the game, 72-47, with 2:48 ticking.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and Kentucky compare statistically
| 2004 | GP | FGM | FGA | PCT | RPG | AST | BLK | ST | PPG |
| DU | 6 | 144 | 364 | .396 | 38.7 | 78 | 18 | 46 | 69.7 |
| VU | 4 | 100 | 224 | .446 | 34.3 | 68 | 3 | 38 | 67.3 |
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.
The quick and agile guard moved past no. 9 Chrissi Stough in Wednesday night's win over Pitt. Her 25 points now gives the Altoona, Pa. native 1,175 points, nine shy of 8th best held by Katie Collins. She could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. 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 Candace Futrell 1,175 2001-present10 Chrissi Stough 1,152 1981-84
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.
On track to be the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists, Sharon moved into third all-time at Duquesne with seven assists in the win over Pitt. She is currently sixth among A-10 leaders with a 4.27 assist per game average.
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 570 1995-982 Darcie Vincent 555 1989-923 Shiri Sharon 533 2001-present4 Becky Oglevee 528 1983-865 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
