Jan. 15, 2004
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Dukes (7-7, 3-1) vs. St. Bonaventure (4-10, 0-3)
Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 - 7:05 pm
Pittsburgh, Pa. - Palumbo Center (6,200)
Audio: www.RedZoneMedia.com
Duquesne Probable Starters St. Bonaventure Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 2 | Becky Valenti | SR | F | 6-1 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| 5 | Tory Vyborny | JR | F | 6-2 | 6.2 | 3.8 |
| 3 | Steph Merlo | FR | G | 5-10 | 4.7 | 1.8 |
| 4 | Caitlin Crist | JR | G | 5-11 | 7.3 | 2.5 apg |
| 21 | Stef Collins | JR | G | 5-6 | 18.9 | 3.6 |
About the Dukes
Duquesne is riding a 3-0 winning streak and improved to 3-1 in the Atlantic 10 with its 83-69 victory over visiting Xavier. The Dukes are in second place in the A-10 West behind 4-0 Richmond, which they will meet on Sunday. Candace Futrell leads DU and the A-10 with 21.3 ppg and adds 6.8 rpg - second for the Dukes. Shiri Sharon is second in scoring with 9.1 and adds a team-best 5.07 asp. Nicole Sinclair leads the rebounding efforts with 7.6 per game and boasts a teamhigh .570 (45-79) field goal percentage.
The Series
Duquesne holds a 21-9 lead in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure. The Dukes are 11-1 at home and have won the past five meetings as well as nine of the past 10 games. The only home fall came in 1991 when DU suffered an 85-66 loss on Feb. 26. Coach Durkin is 12-4 vs. the Bonnies. The Dukes are also 4-1 when facing St. Bonaventure in the A-10 tournament.
About the Bonnies
St. Bonaventure looks to snap a six-game losing streak after falling to visiting Temple 70-56 Jan. 11. They stand 4-10 overall, 0-3 in league play. The Bonnies are led by Stef Collins with 18.9 ppg, which stands third in the Atlantic 10. Caitlin Crist leads the rebounding with a 4.8 average. SBU is 1-6 on the road with it lone victory coming in the season opener - a 74-62 win at Stony Brook. The Bonnies have lost senior center Emma Haywood for the season due to a knee injury. She played in five games with one start and averaged 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Things aren't as bad as they look for the Bonnies as six of their falls have been decided by eight points or less.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 7-7 this season and 137-156 overall over his tenure. Jim Crowley is in his fourth season at the Bonnies helm and seventh as a head coach. He is 4-10 this season, 30-68 with SBU and 69-106 over his career.
Next Game
The Dukes head to Richmond for a 2:00 p.m game on Sunday, Jan. 18 at the Robins Center.
The Dukes' Last Game
Duquesne used a decisive 19-2 run to open the second half en route to an 83-69 come-from-behind victory over visiting Xavier afternoon at the Palumbo Center. Candace Futrell scored a career high 36 points in the victory hitting 14-28 shots from the field. She moved into fifth place on the Duquesne career-scoring list with a total of 1,345 points, moving ahead of 1989 graduate Kathy Ridilla. It was the fourth career game in which she scored 30 or more points. Sophomore Aiga Bautre pulled down a team high seven rebounds along with 13 points and five assists. Shiri Sharon added 13 points as well. Xavier's Tara Boothe also posted a career high in points with 31. Atlantic 10 player of the week, Suntana Granderson, scored eight points and grabbed a teamhigh four rebounds for the Musketeers.
Both teams came out strong in the first half with Xavier shooting 66.7% and scoring 43 points in the first frame. They jumped out to a 15-3 lead with 15:16 remaining in the first half. Duquesne pulled to within three points of the lead with 1:57 remaining on a pair of free throws by sophomore center Maria Stankevich, but a 5- 0 run put Xavier back on top by eight points before a last second threepoint shot by Futrell got the Dukes to within a five-point reach. The first half ended with Xavier holding a 43-38 edge.
The start of the second half brought new energy from the Dukes as they took their first lead of the game, 46-45, with 17:12 left hitting nine of their 19 points in the run over 1:27. Futrell was a huge factor in the run netting 12 of the team's 19 markers. Xavier got within a two-point reach several times afterward with the last being a 60-62 reach with 7:15 ticking. Futrell sat out the final two minutes and 10 seconds with an injury and Duquesne out-scored the Musketeers 7-2 to end the game. Both teams shot well from the field with Xavier hitting .569 (29-51) and the Dukes .517 (21-60). Xavier held a 30- 27 rebounding edge, but committed 18 turnovers to the Dukes seven for the contest.
DU got 22 of their points off of Musketeers turnovers. The Dukes were without head coach Dan Durkin who was home with an illness watching his Dukes with the national TV audience. Assistant coach Tanya Garner stepped-up to fill the void in his absence.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and Dayton compare statistically:
| 2004 | GP | FGM | FGA | PCT | RPG | ATG | TOG | BPG | SPG | PPG |
| DU | 14 | 342 | 884 | .387 | 39.3 | 14.1 | 16.6 | 2.8 | 8.0 | 69.4 |
| SBU | 14 | 319 | 791 | .403 | 35.1 | 11.1 | 15.8 | 1.6 | 6.2 | 66.1 |
The Last Time They Met
Candace Futrell's 21 points led the Dukes to a 79-75 victory at St. Bonaventure Jan. 23 in Olean, NY. Beth Friday added 16 points followed by Shiri Sharon's 10 points and game-best eight assists.
The Dukes, who took a 43-32 lead to the halftime break, were able to maintain that spread at 60-49 before the Bonnies made their comeback attempt. The Bonnies used a 12-2 run to cut Duquesne's lead to 62-61 with 5:33 left. The Dukes responded with a 9-3 run to increase their edge to seven, 71-64, with 3:11 left. Bona used four foul shots to come within 71-68 with 2:18 left. A three-pointer by Bona guard Kristin McGhee with 12 seconds remaining cut the Bonnies deficit to three, 78-75, but that was the closest the Bonnies would come.
Both teams shot well with the Dukes edging the Bonnies 50.9% to 49.0% from the floor. The host squad had the edge from behind the arc (52.6% - 42.9%) and from the free throw line (78.9% - 60.0%) but the Dukes topped the Bonnies with five more assists (21-16), two fewer turnovers (17-19), three more steals (10-7), one more block (2-1) and eight more rebounds (33-25). DU had 24 points off turnovers to the Bonnies 14 and eight fast break points to SBU's one.
The Last Time DU was 3-1
The last time Duquesne posted as good as a 3-1 league mark to start the season was during the 1997-98 slate. That year, led by DU's all-time scorer Korie Hlede, the Dukes sprang to a 4-0 start and ended the campaign 10-6 in Atlantic 10 play and 19-9 overall. Last season, the Red & Blue were 1-3 at this time.
Common Opponents
Team DU UDXavier W, 83-69 L, 61-63
Three-Point Threats
The Dukes set a new University single-game record landing 12 three-point goals in their win at Pitt Dec. 3. Duquesne was on fire from behind the arc hitting 12-17 shots for a .706 accuracy. Senior Candace Futrell led the way with a 5-6 effort. Futrell leads the Red & Blue with 35 extra-point goals (3rd in the A-10). Aiga Bautre ranks second for Duquesne with 20 - she netted four extra-point goals vs. West Virginia Dec. 20. Duquesne moved back into first among A-10 teams with 7.00 3-pt goals per game. St. Bonaventure is second with a 6.57 average.
No Stop'n Futrell
All-America candidate Candace Futrell produced her fourth career game scoring 30 or more points with a 30-point effort vs. Siena Dec. 22. She notched her third the earlier this season pouring in a game-best 32 points in the Dukes' loss to Kentucky at the USF odwalla Classic over Thanksgiving. This past summer, she became the first Duquesne player to compete in the USA Basketball Team Trials when she was one of 60 D-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 and the Atlantic 10, she entered her senior campaign with 1,047 career points, even after missing eight games last year with injuries. Futrell moved into fifth on the Duquesne career list with 1,345 after the Xavier game. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points; she would need to net 194 markers. Futrell can move into the #4 spot with 30 points.
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 Candace Futrell 1,345 2001-present 6 Kathy Ridilla 1,312 1986-89 7 Amy Alger 1,306 1986-89 8 Becky Oglevee 1,292 1983-86 9 Katie Collins 1,186 1987-9010 Chrissi Stough 1,152 1981-84
Sharon Becomes Fourth to Hit 500 Assists
Senior 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 in a game when she did so at Xavier marking a career high and a league single-game best mark. This season, Sharon took over the top spot Jan. 9 with five assists vs. Dayton. Throughout her career, she's had four games with double-figure dishes. She had moved into fourth all-time at Duquesne in 2002-03, just her third season, with 505 and is on track to be the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists.Dayton. Sharon is currently third among A-10 leaders with a 5.07 assist per game average.
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Shiri Sharon 576 2001-present2 Korie Hlede 570 1995-983 Darcie Vincent 555 1989-924 Becky Oglevee 528 1983-865 Michelle Bouldin 446 1992-94
Sharon's Season High Assists - 2003-04
8 ........ vs West Virginia 12/207 ........ at Pitt 12/37 ........ at La Salle 1/66 ........ vs Siena 12/226 ........ at Saint Joseph's 1/45 ........ vs Robert Morris 11/235 ........ at Toledo 11/255 ........ vs Dayton 1/9
