Jan. 28, 2004
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Dukes (10-8, 5-2) vs George Washington (12-5, 5-1)
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2004 - 3:00 pm
Washington, D.C. - Charles E. Smith Center (5,000) Audio: GWradio.com
Duquesne Probable Starters George Washington Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 4 | Liz Dancause | JR | F | 6-0 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| 21 | Anna Montanana | JR | F | 6-1 | 12.6 | 5.1 apg |
| 35 | Ugo Oha | SR | C | 6-4 | 13.9 | 7.3 |
| 1 | Cathy Joens | GR | G | 5-11 | 18.5 | 3.6 apg |
| 5 | Marsheik Witherspoon | SR | G | 5-5 | 5.1 | 2.9 |
About the Dukes
Duquesne won its 10th game of the year and the 140th career victory for head coach Dan Durkin with its 62-61 margin at Fordham. The Dukes are second in the Atlantic 10 West with a 5-2 mark - second only to George Washington with its 5-1 league record. Duquesne has won six of its last seven contests and is 4- 5 on the road. This includes a 2-2 league showing. Candace Futrell leads the Red & Blue with 21.4 ppg while Shiri Sharon adds 9.0 ppg and a team-high 4.76 apg. Nicole Sinclair paces the Dukes' rebounding averaging 7.8 per game. .
The Series
George Washington holds a 41-4 lead in the all-time series - the longest of the Dukes' rivalries. Duquesne is 0-20 when in DC, 3-15 at the Palumbo Center and 1-6 at the A-10 Tournament. Coach Durkin is 1-23, but the win came at the Palumbo Center vs the #23-ranked Colonials. Last year, DU suffered a 63-95 fall in DC, a 68- 74 loss in Pittsburgh and a 58-76 fall in the second round of the A-10 Tournament.
About the Colonials
George Washington won its fourth-straight and the sixth out of the last seven contests with a 73-61 victory at St. Bonaventure last Friday. The Colonials are 5-3 at home, which includes a 1-1 Conference mark. Their only league home fall was to Saint Joseph's (62-64). They lead the A-10 West with a 5-1 conference record. Cathy Joens, the 2003 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, leads GW with 18.5 ppg and adds 6.1 rpg and 3.6 apg. Anna Montanana paces the team with 5.1 apg and 7.5 rpg. The Colonials won the A-10 championship title and advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament and return four starters from that 25-7 team.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 10-8 this season and 140-157 overall over his tenure. Joe McKeown is in his 15th season at the helm of George Washington and the 18th as a collegiate head coach. He is 12-5 this season, 332-122 with the Colonials and owns a 400-142 mark overall.
Futrell In the Top 10 of NCAA Scoring Leaders
Senior Candace Futrell stands 10th in the Country among NCAA Division I scoring leaders this week with her 21.4 ppg average. Idaho's Emily Faurhold holds the top spot with 25.6 ppg. Futrell also ranks 25th in three-point field goals made per game with her 2.7 average. She leads DU with 48 extra-point goals, which is tied for seventh on the DU single-season list.
Take a Kid to the Game
The Feb. 8 game with Massachusetts marks the annual Take A Kid to the Game promotion, which helps introduce the area youth to the collegiate game of basketball. All youths 18 years and under will be admitted with a paying adult. For more information contact the ticket office at 412-232-DUKE or call the marketing/promotions department at 412-396-1187.
Next Up
The Dukes close out a three-game league series traveling to Xavier this Sunday, Feb. 1, for a 2:00 pm tip-off.
The Dukes' Last Game
Duquesne (9-8) finished its non-conference Sophomore Maria Stankevich's jumper with :14 left in regulation proved to be the difference maker as the Dukes handed the Fordham Rams their second home loss of the season, 62-61, at the Rose Hill Gym Jan. 23. Stankevich also blocked the potentially gamewinning Fordham basket in the final seconds to secure the victory. With the loss, Fordham dropped to 9-8 on the year, 2-4 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne improved to 10-8 overall, 5-2 in conference play. Stankevich led Duquesne with 12 points, while classmate Nicole Sinclair had 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Senior Candace Futrell added 11 points and freshman Loui Hall poured in 10 markers along with a game-best four assists. In the first half, the Rams opened with a eight-point lead, 19-11, after a three-point basket by Monica Mack, 12 minutes into the contest. Duquesne tied the game at 19 with 7:08 to go, and would out-score the Rams, 25-14, over the final eight minutes of the half to take a three-point lead into halftime. At the half, Stankevich led all Duquesne scorers with 10 points, while Loui Hall had eight. In the second half, the game continued to stay close with neither side able to pull away, which left Fordham up three points, 59-56, with 4:05 left in regulation, following Mack's sixth threepointer on the day. Duquesne then got back-to-back baskets from Sinclair and Candace Futrell to regain a one-point lead, 60-59, with under two minutes to go. Mack put the Rams ahead again following two free throws with 41 seconds remaining, but Stankevich responded hitting a 15-foot jumper with 14 seconds left to give Duquesne the lead. Fordham had one last shot as Dickinson drove the right side of the lane, but the ball got knocked away and time expired.
The Last Time They Met the Colonials
Duquesne fell 76-58 to topseeded George Washington in quarter-final action of the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship. Candace Futrell netted 18 of her game-best 21 points on 7- 12 shooting in the first half alone and added three assists to lead the Dukes (15-14). Erin Wehrle added 12 points while Nicole Sinclair grabbed a gameand career-best 15 rebounds. Ugo Oha led George Washington (22-6) and five Colonials in double figures with 16 points. The Dukes suffered an early loss with Beth Friday leaving the game at 19:26 with an injury before opening the contest with a 5-0 lead at 17:51. George Washington then executed an 8-0 drive for an 8-5 edge as 15:49 remained. Futrell's threepointer at 13:50 put DU within a 10-11 reach before the Colonials took a 15- 10 advantage and extended it to 20-10 lead with 10:11 ticking. The Dukes brought the game to a 15-22 reach at 8:10, but the Colonials grabbed a 27- 17 advantage with 3:45 to go. The Dukes used a 7-2 drive for a 29-34 reach at 1:06 before the 36-29 Colonial edge at the half. The Dukes were also without Khalihah Este-Shehu in the first half with a bloody nose, but she returned for frame two. GW scored first in the second half before the Dukes went on a 10-2 run to bring the contest to a 39-40 reach after a three-point goal by Erin Wehrle at 15:57. A GW three-point goal gave them a 43-39 edge and they increased the lead to 46-39 at 13:00. Futrell's three pointer at 12:38 cut the lead to 44-46 for the Colonials. Back-to-back threepoint goals sparked a 14-3 drive to give GW a 60-47 lead with 7:36 ticking. Five unanswered points would get the Dukes to a 52-60 reach but the Colonials out-scored the Dukes 10-2 to snag a 70-54 lead with 2:59 ticking to secure the victory. Duquesne held a 34-29 rebounding advantage, but was out-shot .542 (26-48) to .393 (24-61) from the field. Friday, who saw less than a minute of action, recorded the Dukes' only block while GW collected seven for the game. Futrell's 21 point effort upped her career total to 1,047 and put her in 13th place all time among Duquesne's scorers.
Common Opponents
Team DU GWXavier W, 83-69 W, 65-48Dayton W, 75-59 W, 71-51Saint Joseph's L, 58-64 L, 62-64Richmond L, 61-82 W, 86-60La Salle W, 78-67 W, 85-72St. Bonaventure W, 74-60 W, 73-61
This Time Last Year
Duquesne is 10-8 overall, 5-2 in the A-10 entering the game with George Washington. This time last year, the Dukes were 10- 8 overall as well and stood 3-4 in the Atlantic 10.
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 owns a team- and A- 10 best 21.4 ppg average this year. She moved into fifth on the Duquesne career list with 1,345 after the Xavier game, took over the #4 spot with a team-high 21 points at Richmond and moved into third with 30 points vs. Cornell. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. She now needs to 106 points.
Duquesne Career Points Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 2,631 1995-98 2 Darcie Vincent 1,538 1989-92 3 Candace Futrell 1,433 2001-present 4 Beth Friday 1,410 2000-03 5 Kris Sebastian 1,374 1991-94 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, is First All-Time
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. 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 and took over the top spot Jan. 9 with five assists vs. Dayton. Sharon is currently fourth among A-10 leaders with a 4.76 assist per game average.
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Shiri Sharon 586 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 1/46 ........ vs St. Bonaventure 1/165 ........ vs Robert Morris 11/235 ........ at Toledo 11/255 ........ vs Dayton 1/9
