Jan. 8, 2004
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Dukes (5-7, 1-1) vs. Dayton (2-11, 1-1)
Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 - 7:00 pm
Pittsburgh, Pa. - Palumbo Center (6,200)
Duquesne Probable Starters La Salle Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 30 | Leslie Burns | JR | F | 6-0 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| 34 | Jennifer Strong | RS-FR | F | 6-0 | 8.0 | 4.5 |
| 54 | Angela Cape | SO | C | 6-3 | 5.5 | 6.7 |
| 13 | Emily Williams | JR | G | 5-10 | 10.8 | 3.9 |
| 20 | Stefanie Miller | SR | G | 5-5 | 11.2 | 5.76\ |
About the Dukes
The Dukes opened the Atlantic 10 season last weekend in Philly and went 1-1. They fell at St. Joe's and defeated La Salle. Friday marks the home A- 10 opener for the Red & Blue who are 5-7 overall, 1-1 in the A-10. Coach Durkin won his 135th career game vs. the Explorers. Candace Futrell leads DU and the Atlantic 10 with 19.9 ppg and adds 7.3 rpg. Nicole Sinclair is first for Duquesne with her 7.8 rpg and is second in scoring with 8.5 ppg. Shiri Sharon leads the offense with 5.17 apg. Maria Stankevich leads the squad with 10 blocks.
The Series
Duquesne holds a 12-7 lead in the all-time series with Dayton. They first met in 1993 when both teams were member of the MCC. Dayton joined the Atlantic 10 for the 1995-96 season. Last year, the squads split with the Dukes taking a 72-59 edge in Pittsburgh and Dayton winning 67-55 in Ohio. Duquesne is 8-1 vs. the Flyers at home. The only fall was a 67-71 loss in their first-ever meeting on Jan. 14, 1993. Coach Durkin is 12-5 vs. the Flyers.
About the Flyers
Dayton looks to snap a six-game losing skid and capture its firs A-10 victory. The Flyers fell to Richmond and George Washington at home this past weekend. Stefanie Miller, a 2003 third team All-Conference pick, leads the Flyers with 11.2 ppg and 5.77 apg. Her assist total is tops in the A-10 and ranks 28th among NCAA Division I leaders. Emily Williams is second with 10.8 ppg while Angela Cape adds a team-high 6.7 rpg. Dayton returns two starters from last year's 14-14 squad.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 5-7 this season and 135-156 overall over his tenure. Jim Jabir is in his first season at the Dayton helm and is 2-11 to date. He has been a head coach for 17 years and is 220-234 overall.
Next Game
The Dukes host Xavier this Sunday in the A-10 TV Game of the Week. The 2:00 pm tip is a Coaches vs. Cancer game - proceeds from all tickets sold will be donated to the Pittsburgh branch of the American Cancer Society.
Sharon Looks to Top Hlede
With just four assists, senior point guard Shiri Sharon will surpass Duquesne legend Korie Hlede (1995-98) on the all-time assists list. Sharon enters the game with 567 assists and Hlede's record in 570 in 109 game. Sharon enters the contest averaging 5.17 apg and has competed in 98 career contests. She is on track to become Duquesne's first 600-assist performer. She also adds 845 career points, 312 rebounds and 183 steals.
The Dukes' Last Game
Duquesne got back on the winning track Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pa., as the Dukes topped the Explorers 78- 67. Senior Candace Futrell led four Dukes in double-figures with 22 points and a game-best nine rebounds.
Senior Shiri Sharon and freshman Loui Hall scored 16 points each. Hall also had nine rebounds which along with her point total are new career marks for the Albert Gallatin High grad. Sharon had a game-best seven assists to move to three setups shy of Korie Hlede's number one spot on Duquesne's all-time assist list. The Israeli native, who has 567 career assists, and Futrell played all 40 minutes. Sophomore Nicole Sinclair added 14 points.
The Dukes, who had been struggling from the field, hit 46.9 percent of their shots from the floor including 37.5% from beyond the arc. The Red and Blue had 13 steals (average was 7.5 spg) as the Explorers committed 19 turnovers. DU had 16 assists against 13 turnovers.
La Salle, which shot 37.5 percent from the field, won the rebounding battle, 43-39. The Explorers were led by this week's Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, freshman Crista Ricketts with 18 points and six rebounds.
The win stops the Dukes' two-game losing streak and evens their Atlantic 10 Conference record to 1-1; they are 5-7 overall. The Explorers, whose four-game winning streak was stopped by Duquesne, are also 1-1 in league play and 8-4 overall.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and Dayton compare statistically:
| 2004 | GP | FGM | FGA | PCT | RPG | ATG | TOG | BPG | SPG | PPG |
| DU | 12 | 288 | 764 | .377 | 39.2 | 13.7 | 17.4 | 2.6 | 8.0 | 67.8 |
| UD | 13 | 264 | 737 | .358 | 38.6 | 12.5 | 20.5 | 1.5 | 6.2 | 56.3 |
The Last Time They Met
Candace Futrell scored 18 of her game-best 24 points in the second half to lead Duquesne to a 72-59 come-from-behind victory over visiting Dayton Feb. 2, 2003 A.J. Palumbo Center. Beth Friday added 20 points and a game-best 15 rebounds. Shiri Sharon led the game with seven assists. Stefanie Miller led Dayton with 16 points.
The game opened with seven lead changes before Dayton executed a 10-2 run to give them a 16-9 lead at 12:36. The Flyers went up 19-12 on a three-point goal at 9:30 before Nikolina Pender sparked a 9-0 Duquesne run over a 1:51 span to grab a 21-19 edge at 6:30. Three lead changes and three ties followed, but Erin Wehrle completed the threepoint play to give Duquesne a 26-25 margin at 4:19. Dayton took a 27-26 advantage at 4:00 and grabbed a 30-26 lead at 1:55 with a three-point goal. Sharon twice cut the lead to two going 4-4 from the free throw line with the last being a 30-32 reach with :22 ticking. Sarah Allen hit a three as time expired to put Dayton ahead 35-30 at the half.
Dayton held a 39-32 lead on a 6-0 drive early in the second half before Wehrle hit four of DU's seven unanswered points to tie the contest at 39-39 with 16:55 remaining. Duquesne cut the lead to a 41-43 reach on a Futrell bucket, but Dayton twice extended its lead to five points with the last being a 48-43 cushion at 13:36. Futrell put DU within a 47-48 reach, before a Dayton three gave them a 51-47 advantage with 11:53 remaining. Futrell led DU's 13-0 run with eight markers for a 60-51 lead with 6:45 on the clock. Dayton faced a 5:26 scoreless span before a gaol put them within a 53-60 reach, but they would not get any closer. Maria Stankevich hit a three-point goal at :15 to give Duquesne a 72-57 lead, its largest of the game.
For the game, Sharon went 6-6 from the free throw line while Friday hit 8-11 shots from the field for a .727 accuracy. Duquesne shot .520 (26-50) from the field and 17-20 (.850) from the line.
Common Opponents
Team DU UDToledo L: 57-81 L: 65-73
Stankevich and the Charity Stripe
Sophomore Maria Stankevich, who is schedule to start her third game of the season against Dayton, is second for the Red & Blue hitting 19-24 shots from the free throw line for a .792 accuracy. Stankevich posted a 4-4 effort in the Dukes' loss to West Virginia Dec. 20 and but shot just 3-6 in her last two contests. Last year, she went 5-5 from the free throw line in her 29 contests. She is third for the Dukes in rebounds (6.9) and has a team-best 10 blocks. She stands seventh in the Atlantic 10 in blocks and is 12th in rebounding. She has four perfect games from the free throw line this season and twice shot .750 (3- 4). She also netted a career-best 14 points off the bench in the Dukes' loss to West Virginia Dec. 20.
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 averaged 19.5 ppg as a junior and owns a team- and A-10 best 20.9 ppg average this year. Futrell stands 8th on the Duquesne career list with 1,286. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. She would need to net 253 markers to do so.
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 Candace Futrell 1,286 2001-present 9 Katie Collins 1,186 1987-9010 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 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. She moved past Darcie Vincent into second place when she dished out six assists on Jan. 4, 2004 at Saint Joseph's. Sharon is currently third among A-10 leaders with a 5.17 assist per game average and stands second all-time at Duquesne.
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 570 1995-982 Shiri Sharon 567 2001-present3 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 ........ at Toledo 11/255 ........ vs Robert Morris 11/23
