Feb. 25, 2004
Pittsburgh, Pa. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Audio: www.RedZoneMedia.com
Dukes (15-11, 10-5) at Richmond (17-8, 9-5)
Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 - 7:05 pm
Pittsburgh, Pa, - Palumbo Center
Duquesne Probable Starters Richmond Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 30 | Christina Campion | FR | F | 6-0 | 8.9 | 5.7 |
| 33 | Kate Flavin | JR | F | 6-1 | 18.8 | 9.6 |
| 5 | Saona Chapman | SO | G | 5-8 | 13.2 | 5.2 apg |
| 13 | Araceli Gil | SO | G | 5-3 | 9.0 | 2.1 |
| 24 | Amber Goppert | SR | G | 5-10 | 10.5 | 5.0 |
About the Dukes
Duquesne is coming off a 77-60 upset of West Division leader George Washington and looks to secure a bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament with a win over the Spiders. A victory would mean the Dukes secure second place in the A- 10 West to receive one of the two first-round byes, something the Red & Blue have never done. DU is riding high after snapping GW's 11-game winning streak and snapping their own 23-game losing skid to the Colonials. The team set a new University single-game mark and Palumbo record hitting 13 long-range buckets in the win. Futrell hit her A-10 best 15th game scoring 20+ points with 28 vs. the Colonials. She netted five of the team's 13 treys. Shiri Sharon notched her second double-digit assist game this year with a game-best 10. Futrell leads the Dukes and the A-10 with 21.8 ppg, which ranks sixth in this week's NCAA stats report. She is 26th with 2.6 three-point goals per game. Sharon stands third in the A-10 with a team-high 5.52 apg. Her total ranks 34th among Division I leaders.
The Series
Richmond holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series with Duquesne after defeating the Dukes 82-61 on Jan. 18 in Virginia. Richmond took a 66-63 edge at the Palumbo Center last year and an 81-66 decision in Virginia. The Dukes' lone win was an 89-78 margin in Pittsburgh on Feb. 14, 2002. DU is 1-1 when hosting the Spiders.
About the Spiders
Richmond won its fourth-straight with a 77-49 victory over visiting UMass this past Sunday. The Spiders stands 9-5 in the league, which includes a 3-4 mark on the road. Richmond is one-game behind Duquesne in the West standings at 9-5. Kate Flavin leads UR and three Spiders in double-figure scoring with 18.8 ppg and boasts a team and A-10 high 9.6 rpg. She ranks ninth in the NCAA with her .598 field goal accuracy and is 36th in ppg and 38th in rpg. Saona Chapman boasts a team-best 5.2 apg, which is fourth in the A-10 and 44th among D-I leaders.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 15-11 this season and 145-160 overall over his tenure. Joanne Boyle is in her second year at the helm of the Spiders and as a head coach. She is 17-8 this season and 38-19 on her short career. Boyle led the Spiders to a 21-11 mark last season to earned a bit into the WNIT.
Nine ... Ten ... Ready or Not, Here We Come
This year marks the first time since the 1997-98 season that the Dukes have recorded at least nine Conference wins. The victory over George Washington tied the school's record with 10 league wins in a season. Duquesne posted a school-record 10 victories and with its 10-6 A-10 mark back in 1998 and finished 19-9 overall. This is just the second time Duquesne has recorded more than eight league wins.
Perfect at the Palumbo
Duquesne enters its final home contests with a perfect Conference record standing 7-0 mark and is 10-1 overall at the Palumbo Center. DU is riding a nine-game home winning streak and has never gone undefeated in Atlantic 10 play at home. They were 12-0 at home back in 1982.
Ifs Ands and Buts ...
If the Dukes defeat the Spiders and take second in the West, they would play at either 2:00 pm (East top seed) or 6:00 pm (West top seed) on Saturday March 6, depending if Temple or George Washington claims the overall title. A loss would drop the Dukes to third at the lowest, with games being 6:00 pm (East top seed) or 2:00 pm (West top seed). Duquesne is 10-5 with only today's game to go while the Spiders, who are one game behind the Dukes in the standings, are 9-5 with two games to go. A loss would knock Duquesne out of second should the two teams tie for second as the first tie-breaker is head to head competition. DU would then be 0-2 vs. Richmond.
There's No Place Like Home
When it comes to Duquesne hoops. This season, the Dukes are 10-1 overall at the Palumbo Center and hold a perfect 7-0 mark when facing Atlantic 10 competition. The team's only fall was to West Virginia back on Dec. 20, which is currently 19-7 overall. The Dukes have won their past nine home games. DU's longest home winning streak is sixteen games which spans from 2/22/81 to 12/9/82.
Dukes Set New University and Palumbo 3-Point Record
Duquesne was on fire from three-point land vs. George Washington Feb. 22 hitting a school- and Palumbo Center record 13 three-point goals. They were 13- 21 on the day for a .619 accuracy. Leading the way was Candace Futrell who was 5-10 and Aiga Bautre who went 4-5 from behind the arc.
Sinclair Tabbed CoSIDA Academic All-America
Sophomore Nicole Sinclair, a biology major, was selected as a second team CoSIDA District 2 Academic All-America Women's Basketball Team pick as voted upon the Division I Sports Information Directors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, D.C., Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia. Sinclair boasts a 3.76 GPA at Duquesne and leads the Dukes with 7.3 rpg and a .514 (76-148) field goal accuracy. The award is available to student-athlete in at last their second year at their institution and is a starter or important reserve. It is based on both academic and athletic excellence.
Futrell Takes over No. 2 All-Time Scoring Spot
Scoring sensation Candace Futrell moved into the No. 2 spot on the Duquesne career scoring list with her 24 points vs. La Salle. The 5-10 guard needed just six points to bump Darcie Vincent (1989-92) down to third with her 1,585 markers. Futrell has 1,613 points over her four year career and is second behind Duquesne legend Korie Hlede (2,631).
Futrell Consistently Ranked Among NCAA's Best
Senior Candace Futrell has been ranked each week among NCAA Division I scoring leaders and stands 6th in Division I this week with a 21.8 ppg average. She has been as high as fifth this year and has led the Atlantic 10 in scoring all season. The All-America candidate is also 26th among NCAA leaders in three-point field goals made (2.6). She leads DU with 67 and is third in the Atlantic 10. Her total stands second on the Duquesne singleseason list and she is first in career three-pointers made with 176.
Futrell Tops in the Atlantic 10
Senior All-America candidate Candace Futrell tied the A-10's top scoring performance this season with a personal-best 36 points vs. Xavier. Her 14 field goals made in that game ranks first among A-10 leaders as well. Futrell leads DU and the Atlantic 10 with 21.8 ppg and she owns a 21.8 ppg average in Conference games. Her current scoring average ranks fifth on the Duquesne single-season list. Futrell has 479 career rebounds, 201 assists and 140 steals as a Duke. She is 6th among NCAA scoring leaders in the Feb. 23 statistical report. She grabbed her 400th career board vs. St. Bonaventure. She leads the A-10 with 15 games scoring 20 or more points and four of those have been for 30 or more. She has a team-high six double-doubles this year as well.
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 1,256. The quick and agile guard surpassed Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 24 points vs. La Salle Feb. 15.
Duquesne Career Points Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 2,631 1995-98 2 Candace Futrell 1,613 2001-present 3 Darcie Vincent 1,538 1989-92 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
The Dukes' Last Game
Duquesne could not miss from downtown on Sunday as they broke a single-game and Palumbo Center record for threepointers in a game, with 13. Senior guard Candace Futrell made five threepointers and Aiga Bautre hit four while leading the Dukes to their victory. The victory over George Washington was just the fifth in 47 games against them. Duquesne had not beaten the Colonials since Jan. 4, 1994 when they upset the then #23 ranked team 57-56 at the Palumbo Center. The win brings Duquesne's record up to 15-11 (10-5) while George Washington falls to a record of 19-6 (12-2). Futrell again led the way for the Dukes, scoring 28 points. The Atlantic 10 Player of the Week also grabbed 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year. Bautre had 14 points and freshman Loui Hall came off the bench to score 11 points. Senior point guard Shiri Sharon played all but the last minute of the game and contributed eight points while handing out 10 assists. This was the second time this season that Duquesne's all-time leader has notched double figures in assists. Anna Montanana led the effort for George Washington with her 19 points, but her game high seven turnovers of the teams 19 were some of the reasons that Duquesne was able to score 28 points off of George Washington turnovers. Cathy Joens chipped in with 14 points. An early lay up by Valerie Williams gave the Colonials a lead of 9-8 with 12:45 remaining in the first half. Duquesne then proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to give them an 18-9 lead. George Washington was held scoreless for 3:57. The Dukes would not give up the lead for the remainder of the game. Bautre was a key, hitting all of her three-pointers in the first half, including two during the first half run. George Washington came out strong in the second half. They went on an 11-3 run in the second half, capitalized by a jumper by Joens with 12:11 remaining in the ball game. After that made basket, the Dukes responded with a run of their own, scoring 11 unanswered points to put the game out of reach with a score of 63-44. The Colonials were at least 14 points behind for the rest of the game. The Dukes shot 56% (14-25) from the floor in the second half including an astounding 7-9 from three-point range. For the game they shot 45.8% (27-59) overall, but 61.9% (13-21) from beyond the arc. George Washington shot 42.1% (24-57) on the day
The Last Time They Met the Spiders
Duquesne saw an end to its four-game winning streak with an 82-61 Atlantic 10 loss at Richmond Jan. 18, 2004. Richmond and Duquesne entered the contest tied for first in the West Division of the A-10 with 4-1 league records. Candace Futrell, the A- 10 Co-Player of the Week, led the Dukes with 21 points while Loui Hall added 16 points off the bench for the Red & Blue. Maria Stankevich grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Richmond, which improved to 7-0 at the Robbins Center, was led by Kate Flavin with 24 points and 18 rebounds while Saona Chapman chipped in 20 points. It was an evenly played game to start the contest before the Dukes grabbed a 13-7 edge on a 7-0 run with 11:49 remaining. Richmond then out-scored the Dukes 25-6 over the next eight minutes to snag a 32-19 edge with 3:54 ticking. The host Spiders held a 42-26 lead at the half paced by Flavin's 18 points. Richmond held a 25-11 edge on the boards. The Dukes regrouped at the break and out-scored Richmond 10-2 to start the second frame paced by Loui Hall's six markers to get within a 36-44 reach at 17:07. The Spiders hit a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 53-38 at the 13:00 mark and held a 62-43 margin on a threepoint goal as 7:30 remained. The Spiders would never look back as they led 81-50 just over two minutes remaining. Richmond improved to 13-4 overall, 5-1 in league play and have been receiving votes in the Top 25 polls. The Spiders held a 43-25 advantage on the boards and out-shot the Red & Blue .492 (29-59) to .396 (21-53) for the game.
Sharon Hits 600th Career Assist
Senior Shiri Sharon became the Dukes' all-time assist leader Jan. 9 with five vs. Dayton and became the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists with eight vs. Rhode Island Feb. 6. Sharon stands fourth among A-10 leaders with a 5.18 assist per game average and hit a season-best 10 assists at GW, making her the sixth A-10 player to do so this year. She stood fourth on the DU career list after her junior campaign with 505. Last year, Sharon posted a DU and Atlantic 10 best 6.6 apg average, which 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. On the season, she had four games with double figure dishes. She is 34th in the Nation this week in assists per game.
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Shiri Sharon 643 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
10 ....... at George Washington 1/2910 ....... vs George Washington 2/228 ........ vs West Virginia 12/208 ........ vs Rhhode Island 2/68 ........ vs La Salle 2/157 ........ at Pitt 12/37 ........ at La Salle 1/66 ........ vs Siena 12/226 ........ at Saint Joseph's 1/46 ........ vs St. Bonaventure 1/166 ........ vs Massachusetts 2/86 ........ at Temple 2/126 ........ at Dayton 2/195 ........ vs Robert Morris 11/235 ........ at Toledo 11/255 ........ vs Dayton 1/9
