9/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 8, 2004
The 2005 Atlantic 10 season begins with a Jan. 3 match-up with Saint Joseph's, which advanced to the final eight of the 2004 WNIT tournament. Four other Atlantic 10 rivals advanced to post-season play in NCAA participants Temple and George Washington along with other WNIT squads Xavier and Richmond.
The season begins Nov. 19 as Duquesne travels to East Carolina for its first meeting with the Pirates before a homecoming of coaches Nov. 23 at Penn State, which reached the Elite Eight last year. Head Coach Dan Durkin will be reunited with Rene Portland and the Lady Lions program where he served as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator from 1986 to 1993. It marks the first time in 14-seasons the team will meet as they last faced-off Jan. 24,1991.
The match-up at No. 6 Penn State of the Big Ten as well as NCAA participant West Virginia, WNIT participant Western Kentucky and Pre-Season WNIT selection Bowling Green make the 11-game non-conference schedule a grueling one. In all, the Dukes will play 11 of their 27 regular-season games against post-season squads.
The home season begins Nov. 27 as Bowling Green, a 2004-05 Pre-Season WNIT selection, comes to the Palumbo Center.
Two local rivalries are on tap in the unofficial "City Championship" as the Dukes entertain the Pitt Panthers Dec. 7 and travel to Robert Morris Dec. 17. Duquesne has swept the championship each of the past four years. Following is a home contest with Howard Dec. 19 before the Holiday break.
Duquesne will also play Siena, Howard, Cornell and Ohio in non-conference action. A home game with Western Kentucky, which advanced to the final eight of the 2004 WNIT, concludes the non-conference schedule with a visit to the Palumbo Center Jan. 6.
After the A-10 opener with the Owls, the Red & Blue head to Ohio to face Xavier (17-13) followed by a home game with La Salle Jan. 13. Duquesne then takes to the road for three games over a nine-day span beginning at '04 WNIT participant Richmond (23-10) Jan. 16. The Spiders went the distance at the WNIT advancing to the final four before falling to eventual champion Creighton. Afterward, the Dukes head north for match-ups at UMass Jan. 21 and Rhode Island Jan. 23.
The month of February will put the Dukes to the test facing Xavier (WNIT), Temple (NCAA) and George Washington (NCAA) over a seven-day span from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10 at the Palumbo Center. Duquesne plays three of its final five games on the road and ends the regular season hosting Fordham Feb. 27.
Five of the 11 non-conference opponents posted at least 17 wins last season in Penn State (28-6), Bowling Green (21-10), Siena (17-11), West Virginia (21-11) and Western Kentucky (20-14).
The Atlantic 10 Tournament is slated for March 4-7 at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University.
