Jan. 15, 2006

Box Score

Duquesne used a strong surge in the final minutes of the second frame, but it wasn't enough as the Dukes (6-10, 1-4) fell 59-54 at Saint Louis (4-12, 1-4) in an Atlantic 10 contest Sunday afternoon. Senior Nicole Sinclair (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) and junior Carmen Bruce (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) led the Dukes' offense with 11 points each while junior Loui Hall (Masontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) chipped in 10. Sinclair led the rebounding efforts with eight boards while freshman Kristi Little (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) snagged a game-best three steals. Twenty-four of the Dukes' points come via bench players.

Saint Louis was led by Tyler McIlwraith with 17 points and six rebounds.

The Dukes trailed 16-32 at the half due to poor shooting and Saint Louis converting 13 points off of 11 Duquesne turnovers. Down 9-15 with 9:34 remaining, the Dukes' Little stole the ball from Saint Louis and Brittany Warren hit a lay-up for a 12-15 reach at 8:39. Leading 20-14 already, SLU hit a 10-0 run for a 30-14 edge before Gosia Flaga hit two free throws at 2:12 to end a four minute scoring drought for the Red & Blue, but it would end their point production for the period. The Dukes hit just 6-25 from the field for a dismal 24-percent accuracy, which included a 0-7 effort from long range. Their 16 points are a first half season-low. The Billikens hit 13-26 from the field for a 50-percent accuracy and were 4-9 from the three. Although Saint Louis committed 10 turnovers, DU could only muster five points off of turnovers. No Duquesne player had more than four first half points. Rebounds were equal at 17 each.

The host Billikens held a 43-29 lead with 14:35 ticking in the second frame and would increase that edge to a 51-33 margin at the 9:10 mark before Duquesne executed a strong come-back using a 17-4 run led by Bruce's seven points and Maria Stankevich's five markers to get within a 50-55 reach as 2:52 remained. Sinclair's lay-up at :59 brought the game to a 54-57 Duquesne reach, but Saint Louis would hold on to take the 59-54 final. Duquesne hit a solid 16-26 (.615) from the field in the second frame.

Saint Louis shot 48-percent (23-48) from the field while the Dukes shot 43-percent (22-51). The Dukes held a 32-29 rebounding edge.

The Dukes, which are 2-7 on the road, are back in action this Friday as they host La Salle in a 7:05 pm Atlantic 10 tip-off at the Palumbo Center.