Jan. 29, 2006
Box Score
Senior Nicole Sinclair (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) posted her first double-double of the season with a career-best 18 points and a game-best 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Xavier Musketeers snagged a 69-61 Atlantic 10 victory Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Aiga Bautre (Riga, Latvia) and Brittany Warren (Finleyville, Pa./Ringgold) each added 12 points in the loss. Xavier was led by Suntana Granderson with 19 points and Tara Boothe with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Xavier opened the game taking a 10-5 lead at the 16:10 mark, but went 5:08 without scoring as the Dukes slowly chipped away at the lead to get within a 9-10 reach on a Carmen Bruce lay-up. Brittany Warren gave the Red & Blue their first lead of the game, 13-12, and Jade Singleton put DU ahead 15-14 on a jumper at 8:59. Xavier held an 18-15 lead after a three and free throw at 6:52. Sinclair's three-point play at 4:31 gave DU a 20-18 lead, but a Xavier three pointer gave the visitor a 21-20 advantage with 2:49 ticking. Duquesne would close out the frame on a 5-2 run for a 25-23 margin at the break, which included a 1-2 effort from the line by Maria Stankevich who was fouled in the paint just as time was about to expire. DU shot .357 (10-28) from the field while Xavier hit .269 (7-26). Rebounds and turnovers were tied with 19 and eight respectively.
The Musketeers opened the second frame solid on an 18-0 run as the Dukes went 0-6 from the field and committed three turnovers. Kristi Little ended the Dukes' 5:43 scoring drought with a jumper at 14:17 for a 27-41 deficit. An 11-2 Duquesne run brought the Dukes to within a 36-43 reach at the 12:00 mark, but Xavier used a 13- 6 run to up its lead to 56-42 as 6:53 showed. Sinclair's put-back at 4:16 cut the lead to 58-50 for Xavier, which upped its lead to 61-50 on its ninth three of the game at 3:53. Sinclair's three-point play cut the lead to eight points again, 53-61, at 3:41. Warren hit the first of two free throws at 1:45 and Sinclair grabbed the offensive board on the miss and hit the bucket at 1:40 for a 56-63 reach, and Little's NBA three got the Dukes to within a 59-64 reach at :37, but the Dukes would fall 61-69.
Xavier (14-6, 5-4) held a 39-31 rebounding advantage and out-shot the Dukes .420 (21-50) to .397 (23-58) for the game. The Dukes (8-12, 3-6) recorded nine steals to Xavier's four and converted 17 points off of 15 Musketeer turnovers. DU had 13 turnovers in the game, good for 11 Xavier points.
Duquesne was without Co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Loui Hall, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Dukes are back in action this Friday for a noon Atlantic 10 tip-off at St. Bonaventure.
