Nov. 27, 2009

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Vanessa Abel made a pair of foul shots with 1:10 remaining in overtime to give the Duquesne women's basketball team a 72-71 lead over Davidson and foul shots by Alex Gensler and Keri Pryor closed out the scoring giving the Dukes a 74-71 victory in the first day of the UNC Wilmington Hampton Inn Invitational on Friday afternoon.

Gensler led Duquesne (5-1) with a game-high 20 points. Samantha Pollino scored 15 before fouling out. Rachel Frederick, Eve Pyle and Jocelyn Floyd led the Dukes with six rebounds each.

Ashley Lax scored 19 points for the Wildcats (0-5).

Both teams started out slow in the first half with the Dukes making two of their first six attempts and scoring only five points through the first six minutes.

The half went back-and-forth with three ties and six lead changes. A Frederick jumper at the 6:21 mark gave Duquesne a 23-22 lead that started a 14-4 run that ended the half with the Dukes ahead 35-26.

Duquesne continued their momentum through the first 10 minutes of the second half outscoring the Wildcats 23-12 as a Gensler jumper gave the Dukes their largest lead of the game, 20 points at 58-38.

The Dukes would miss the next seven shot from the floor and made only a pair of foul shots over the next seven minutes until Frederick's jumper made the score 62-51 with 3:46 left.

Davidson's defense would step up and hold Duquesne scoreless the rest of the way, as the Wildcats scored the next 11 points, including a pair of Lax foul shots with eight seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 62-62.

Gensler came out on fire in the overtime period, quickly scoring the Dukes' first five points in the first 80 seconds.

Davidson was trailing by two points until a foul by Diana Voynova on Jasmine Calin's jumper set up a three-point play. Calin converted and the Wildcats had their first lead of the game since the first half.

On the ensuing possession, Abel was fouled and converted both free throws, which put Duquesne up for good at the 1:10 mark. The next play, the Dukes got a steal from Pryor whose layup rolled off the rim. Gensler grabbed the loose ball and was fouled putting up a shot. She miss the first shot and made the second giving the Dukes a two-point lead at 73-71.

Voynova blocked a Kristen Johnsen shot with 15 seconds remaining and Pryor was fouled two seconds later. She made the first shot, to give DU a three-point lead. The second shot fell short and was rebounded by Davidson's Sophie Aleksandravicius. Barbara Sitton's 3-pointer at the buzzer missed giving Duquesne the 74-71 victory.

The Dukes will face UNC Wilmington tomorrow afternoon in the tournament championship game. Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m.

Duquesne vs. Davidson