PITTSBURGH - After 30 days away from home, spanning four games, Duquesne's homecoming was spoiled by UCF 71-63 on Wednesday evening.
Julijana Vojinovic scored 18 points and
Libby Bazelak 12 for the Dukes (4-4), whose three game winning streak ended. The Knights (8-1) were led by Kay Kay Wright with 21 and Nyala Shuler who had a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
UCF forced three consecutive turnovers totaling seven empty possessions as they scored the first 13 points of the game. Vojinovic recorded the Dukes first field goal at 6:23, but the Knights would increase their lead to 15 on a Kayla Thigpen 3-pointer.
Amanda Kalin's 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining cut the deficit to eight points, but UCF would get back-to-back field goals from Wright and Jamesha Paul to close out the 1
st quarter leading 24-12.
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With UCF holding a 10 point lead at the 3:51 mark of the 2
nd quarter, the Dukes got back-to-back 3-pointers from
Paige Cannon and Vojinovic followed by four consecutive free throws – two from
Conor Richardson and a pair from Vojinovic to tie the score at 30-30. The Dukes held the Knights scoreless for a total of 2:10 during the run. UCF would regain the lead and take a 35-32 advantage into halftime.
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After a quick layup by Shuler opened the 3
rd quarter, Duquesne responded with a 12-3 run to take a 44-40 lead in which four different players scored including a pair of 3-pointers from
Chassidy Omogrosso. The Dukes would only get a pair of field goals and a foul shot from
Halle Bovell over the final 5:43 as UCF lead 54-49 at the end of the quarter.
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The Dukes cut the Knights' lead to two points twice at the beginning of the 4
th quarter – the later on Lass' jumper at 8:05 that made the score 56-54. However, UCF went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to wrap up the game. ÂÂÂ
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GAME NOTES
- Omogrosso passed Kris Sebastian into 9th place on the Dukes' all-time scoring list – she now has 1,379 career points
- Lass passed both Kelly Eberhardt and Gail Wilkins to move into 22nd place on the Dukes' all-time scoring list – she now has 1,084 career points
- Bazelak tied her career-high with eight rebounds (Fordham - 2/21/18)
- UCF had an RPI of 31 coming into the game, Duquesne 28
- The Dukes had season-highs eight 3-pointers and six blocks
- The Knights outrebounded the Dukes 44-35
- Points in the paint: UCF 32, DUQ 14
