PITTSBURGH – After four consecutive road wins, including a dominant 81-62 victory over rival Pitt in the City Game on Sunday, the Duquesne women's basketball team will battle Central Connecticut State on Tuesday night in a home game at Oakland Catholic High School.
HOW TO FOLLOW: There will be no stream available for Tuesday's matchup with the Blue Devils, but fans can follow live stats on goduquesne.com. Admission is free for all of the remaining Duquesne women's basketball games for the 2019-20 season except for a doubleheader on February 19 at PPG Paints Arena.
THE SERIES: Duquesne and Central Connecticut State have met just once prior to Tuesday's meeting, as the Dukes downed the Blue Devils, 83-58 at the Palumbo Center on Dec. 2, 2017. Julijana Vojinovic shot 9-of-12 from the floor and connected on five of her six attempts from 3-point land to lead the team with 25 points. She also posted nine rebounds, distributed four assists and turned the ball over just once in 26 minutes of action. The Dukes made 54.2 (13-24) percent of its shots from long distance in the winning effort.
LAST TIME OUT: The Dukes will play its second consecutive game in Oakland, as the Dukes put together a balanced team performance in the 81-62 City Game victory over Pitt. In the 38th annual City Game, Duquesne picked up its ninth win in 11 seasons over rival Pitt, 81-62, on Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center. The 19-point margin of victory for the Dukes is largest for a Duquesne victory in City Game series history. The Dukes (4-2) outscored Pitt (2-3) in all four quarters, led for 36:55 minutes of game time and held a 31-4 advantage in bench points to pull off the a dominant effort over the local Atlantic Coast Conference foe. Freshman Amaya Hamilton matched her season-best with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Duquesne in points. Amanda Kalin knocked down 7-of-11 attempts from the field for 16 points. Libby Bazelak contributed 13 points, sinking half of her six attempts from 3-point land. In her first game back after suffering a concussion, Nina Aho posted near triple double numbers with 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Paige Cannon led the way off the glass with nine boards for the Dukes.
STAT CHECK: Duquesne leads the A-10 in free throw attempts (137, ranks 19th nationally), free throws made (92, ranks 21st nationally) and scoring offense (75.5 ppg, 62nd nationally). The Dukes also rank in the top-100 in the country in assists (36th, 90 assists), assists per game (98th, 15.0 apg), blocked shots (98th, 20), rebounds (66th, 231 total rebounds), 3-point field goals attempted (35th, 136 3PT attempted), 3-point field goals made (30th, 47 3PT made), 3-point field goal attempts per game (57th, 7.8 3PT per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (90th, 34.6 percent). Amanda Kalin's play has helped the Dukes to the fast start this season, as the junior ranks second in the conference with a 2.42 assist to turnover ratio, first in assists (29), second in assists per game (4.8), fifth in total points (83), first in free throws made (41) and attempted (29). Libby Bazelak is also among the conference's leaders in assists (6th, 20), total points (2nd, 87), steals (2nd, 12), steals per game (5th, 2.00), 3-point field goals attempted (10th), 3-point field goals made (1st, 17), 3-point field goals per game (2nd, 2.83) amd first in 3-point field goal percentage.
BACK IN THE 'BURGH: Since falling to Temple on Nov. 8, the Dukes have earned four consecutive wins on the road at Manhattan, Iona and Lafayette and Pitt. The Dukes are averaging 76.5 points per game in that span. The Dukes will close out non-conference play with four of its final seven games in non-conference play taking place in the Steel City.
SCOUTING CCSU: The Blue Devils enter Tuesday's contest with an 0-4 record, falling to Buffalo, Pitt, Brown and Lehigh to begin the season. The Blue Devils hung tough with Pitt, leading the Panthers by 17-points at halftime. Pitt outscored CCSU 49-24 in the second half to squeak out an 81-73 win at the Petersen Events Center. Three of the four CCSU losses have come by less than 10 points or less. The Blue Devils excel from the charity stripe and from beyond the arc, ranking 42nd nationally in free throw percentage (75.8) and 62nd of 348 teams in 3-pointers per game (7.8).
