PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team opens its 46th season in style in its first-ever game at PPG Paints Arena, when the Dukes battle Kent State on Tuesday night. The contest will be broadcasted on ESPN+, with Tim Benz and Ellis Cannon on the call. The game is slated to start 30 minutes after the Duquesne men's basketball game versus Princeton ends.  

THE SERIES: The Dukes have won four consecutive matchups against Kent State and hold a 5-2 series lead against the Golden Flashes. The Dukes are a perfect 3-0 when playing in Pittsburgh against Kent State, picking wins in 2000 (70-62), 2011 in the WNIT (64-56) and in 2014 (86-60).
 
ROAD WARRIORS: With the Palumbo Center being renovated to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the Dukes will play its 13-home game schedule at five different venues in La Roche University (9 games), PPG Paints Arena (2 games), Oakland Catholic High School and Robert Morris University. The Dukes will play five of its 13-game non-conference schedule on the road.

NEW LOOK DUKES: Duquesne graduated its top-three scorers in Chassidy Omogrosso (3rd in program-history in scoring [1,703 career pts.], all-time 3-point leader [279]), Kadri-Ann Lass (11th all-time in points [1,358 career pts.], Duquesne's all-time leading shot blocker [282 career blocks, over 100 more than second-place]) and Julijana Vojinovic (18th all-time in points [1,247 pts.])
 
OUT THE GATE: The Dukes are 24-22 in season openers all-time and look to end a three-game losing streak in the first game of the season. The Dukes last earned a season-opening win against Saint Peters' on Nov. 13 2015, when Duquesne routed the Peacocks by a score of 63-38. The Dukes' last home win in a season opener came against Liberty on Nov. 9, 2012.
 
BALLIN' BAZELAK: The Dukes return 41.3% of its offense, led by junior Libby Bazelak, who averaged 7.4 points per game a season ago. She led the A-10's top team in assists with 94 total (2.9 per game). She ranked second on the 2018-19 squad in rebounds per game (5.5) and is the leading returner in that category. Bazelak led the team and ranked second in the A-10 in total steals (61), and was 4th in the conference in steals per game (1.91). She posted double-doubles against Temple and GW, and posted a career-high 15 points against Rhode Island.
 
READY THE CANNON: Redshirt Senior Paige Cannon was Duquesne's most efficient scorer a season ago posting a 47.3% field goal percentage. Even better, when Cannon shot from inside the arc, she connected on 53.2% of her 2-point field goals. Not a slouch on the boards, Cannon led the team with 49 offensive rebounds a year ago, and is the second leading returning rebounder in 2019-20. She is the most experienced player on the team, appearing in 98 games over the past four seasons while making 54 starts.
 
WELCOME BACK, NINA: Redshirt junior Nina Aho returns from injury, after appearing in just five games a season ago and missing the entire 2017-18 season with an injury. In 2016-17, Aho made 15 starts in 34 games, averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 boards per game. She posted a career-high 16 points against Iona in 2016.
 
A MAINE STAY: Redshirt junior Laia Sole, a transfer from Maine, played in her first season in a Dukes' uniform last year after sitting out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Sole was the America East Sixth Woman of the year in her lone year in Orono in 2016-17, after averaging 9.4 points per game, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point land. Last season at Duquesne, Sole appeared in 30 games, averaging 4.6 points per contest, 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. She posted a double-double against Saint Louis (10pts/10 reb.) while registering a season-high 15 points against Toledo.

NEW FACES: Four New Dukes join the Duquesne as freshmen for the 2019-20, as Amaya Hamilton, Precious Johnson, Bernada Rreshpja and Snezhana Serafimoska join the squad.

Burt on Hamilton:   Amaya is a winner. She will play multiple positions for Duquesne. Her ability to shoot the 3-pointer, rebound well on both ends of the floor and defend multiple positions will allow Amaya a strong case to play early in her career at Duquesne.

Burt on Johnson:  Precious is a center with very good size, strength and the ability to rebound outside of her space. We expect her to make an immediate impact on the glass and the defensive end. Precious has good range to the short corner/high post area and drives the ball well for a center.

Burt on Rreshpja: Bernada is a strong, athletic off guard who is a very good shooter beyond the 3-point line. She is crafty with the ball and will be able to get to the rim also. We are very excited about her offensive game and what she brings to the team.

Burt on Serafimoska:  Snezhe has guard-like skills but will be a developmental redshirt for us in her first year as she will need to add size and strength to her frame. Her hook shot in the post and ability to shoot the 3-pt shot off the pick and pop at 6-4 will be a difficult match up for opponents. With great effort, Snezhe's upside is unlimited.
 
STRENTH IN JUNIORS: While the Dukes appear young with just Cannon and Angela Staffileno scheduled to graduate after the season, Duquesne has five-redshirt juniors (Aho, Bovell, Anie-Pier Samson, Sole and Kiersten Elliott) and two true-juniors in Bazelak and Kalin.

PASS THE ROCK: In 2018-19, Duquesne led the A-10 in total assists (457, 94th nationally) and assists per game (14.3, 97th nationally), total blocks (154, 31st nationally), blocks per game (4.8, 26th nationally and free-throw percentage (74.0, 53rd nationally).
 
PARTY ON FIFTH AVE: The season opener will be the first of two games played at the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins for Duquesne. The Dukes make their return to Fifth Ave on Feb. 19 against Rhode Island.