PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in the 2019-20 season this weekend, when the Dukes travel to Temple and Manhattan. The Dukes (0-1) open the road slate against the Owls (1-0) in the City of Brotherly Love on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and head to the Empire State to face the Jaspers for Sunday clash at 2:00 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH: The Duquesne-Temple matchup will be live streamed on OwlsSports.com while the Duquesne-Manhattan contest on Sunday will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Live stats are also available for both games.

THE SERIES: The Dukes and Owls, former A-10 rivals, battle for the second consecutive season in nonconference play after facing each other every season from 1983 to 2013. Temple leads the all-time series by a 31-12 mark, but the Dukes earned a 54-53 victory at the Palumbo Center last season. Libby Bazelak's free throw with 6.9 seconds was the game-winner.

Sunday's contest with Manhattan marks the first time the schools have met. The Dukes have posted a 17-3 record all-time against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which includes nine consecutive victories. The Dukes' last loss against a MAAC foe came at the hands of Siena on 11/30/2004 on the road against Siena (62-58).  

LAST TIME OUT: Junior guard Libby Bazelak sunk two free throws with less than 15 seconds remaining to tie the score at 75-75, but Kent State's Megan Carter connected on a floater as time expired to lift the Golden Flashes (1-0) past the Dukes (0-1), 77-75, in the season opener on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. Four Dukes registered double-figures in points, as Laia Solé (7-10 FG) and Amanda Kalin (5-6 FT) led Duquesne with 14 points each. Bazelak poured in 13 points after converting the late free throw attempts and connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field. Nina Aho also reached double digits in scoring, finishing with 12 points against the Golden Flashes. In her first collegiate game, Amaya Hamilton brought down a game-high 10 rebounds, with five coming on the offensive end and five defensively. Solé grabbed seven caroms, which marked just three away from a double-double performance.

THE GOOD: Despite graduating over 4,300+ career points, the Dukes offense looked strong in its season opener, as the Dukes shot 47.5 percent from the floor. The offense found its stride early, shooting 58.82 percent in the first quarter, 42.11 percent in the second quarter and 53.85 percent in the third, but were limited to 30 percent in the fourth quarter against Kent State. The Dukes owned the boards, using its size to lead the category 44-30. 40 of Duquesne's 75 points came in the paint.

SCOUTING TEMPLE: The Owls earned a 77-59 victory in its season opener over Fairfield at McGonigle Hall.  Three Owls reached double-figures, led by Ashley Jones (21 pts) and Marissa Mackins (20 pts). Mia Davis cleaned the boards with 11 boards and added 18 points for the double-double. Temple was predicted to finish sixth of 12 teams in the American Athletic Conference's preseason poll.

SCOUTING MANHATTAN: The Jaspers open the 2019-20 season at Stony Brook on Friday night. The Jaspers were picked to finish sixth in the MAAC's preseason poll, as guard Gabby Cajou earned preseason All-MAAC second team honors. Manhattan posted a 12-19 record a season agoearning a 62-41 win against Saint Peter's in the first round of the MAAC Tournament, before Marist ended the Jaspers' season in the quarterfinals with a 65-51 loss.