PITTSBURGH - Duquesne battled back from a seven-goal deficit, taking perennial Atlantic 10 power Massachusetts to overtime before the visiting Minutewomen claimed a 16-15 victory in the bonus period in a thrilling conference showdown on Friday night under the lights at Arthur J. Rooney Field. The Dukes fell to 6-5 overall and 1-4 in A-10 action while UMass, which has won 10 of the last 11 A-10 titles, improved to 10-3 on the season and 5-0 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Minutewomen took a 9-2 lead, Duquesne answered with nine straight goals, stealing the momentum with three scores from Rilee Bradshaw and a pair from Carlee Braverman to give the Dukes an 11-9 lead just under five minutes into the second half.
• DU held UMass scoreless for nearly 16 minutes of game action before the Minutewomen finally got on the board again with 21:43 showing on the second half clock.
• A Megan Buettner goal pushed the Dukes' lead back to two at 12-10.
• UMass responded with two straight scores, knotting the contest at 12-12 with 10:46 remaining in the second frame.
• Duquesne netted two of the next three goals as Michaela Connolly netted a goal to put the Dukes ahead 14-13 just over six minutes to play.
• The Minutewomen countered with two goals in a row to gain a 15-14 advantage.
• With just 52 ticks remaining in the second half, Maddie Hart found Rilee Bradshaw for her sixth goal of the night to knot it up at 15-15.
• UMass won the ensuing draw and had a shot on goal, but Maddy Curtis came up with her 11th save of the game to send it to overtime.
• The Dukes had a pair of chances in the bonus frame, but a save by UMass goalie Lauren Hiller and a DU turnover gave the Minutewomen possession.
• Following a timeout, UMass' Hannah Palau scored the game-winner off the assist by Stephanie Croke.

KEY STATS

• Rilee Bradshaw's game-high six goals also represented a career high.
• Michaela Connolly, Megan Buettner and Carlee Braverman had two goals each.
• Maddie Hart and Courtney Battles recorded two assists apiece for Duquesne. Hart added five draw controls.
• Sarah Kollhoff led the Dukes with four caused turnovers to go with three draw controls.
• Maddy Curtis finished with 11 saves, eight of which came in the first half. She also registered a team-high five ground balls.
• The Dukes outshot the Minutewomen 36-32, including 15-10 on goal in the second half and overtime.
• Duquesne had just five turnovers after the first half compared to UMass' 13.
• Croke and and Palau had four goals apiece to pace UMass.

NEXT UP
Duquesne hosts George Mason on Sunday, April 7 at Rooney Field at noon. The Patriots are 4-1 in A-10 play following an 11-7 win over Davidson on Friday night.