WASHINGTON – Despite a hot start offensively, the Duquesne women's basketball team fell to George Washington, 65-60, on Wednesday afternoon at the Charles E. Smith Center. The Dukes fall to 10-5, 0-2 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Colonials improve to 7-8 and 1-1 in conference.
Duquesne made 61.5 percent of its shots from the field in the first half, but struggled to have shots fall as the game progressed, connecting on 2-of-17 field goals in the fourth quarter. The Colonials, who shot 3-of-14 in the fourth quarter, converted a 3-pointer and made 5-of-7 shots from the stripe. As a result, George Washington ended the game on a 15-4 run to earn its first A-10 victory of the season.
Amanda Kalin led the squad with 16 points, connecting on half of her 10 field goal attempts, including two from long distance. She made 4-of-6 tries from the free throw line and contributed six rebounds.
Libby Bazelak also reached double-figures, posting 10 points, while filling the stat sheet with seven rebounds and six assists.
Paige Cannon grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
Both team's shot well out of the gate, as Duquesne and George Washington traded buckets for the first five minutes. With the score 16-12 in favor of the Dukes with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter, Duquesne increased its lead to eight. GW fought back with a quick 5-0 run, but a Bazelak tripe extended the Dukes' advantage to six. GW countered with a trey of its own, but a layup by Bazelak and a buzzer beating 3-pointer from Amaya Hamilton gave the Dukes an eight-point lead at 28-20 after 10 minutes. Nine of Kalin's 16 points and eight of Bazelak's 10 points came in the opening quarter.
Duquesne opened the second quarter scoring with a Cannon 3-pointer on its first possession, increasing its advantage to a game-high 11 points at 31-20. GW clawed back to within five at 31-26 and 33-28, but Staffileno and Hamilton knocked down jumpers to extend the Duquesne advantage back to eight at 38-30. The Colonials would trim the deficit to four before heading to the locker room, as the Dukes took a 42-38 lead at the half.
It was Duquesne that took control to begin the second half, as the red and blue increased its lead to 11 at 53-42 after an 11-4 surge by the Dukes. Duquesne's offense went silent for the next four minutes, as a Kalin 3-pointer ended a GW run. The Colonials countered with a 3-pointer of their own, as the game went to the fourth quarter with Duquesne clinging to a 56-53 lead
Neither team could add points to the scoreboard for 4:23 of game clock, until GW knocked down a hoop and a harm, tying the contest at 56-56. Overall, Duquesne was held off the scoreboard for 10:13 of game time, as GW slowly grabbed a five-point lead at 61-56 with 1:48 to go. Nina Aho broke the scorleess streak with a jumper to make it a one-possession game with 1:29 remaining. The Colonials increased their advantage to four after a pair of free throws with 24 seconds remaining. Kalin sunk a clutch driving layup to cut the deficit to just two with 19 ticks left on the clock.
George Washington went 1-for-2 from the line on the next possession, as Duquesne took possession in its offensive zone after a timeout with 18 seconds left down three points. A heave from 3-point land with just a few seconds remaining went wide, as GW grabbed the rebound and made two free throws to earn the win.
The Dukes return home on Saturday, when Duquesne battles La Salle at La Roche University. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. in the North Hills of Pittsburgh.
