PITTSBURGH – Trailing 51-46 early on in the fourth quarter, the Duquesne women's basketball team responded with an 18-2 scoring run which propelled the Dukes to a 71-63 victory over St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener on Friday afternoon at La Roche University.
The Dukes (2-1, 1-0) sunk 8 of its 13 attempts from the floor during the final quarter, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range. Graduate student Kiersten Elliott supplied eight of her career and game-high 15 points during the fourth frame. The Dukes made the most of the Bonnies' (0-1, 0-1) mistakes with 32 points off turnovers.
Elliott's career-day came on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. The guard, who attended Vincentian Academy – less than two miles away from La Roche – added four rebounds. She topped previous career-best output of 13 points (5-of-5 3PT) came against George Mason on Jan. 22, 2020 at La Roche.
Laia Solé (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Precious Johnson (9 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks) neared double-doubles, while Amanda Kalin added 11 points and five assists for the Dukes. Amaya Hamilton (9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Megan McConnell (9 points, six assists) also stuffed the stat sheet for the Dukes.
In her St. Bonaventure debut, redshirt-junior transfer Tori Harris paced the Bonnies with 15 points and seven rebounds.
FIRST QUARTER
- Neither team led by more than four points in the opening quarter, as the Dukes and Bonnies traded points.
- Solé led the Dukes in the opening frame with five points and four rebounds.
- The Bonnies led 16-13 after 10 minutes, shooting 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from the floor, compared to Duquesne's mark of 26.3 (5-of-19).
- Solé and Harris led their respective teams with seven points after 20 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
- The Bonnies built a team-high six-point lead at 25-19 after a quick 7-0 sprint.
- Duquesne countered with a 5-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to just one at 25-24 after a triple from McConnell and a layup from Solé.
- Ultimately, SBU would take a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
THIRD QUARTER
- After SBU opened the second-half scoring with a layup, the Dukes responded with an 8-0 surge, featuring a layup and first career 3-pointer from Johnson along with a Hamilton jumper. Duquesne would take a 36-33 lead.
- The Bonnies would build a four-point lead at 40-36, as the teams would trade points the rest of the quarter, with SBU clinging to a 47-46 advantage.
- The Dukes shot a very efficient 7-of-9 in the third, compared to just 4-of-14 from the visitors. Duquesne was plagued by the turnover bug with eight of its 13 turnovers in the frame.
- Kalin led the way with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in the quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
- After SBU scored the first four points of the final frame, Duquesne went on a game-altering 18-2 spree which included 15 unanswered points. The Dukes built a game-high 11 point lead at 64-53 and would not see its advantage slip to below six points the rest of the way.
- Elliott's eight and Solé's six points led the way, as Duquesne outscored St. Bonaventure 25-16 in the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Home teams at the Kerr Fitness Center since the beginning of the 2019-20 are now 35-3 ... The Dukes have now won eight consecutive games against its Atlantic 10 regional rival and now own a 42-20 lead in the all-time series.
UP NEXT: The Dukes are idle until Dec. 18, when Duquesne travels to Toledo for a Friday night tilt at 7:00 p.m. The Dukes are currently scheduled to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Dec. 21 against Kent State.
