LORETTO, Pa. – It took overtime and 38 points from Laia Solé for the Duquesne women's basketball team to defeat Saint Francis (Pa.) last season at La Roche University. Today, it was a career-high 25 points from senior guard Amanda Kalin, which included a buzzer-beater as time expired, as the Dukes (1-1) topped the Red Flash (0-3) 69-67 on Wednesday night at DeGol Arena.
SFU tied the game at 67-67 after a layup from Karson Swogger with 18 ticks of the clock left. Duquesne would call a timeout after crossing half court to setup possession on its half of the court. Kalin drove to the hoop in the closing seconds, missing her first layup, before grabbing the offensive board and delivering the game-winning layup just before the horn blew.
Kalin's 25 points (11-21 FG) topped her previously best career output which occurred in the Atlantic 10 Championship First Round against Rhode Island last March. The Gibsonia, Pa. native added a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and a block in 39 minutes of action.
Freshman guard Tess Myers added 11 points in her second collegiate contest. She sunk 3-of-5 attempts from long range and added four boards on the glass.
Sophomore center Precious Johnson made 5-of-6 attempts from the floor for an even 10 points. She swatted four blocks, which matched her career-best performance against Rhode Island last February. The native of Sweden earned five rebounds.
FIRST QUARTER
- Duquesne got off to a fast start, with a 9-3 run. Kalin posted two layups during the first three minutes of play.
- The Dukes built up an eight-point lead at 16-8, but the advantage was whittled to two points at the end of quarter (22-20) after a 12-7 sprint from the Red Flash.
- Kalin shot 5-of-6 in the opening period, which resulted in 11 points.
SECOND QUARTER
- The two Western Pa. squads traded points in the second quarter, as SFU would head into halftime with a slim 37-36 advantage.
- Kalin added four points in the second frame for a total of 15 points at the half.
- The Dukes shot an even 50 percent (14-28 FG) through the second quarter.
THIRD QUARTER
- Duquesne posted one of its best quarters offensively to date in the third, outscoring the Red Flash 24-12 to build a double-digit lead at 60-49.
- Myers drilled all 3 of her 3-point attempts in the third frame, which helped spark the run.
FOURTH QUARTER
- After Johnson extended the Duquesne lead to 13 with a layup to open the scoring in the final quarter, the Red Flash would erase the lead with a 15-3 sprint to tie the contest up at 65-65.
- With 35 seconds left, Myers found Amaya Hamilton on a layup to give the Dukes back the lead on the scoreboard. Swogger, who led SFU with 15 points, responded with a layup of her own to tie the contest for the eighth and final time with 18 seconds remaining.
- After the Dukes' timeout, Kalin delivered with the offensive rebound put-back as time expired, as the Dukes escaped DeGol Arena with its first victory of the 2020-21 season.
NOTES: The victory extended Duquesne's winning streak over Saint Francis to 11, as the Dukes now lead the all-time series by a count of 29-6 … Duquesne is now 41-14 all-time against the Northeast Conference, with wins in 24 consecutive matchups.
UP NEXT: Duquesne will host St. Bonaventure in the first Atlantic 10 Basketball game of the 2020-21 season on Friday, Dec. 11.
