PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's basketball team seeks to avenge a loss and to improve its chances of hosting an Atlantic 10 First Round game, when the Dukes (17-9, 7-6) host the George Washington Colonials (11-15, 5-8) on Saturday evening at La Roche University. The opening tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Kerr Fitness Center.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Admission is free for all Duquesne women's basketball regular season games at La Roche this season.
- The first 250 fans will receive a free pink Duke Out Cancer T-shirt.
- The matchup between the Dukes and Colonials will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
- Live Stats are available on goduquesne.com.
- Follow @DuqWBB on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
THE SERIES
- Overall GW leads the series 54-15.
- The Dukes and Colonials will meet for the 70th time on Saturday night, DU's most of any opponent.
- A victory would mark the first over GW in Pittsburgh since 2012.
- On Jan. 8, GW defeated Duquesne 65-60 in an Education Game (11:00 a.m. tip) at the Charles E Smith Center. The Dukes shot the lights out in the first half, but the Colonials outscored the Dukes 12-4 in the fourth quarter to earn a 65-60. Amanda Kalin led the Dukes with 16 points, while Libby Bazelak added 10 points.
LAST TIME OUT
- Trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Duquesne women's basketball team outscored Rhode Island 41-22 in the second half to get back in the win column by a score of 72-62 on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
- The victory marked the 150th win in head coach Dan Burt's career.
- Libby Bazelak posted her sixth career double-double and her fifth of the season, registering 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Kettering, Ohio native also distributed six assists and earned two steals on the night in a complete 40 minutes of action on the floor.
- Paige Cannon reached double-figures in scoring for the fourth time in five games, sinking 5-of-9 shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point land. She grabbed five caroms on the night.
- In just 12 minutes of action, freshman Precious Johnson gave the Dukes a much needed spark, recording all 12 of her points in the second half on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and 2of-2 from the stripe. Overall, Johnson cleaned the glass with six rebounds and denied four Rams shots.
- Classmate Amaya Hamilton added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, as the freshmen duo sparked the comeback win with scoring with a combined 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench.
STAT CHECK
- Libby Bazelak, one of the country's most efficient long range shooters, ranks fourth nationally with a 46.9 3-point field goal percentage. She leads all juniors in NCAA Division I in the category.
- The charity-stripe has been a major strength over the past three games for the Dukes, combining to shoot 50-61 (82%) against Richmond (15-18), Davidson (21-26) and Rhode Island (14-17).
- The Dukes offense continues to be the best in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 69.5 points per game.
- Duquesne's 41.9 field goal percentage and 35.1 clip from 3-point land is best in the A-10.The Dukes also lead the league in assists, distributing 15.46 dimes per contest.
- Over its last nine games, Duquesne has buckled down defensively, allowing just 59 points per game in the span. The Dukes have forced opponents to shoot 37.6 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from 3-point range since Jan. 18. Duquesne has went 6-3 in those games, outscoring the opponents by an average margin of 6.9 points per game. In its last three losses, the Dukes have lost by a combined nine points.
- Despite not having an on-campus arena this season, the Dukes are now 9-2 at 'home' sites which include La Roche University (7-1), PPG Paints Arena (1-1) and Oakland Catholic High School (1-0). The Dukes have outscored its opponents by an average margin of 12.1 points per game at home. After Saturday's game, Duquesne hosts Fordham in its final home game of the season at Robert Morris.
- In eight games at La Roche, three different Dukes have shot above 50 percent from the field, including Johnson (60 percent), Bazelak (57.3 percent, 57.1 percent 3PT), Kalin (55.4 percent). Overall the Dukes have made 46.4 percent of its field goal attempts at La Roche, including over 40 percent from 3-point land (40.5 percent). The Dukes have outscored the opposition by an average of 10.5 points.
- Among all home tenants at La Roche's Kerr Fitness Center this season, Duquesne women's basketball (7-1), Duquesne men's basketball (3-0), La Roche women's basketball (9-1) and La Roche men's basketball (9-0) have combined for a 28-2 record at home. Only UMass women's basketball and Carnegie Mellon women's basketball (vs. La Roche) have escaped the Kerr Fitness Center with wins.
- In the Dukes' nine losses this season, six have come by five points or less. Only Temple, Oklahoma State and Dayton have defeated the Dukes by more than five points this season, which all occurred in road games.
SCOUTING GW
- The Colonials challenged first-place Dayton in its latest game, leading the undefeated in-conference Flyers by a score of 36-31 after three quarters, but Dayton outscored GW, 19-8 in the final period to earn a 50-44 win.
- Mayowa Taiwo (18 pts), Sydney Zambrotta (16 pts) Alexandra Maund (14 pts) combined for 48 of GW's 65 points in the first meeting against the Dukes on Jan. 8.
- The Colonials are 5-8 in A-10 games, which tied with La Salle for 10th place in the standings.
- Among A-10 teams, GW has recorded the fewest fouls this season (27th fewest in the country).
