Join us in remembering some of the best moments of the 2019-20 Duquesne women's basketball season.
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After falling in its first two games to begin the season, the Dukes reeled off three consecutive road wins over Manhattan, Iona and Lafayette. The Dukes had six days off of game competition to recuperate, after two strenuous road trips logged over 1,000 miles on a bus in an 11-day span.
The final game of five consecutive road contests would be a little closer of a trip. Instead of hopping on a bus for 5-plus hours, Duquesne would travel less than three miles. The City Game was up next for Duquesne, as the Dukes and Pitt Panthers would meet this season in Oakland.
Duquesne and Pitt have met every season since 1984. Since the first meeting against the Steel City foe in 1976, Pitt won each of the first 13 meetings. Since 1995, the series has been dominated by Duquesne. The Dukes have nearly doubled the number of wins as the Panthers, leading the series by a mark of 15-8.
Pitt earned a 66-58 win at the Palumbo Center during the 2018-19 edition of the rivalry, which snapped a four-year winning streak against the Panthers.
Revenge and its fourth-consecutive win of the season were on the minds of the Dukes entering the Saturday afternoon tip on November 23.
Neither team could gain much separation on the scoreboard in the first quarter. As the seconds dwindled,
Nina Aho found
Libby Bazelak for a floater as time expired in the first quarter to give Duquesne a slim lead over its rival.
After the first quarter intermission, Duquesne began the second quarter on a 12-4 run, and would take a 40-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Amaya Hamilton posted 14 of her 17 points in the first half to lead the Dukes offensively.
Duquesne refused to letup from the gas pedal, extending its advantage on the scoreboard to 20-points during the third quarter and did not look back.
Pitt fought back to make it a 12-point game in the third quarter, but that's as close as it would come to making a comeback. The Dukes posted assists on 13-of-16 field goals in the second half to down Pitt, 81-62.
The 19-point win was the largest margin of victory in the series for Duquesne in the City Game. The Dukes have defeated its Power-5 rival for the ninth time in 11 seasons.
Amaya Hamilton led the Dukes with 17 points, her second 17-point outburst in three games on the season. Bazelak and Amanda Kalin each posted 13 points, while Nina Aho wrapped up the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Aho also distributed seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds in the effort. Paige Cannon led the way off the glass with nine rebounds
Duquesne held Pitt to shoot 37.9 percent from the field and just 16.7 percent from long range.
After the strenuous road trip to begin the season, the City Game marked the first of a seven games where give games were to be held in the Pittsburgh.
The Dukes seek its fifth consecutive victory, while playing in its seventh different gym in seven games when the Dukes host Central Connecticut State at Oakland Catholic High School in the next @DuqWBB Rewind.
