PITTSBURGH – Freshman guard Tess Myers' corner 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds remaining forced an overtime period, but Duquesne was outscored by VCU 12-7 in overtime, as the Dukes (2-5, 1-2) fell to the Rams (4-5, 2-0), 68-63, on Friday night at La Roche University's Kerr Fitness Center.

The underclassmen shined in the loss, led by Myers, who registered her first career 20-point performance. She shot 6-of-11 from long range, which tied a Duquesne freshman record of six 3-pointers. The record was set by Heather Massengale on Feb. 10 1994 against Temple. The Lower Burrell native added four rebounds, four assists and a steal to her stat sheet in the impressive 32-minute performance off the bench.

Amaya Hamilton posted her best performance on her young sophomore season, which featured the first double-double of her career of 12 points and 10 rebounds.  She made 5-of-10 shots from the field, and distributed four assists.

Fellow sophomore Precious Johnson reached double-figures in scoring for the second time this season with 10 points, while also grabbing six rebounds off the glass. First year guard Megan McConnell added nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

Kiersten Elliott supplied nine points, all of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime on three triples. Laia Sole cleaned the glass with five rebounds and contributed four assists.

The shorthanded Dukes, who were once again without A-10 Preseason All-Conference First Team selection Libby Bazelak and leading scorer Amanda Kalin, due to injury. Duquesne battled to the end with the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll. Neither team led by more than six points at any point, as the overtime contest featured eight lead changes and seven tied scores.

VCU was led by four double-figure scorers in Tera Reed (16 pts.) Sarah Te-Biasu (16 pts.) Sydney Archie (14 pts.) and Taya Robinson (11 pts.).
 

FIRST QUARTER

• VCU sprinted to a 6-0 lead early on, but the Dukes settled down and finished the quarter on a 11-5 run. The first quarter ended tied at 11-11.
• Myers got off to a fast start, making both of her 3-point attempts during the first 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER

• The Dukes earned a five-point lead at 20-15, but the Rams rallied with a 10-0 run to take a 25-20 advantage.
• Duquesne would finish the half strong, as a 3-pointer from McConnell and a jumper from Hamilton during the final two minutes would trim the deficit to just one point at 29-28 after 20 minutes.
• The Dukes shot 53.8 percent during the second quarter, as McConnell and Johnson each supplied five points.

THIRD QUARTER

• VCU started the second half strong, building a game-high matching 6-point lead.
• The lead would last just over a minute, as Hamilton drained a triple followed by a pair of treys from Myers, as the Dukes took a 39-36 lead. Ultimately, VCU would take a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
• Hamilton and Myers combined to score 12 of Duquesne's 14 points in the frame.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Duquesne would tie the contest at 51-51 with 3:49 remaining. VCU grabbed the lead for a time being with a layup and free throw.
• A Johnson layup with 14 seconds cut the deficit to one, as the Dukes would foul on the ensuing possessions. The Rams converted both attempts and led by three at 56-53 with 11 seconds left.
• Off the inbound, McConnell passed to Sole, who quickly drove and found an open Myers in the Duquesne corner. She pulled and drilled the game and freshman record tying 3-pointer as the game was tied at 56-56.
• VCU could not hit the game-winner in the closing seconds, as the Dukes and Rams went to overtime.
• Elliott sunk a pair of needed 3-pointers in the quarter to lead the Dukes.

• Myers scored Duquesne's first points in overtime on a jumper to tie the ball-game at 58-58, but that's as close as Duquesne would get.
• VCU built a 6-point lead at 65-59 and would get as close as 66-63 with seven seconds left, but VCU drained free throws to put the game on ice in the closing seconds.

Notes: The underclassmen crew of Myers (20), Hamilton (12), Johnson (10) and McConnell (9) accounted for 51 of Duquesne's 63 points, including the first 43 points of the contest until Diamond Bragg made a layup with 7:51 left in the fourth quarter … The Dukes out-rebounded its opponent for the second-time this season.

UP NEXT: Duquesne hosts Richmond on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Kerr Fitness Center.