GAME 3 | DUQUESNE (0-2) vs. LAFAYETTE (0-1)
Sun. Nov. 14, 2021 • 2:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (4,242), Pittsburgh, Pa.
TV: ESPN+

The Dukes are playing their first season in the newly renovated UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Duquesne went a combined 13-9 in "home games" at La Roche, PPG Paints Arena, UPMC Events Center and Oakland Catholic High School over the past three seasons.

HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Live stats are available here.
• Follow @DuqWBB on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.

THE SERIES vs. LAFAYETTE
• The Dukes have won all four meetings with the Leopards all-time.
• Duquesne mounted a fourth quarter rally to pick up a 73-65 overtime victory over Lafayette in Easton in the last meeting on Dec. 29, 2019.
• Amanda Kalin knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer with less than five seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
• Duquesne outscored Lafayette 16-to-8 in the extra period to come away with its third-consecutive road victory at the time.
• Kalin supplied a team-high 15 points, while Libby Bazelak totaled 13 points, with seven coming in overtime alone.
• In the Dukes' 67-52 win over Lafayette in 2016, Duquesne scored 26 points in the fourth quarter - an A.J. Palumbo Center record for fourth quarter points.
• Duquesne and Lafayette met for the first time ever in 1997 at the FAU New Year's Classic in Boca Raton, Florida.
• DUQ picked up a 97-71 win over the Leopards in the first-ever meeting.
• Duquesne shot 64.3 percent from the field in that victory (36 of 56) - which remains as a Duquesne single-game record to this day.

SCOUTING LAFAYETTE
• The Leopards are coming off of a 72-63 loss at Pitt in their season-opening game Friday night.
• Lafayette trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half, and clawed back to within one point in the final four minutes of the game.
• A trio of Leopards scored in double figures, led by Claire Gallagher's team-high 19 points.
• Gallagher dropped 5-of-6 from long range while making her collegiate debut.
• Lafayette was picked to finish eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll released in October.
• The Leopards will have to replace the production of 2021 Patriot League Player of the Year Natalie Kucowski.
• She averaged 17.8 points and led Division I with 13.3 rebounds per game in 2020-21 for Lafayette.
• Kucowski was drafted with the 35th pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm.
• In June she signed with KP Brno in the Czech Republic.

LOOKING BACK
• After dropping seven in a row at one point last season, the Dukes capped the 2020-21 regular-season with three victories in five games.
• Precious Johnson ranked second in the A-10 in field goal percentage, shooting 53.0 percent from the floor (44-of-83) on the season.
• In the Dukes' last five regular-season games, Megan McConnell dished out 12 assists compared to just three turnovers. At 5-7, she also pulled down 20 rebounds during that span.
• Tess Myers ranked fifth in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 39.7 pct. of attempts from long range (25-of-63).

DUKES IN HOME OPENERS
• Duquesne is 33-16 all-time in home opening games, including a 5-3 mark under Head Coach Dan Burt.
• The Dukes won each of their last four home-opening games at the former A.J.Palumbo Center.
• Since 2003, Duquesne is 15-3 in home openers, including a run of 10-straight wins from 2003-2012.

DUQUESNE VERSUS THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• The Dukes are 11-4 all-time against Patriot League teams and are on a six-game winning streak against teams from the league.
• Each of the last six games versus the Patriot League came against Lafayette and Lehigh.
• The last Patriot League team to defeat Duquesne was at Lehigh in 2009, a 62-52 setback for the Dukes.
• The only Patriot League team to defeat the Dukes at home was Navy in 1991. The Midshipmen knocked off Duquesne 63-47 in that game.

LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER
• Tess Myers has led the Dukes in scoring in each of the first two games this season. Myers dropped 16 points in the opener at UCF and posted 17 in the setback at Tulsa on Thursday.
• Tess's father, Joey starred at Duquesne from 1980-83 playing for two NIT teams. He scored 831 points as a career .455 shooter. The 6-8 forward was one of the top shooting big men in the Atlantic 10 and had the nickname "Sonar Joey Myers" for his range. He played in the pre-3-point era until his senior season, where he moved inside as one of the big men Duquesne had (5-13 3PT) . He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the eighth round (179th overall).

OUT OF THE GATES
• Duquesne has lost each of its first two games for the first time since 2019-20, when the Dukes opened the season with losses to Kent State and Temple. That Duquesne team went on to win each of its next 10 games, including a 73-65 overtime win at Lafayette.
• The Dukes have not lost three-straight games to start a season since the 2014-15 campaign. Duquesne dropped contests to Princeton, #23/22 Syracuse and Green Bay to open that season. The 2014-15 team rebounded to win its next five games, including an 87-77 win over Pitt in the City Game.

STORY LINES
• This will be Duquesne's first full season at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes scored a 71-63 victory on Feb. 18 over Rhode Island in the team's lone game at the newly-renovated facility last season. Duquesne was forced to play off campus the past three seasons and responded by going a combined 13-9 in "home games" at La Roche University, PPG Paints Arena, UPMC Events Center and Oakland Catholic High School.
• Since taking over as head coach in 2013-14, Dan Burt has led the Dukes to 158 wins. Only Dayton (166) and Fordham (164) have amassed more wins during that span in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes are also one of three A-10 programs to post a winning season in six of the past seven seasons (Dayton, Fordham, & VCU).
• Since 2013-14, the Dukes have led the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (2x), scoring margin, field goal percentage (2x), free throw percentage and assists per game (2x). Duquesne has ranked at least fourth in the conference in points per game, field goal percentage and assists per game in all but one season since 2014-15.
• The Dukes have earned wins against a Power-5 conference school in five of the past six seasons. Duquesne has defeatedPitt (5x), Penn State, and Virginia in that span.
• Head Coach Dan Burt's time on The Bluff has brought unmatched success. The Dukes have earned 10 postseason appearances and 10 20-win seasons in 14 seasons in the
Steel City. Prior to joining the coaching staff in 2007-08, the Dukes had never earned a trip to the postseason or eclipsed 20 wins in a single season. In 2015-16, Duquesne earned its first bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed and earned dominant 21-point win over No. 8 Seton Hall.
• Duquesne's top-eight scorers all return in 2021-22. The Dukes scored 999 points last season and 845 of those points were scored by players returning to the fold this season.

• LAIA SOLÉ: Appeared in all 16 games with 12 starts ... Ranked third on the team with 8.1 points per game ... Tied for the team lead with 5.7 rebounds per game ...  Led team in total offensive (26) and defensive (65) rebounds ... Slotted fourth on the team with 1.4 assists per game ... Registered a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds at Ohio State ... Registered a season-high with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting at Kent State ... Finished with 17 points and eight rebounds against Richmond ... Established a new career-high with 13 rebounds at George Mason ... Ranked second on the Dukes with 11.8 points per game in 2019-20 ... Recorded 38 of Duquesne's 72 points in a overtime win over Saint Francis, the most points for a Duke in the Dan Burt era.
• PRECIOUS JOHNSON: Appeared in 14 games with 13 starts ... Slotted fourth on the team with 7.6 points per game ... Ranked second in the A10 with a 53.0 field-goal percentage ... Tied for the team lead and ranked 21st in the A10 with 5.7 rebounds per game ... Ranked fourth in the A10 with 1.5 blocked shots per game ... Finished just shy of a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and a season-high five blocks versus St. Bonaventure ... Established a season-high with 20 points to go with nine rebounds versus Rhode Island ... Registered a double-double with 15 points and season highs of 11 rebounds and five steals in an A10 Championship game versus La Salle
• MEGAN McCONNELL: Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Week (12/14/20) ... Appeared in all 16 games with nine starts ... Led the team and ranked 17th in the A-10 with 2.8 assists per game ... Led the team and ranked 12th in the A-10 with 1.4 steals per game ... Played a team-high 28.7 minutes per game ... Dished out a season-high six assists versus St. Bonaventure ... Finished with nine points, and season highs of six rebounds and three blocks while making her first start against VCU ...  Established a season-high with 16 points to go with six rebounds and six assists versus Richmond ... Scored 15 points and matched a season-best six rebounds against La Salle ... Registered a season-high four steals at George Washington

PROS ACROSS THE SEA: The following Duquesne graduates are playing professionally overseas.
• Nina Aho '20 (Aluinvent DVTK Miskolc / Hungary-A Division)
• Paige Cannon '20 (CAB Madeira / Portugal-Liga Feminina)
• Jose-Ann Johnson '15 (SIG Strasbourg / France-LF2)
• Eniko Kuttor '19 (Cegledi EKK / Hungary A-Division)
• Kadri-Ann Lass '19 (Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre /Spain-Liga Feminina)

FAMILY TIES
• Libby Bazelak: Brother, Connor is the starting quarterback at Mizzou. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2020 ... Sister, Maddy, played volleyball and graduated from Duquesne in 2019. In 2019-20 she played basketball at Ohio University as a graduate transfer.
• Amaya Hamilton: Father, Brian, played defensive tackle and was a captain at Notre Dame (1994) under legendary coach Lou Holtz. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta  Falcons after graduation.
• Precious Johnson: Father, Stew, is the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the ABA. He played for seven different franchises (Kentucky Colonels, New Jersey Americans/New York Nets, Houston Mavericks, Pittsburgh Pipers/Condors, Carolina Cougars, San Diego Conquistadors, Memphis Sound, Baltimore Claws, San Diego Sails and San Antonio Spurs). He was a 3x all-star in the ABA. The Clairton, Pa. native went on to play professionally in Iceland and Sweden, where Precious was born and raised.
• Megan McConnell: "Pittsburgh's First Family of Hoops" Brother, TJ, a Duquesne (2010-12) and Arizona (2013-15) basketball standout is currently a member of the Indiana Pacers. He previously played for the Philadelphia 76ers ... Brother, Matty, was an 1,000- pt. scorer at Robert Morris ... Father, Tim, is one of the most successful basketball coaches in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) history with eight combined WPIAL championships at Chartiers Valley High School as the boys (1992-2018) and girls (2018-present) coach ... Aunt, Suzie McConnell-Serio was an All-American at Penn State, Olympic Gold Medalist, and WNBA standout as a women's basketball Hall of Famer. She posted an 123-68 record as the Duquesne's women's basketball head coach, before taking the head job at Pitt (2013-18). Before coming to Duquesne, she was the head coach of
the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx ... Aunt, Kathy McConnell-Miller, went to four NCAA tournaments at Virginia and has been a Division I head coach at Tulsa and Colorado and an  assistant coach at Pitt, Rutgers, and Illinois ... Uncle, Tom, is the head coach at Division II contender Indiana University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team. He previously served as the head coach of Saint Francis (Pa.) men's team and was an assistant coach for the men's teams at Wake Forest, Marquette, Dayton. He served as an assistant coach for Colorado and Old Dominion's women's teams.
• Tess Myers: Father, Joey, graduated from Duquesne and played basketball on two NIT Teams in 1980 and 1981, totaling 831 points. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in  1983 ... Sister, Natalie, was a Class 2A All-State selection at Burrell High School and led IUP in rebounding and ranked third in scoring as a senior on a team that ranked 8th in the nation in DII prior to the COVID-19 pandemic ... Sister, Taylor, was an 1,000 pt. scorer at Burrell High School.
• Aniya Walker: Father, Myron, is Robert Morris' all-time leading scorer (1,965 pts, 1990-94). He is a member of the Northeastern Conference Hall of Fame, RMU's Hall of Fame and Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame ... Cousin, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, played at Maryland and was the sixth overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft. She earned a spot on the
WNBA All-Rookie Team in 2017 and won the WNBA Championship with the Washington Mystic in 2019.Walker-Kimbrough is one of only three players in WNBA history to hold a career free-throw percentage of at least 90 percent (Elena Delle Donne and Tiffany Mitchell) ... She currently plays for the Washington Mystics.

UP NEXT
• The Dukes will travel to Farmville, Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 17 for a non-conference game against Longwood at 11 a.m.
• The Lancers, who are members of the Big South Conference, opened the season with a 97-67 loss at No. 4 Maryland, before dropping their home opener Friday with an 82-63 loss to Stony Brook.
• The game against the Dukes will broadcast live on ESPN+.