PITTSBURGH – Led by a double-double from
Megan McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley), the Dukes posted a 60-47 win over Lafayette Sunday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the home opener.
McConnell led Duquesne (1-2) with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her first-career double-double in the win over the Leopards (0-2). She also chipped in five assists and three steals to her final line.
Fatou Pouye (Kaolack, Senegal/Glasgow Christian) dropped a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 from the field, despite playing only 14 minutes due to foul trouble. Both
Tess Myers (Lower Burrell, Pa./North Catholic) and
Amaya Hamilton (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) finished with 11 points in the win.
The Dukes led wire-to-wire after opening up the game with 16-straight points, capped off by a second-chance three pointer by Myers with 3:36 left in the opening quarter. After Lafayette scored its first points of the game at the 3:13-mark, Pouye dialed up a shot from well behind the arc to push the lead to 19-2 with three minutes on the clock.
Duquesne cooled off after Pouye's trey and allowed the Leopards to draw back within 10, 21-11, at the first intermission.
Lafayette sliced the lead down to 21-6 two minutes into the second quarter. A bucket by
Laia Sole (Igualada, Spain/IES Joaquim Blume) and a three-point shot by Myers quickly rebuilt the lead to 26-16 with 7:35 to play until halftime. The Dukes went on a drought for nearly seven minutes, but the Leopards also had offensive issues and did not take advantage. McConnell knocked down a trey in the closing seconds of the half to give Duquesne a 30-20 lead at halftime.
The Dukes' lead dwindled down to six, 30-24, a minute into the second half. Duquesne answered with 12-straight points, including a McConnell steal that led to a basket-and-one, to push the cushion back to 42-24 with 5:15 to play in the third quarter. The Leopards controlled the second five minutes of the third with an 11-3 spurt to draw back within 10, 45-35, entering the final period.
Lafayette got its deficit down to 47-39 at the 6:22-mark of the fourth quarter, but the Dukes did not allow them to get any closer. Duquesne out-scored the Leopards 13-7 down the stretch to secure its first win of the season.
The Dukes shot 22 of 64 (34 percent) from the field, compared to the 16 of 55 (29 percent) posted by the Leopards. Duquesne was credited with 12 second-chance points and allowed only three to Lafayette.
Jessica Booth led Lafayette with 17 points in the loss.
The Dukes improve to 34-16 in home openers all-time. Duquesne is 6-3 in home openers under
Dan Burt.
The Dukes will hit the road on Wednesday, Nov. 17 for a non-conference game in Farmville, Virginia at Longwood. Tip is set for 11 a.m. in the morning and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
