PITTSBURGH – A fourth quarter surge lifted Pitt past Duquesne 69-64 in the City Game Saturday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The Dukes (1-4) had a quartet of players in double figures, led by
Fatou Pouye (Kaolack, Senegal/Glasgow Christian Academy). Pouye finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and recorded six rebounds.
Megan McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) posted 14 points, while both
Libby Bazelak (Kettering, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) and
Tess Myers finished with 11 points. Bazelak also added six rebounds and surpassed 500 for her career during the game.
It was a high-scoring first quarter. The Dukes trailed 13-11 when they went on an 11-3 run to open up a 22-16 lead with 2:05 to play in the opening frame. Pouye eight of the team's points during the run, including a three from well behind the arc.
Duquesne took its largest lead of the evening at the 9:06-mark of the second quarter on an
Amaya Hamilton (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) layup that made the score 27-19. Pitt (4-0) rallied back with eight-straight points to tie it up with 4:15 to play in the first half, before both teams traded baskets down the stretch to enter halftime deadlocked at 35-35.
The Dukes took a 40-35 lead on a Bazelak trey two minutes into the third quarter. The Panthers answered with seven-straight points, but a Myers three pointer ended the Duquesne drought and made the score 43-42 with 4:46 left in the period. Although Pitt took back the lead with 40 seconds to play in the quarter, another Myers three pointer put the Dukes ahead 50-48 as time expired in the third.
Pitt went on another run at the start of the fourth quarter. The Panthers scored the first eight points of the period to take a 56-50 lead with 7:21 to play in the game. The Dukes never overcame the deficit and trailed by as many as nine points down the stretch.
After holding Pitt to a 2-of-11 (18 percent) in the third quarter, the Dukes allowed the Panthers to get to the rim in the fourth to the tune of 8-of-15 (53 percent) from the field.
Pitt held the edge on the glass, 49-40, which included 15 offensive rebounds that turned into 14 second-chance points. Duquesne only had two second-chance points.
Jayla Everett finished with a game-high 18 points to lead Pitt.
The Dukes led for over 21 minutes of game time. The 2021 edition of the City Game saw 13 lead changes and eight tie scores. Pitt held the lead for just over 12 minutes of the game, which included nine minutes and 48 seconds in the fourth quarter alone.
The loss to Pitt is just the third in the past 12 meetings in the City Game.
Last season marked the first time since 1982-83 that the City Game was not played.
The Dukes are back at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Nov. 23 for a meeting with Akron. The game will tip at 7 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN+.
