PITTSBURGH – Behind a season-high 22 points from Laia Sole (Igualada, Spain / INS Joaquim Blume), the Dukes surged past Akron 58-47 Tuesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
Sole led Duquesne (2-4) and was 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the field and added four rebounds in the win over the Zips (2-2). Amaya Hamilton (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) scored in double figures for the third time this year with a season-high 12 points to go with five rebounds.
 
Akron opened the game with an 8-0 run through the first three minutes. Megan McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) got the Dukes on the board with a trey at the 6:14-mark of the first quarter, but the Zips built their lead back to seven, 12-5, with 4:18 on the clock.
 
The Dukes closed out the first quarter on a 7-2 run, capped off by a Tess Myers' (Lower Burrell, Pa./North Catholic) three pointer to head into the second quarter trailing 14-12.
 
Akron led 24-20 with 5:23 to play in the first half, before back-to-back Myers' treys gave the Dukes their first lead of the evening at 26-24 with 2:03 to play in the second quarter. Duquesne was held off of the board for the remainder of the period, which allowed the Zips to take a 27-26 lead into the locker rooms.
 
Duquesne trailed 31-30 at the 7:51-mark of the third quarter. The Dukes scored the next seven points and held the Zips scoreless for nearly six minutes to take a 37-31 lead. After Akron ended the drought, Duquesne closed the quarter out with a 6-2 spurt, including a bucket at the buzzer by Sole that made the score 43-35.
 
The Dukes never looked back in the fourth quarter. The Dukes built the lead to 20 with 12-unanswered to start the final frame, including a three pointer by Sole, which made the score 55-35. Although Akron managed to chip away at its deficit, they did not come up with enough stops to make a serious push at the Duquesne lead.
 
Duquesne led in the rebounding department with a 40-to-31 advantage. The Dukes came away with 14 offensive rebounds on the evening, including four in the fourth quarter alone.
 
Akron's Lonasia Brewer was the only zip in double figures with 10 points. Leading scorer Jordyn Dawson (24.0 ppg.) was limited to just four points on 1-of-11 shooting.
 
The Dukes will have a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday, before heading out to Albany, New York for their game on Saturday, Nov. 27 at Siena. The game will tip 2 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+.