RICHMOND, Va. – Despite erasing a double-digit deficit to force overtime, the Dukes were upended 74-70 at VCU Wednesday evening in an Atlantic 10 game at the Siegel Center.
 
Duquesne (5-9, 0-2 A-10) held the ball with 11 seconds left in regulation in a 65-65 game. Megan McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) drove to the basket, but could not convert a potential game-winning basket. The ball found its way back to the Dukes and out to the perimeter to Laia Sole (Igualada, Spain/INS Joaquim Blume), but she was unable to get a shot off in time, sending the game into overtime.
 
VCU (6-5, 1-0 A-10) took the lead 90 seconds into the extra session and did not relinquish it. The Dukes managed to get the deficit down to three, 73-70, in the final 20 seconds, however the Rams clinched the victory with a free throw on the ensuing possession to put the game out of reach.
 
Precious Johnson (Helsinborg, Sweden / Marks Gymnasieskola) led Duquesne and matched a season-high with 19 points and six rebounds. Tess Myers (Lower Burrell, Pa./North Catholic) finished with 17 points and five boards, while McConnell chipped in 15 points and six rebounds.
 
Libby Bazelak (Kettering, Ohio/Bishop Alter) was just shy of a double-double with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while Sole established a career-high with eight assists to go along with six points.
 
The Dukes opened up a 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the contest on a McConnell basket-and-one. Another McConnell bucket made the score 13-7 with 6:48 to play in the first quarter, before a 9-2 spurt gave the Rams a 16-15 advantage at the four-minute mark. The lead changed hands three more times in the quarter, before the Dukes headed into the second quarter trailing 26-22.
 
Duquesne faced its biggest deficit of the first half when the Rams opened up a 34-24 lead midway through the second quarter. The Dukes began to chip away at the hole, before a trey at the halftime horn from McConnell drew Duquesne within three, 40-37, as the teams entered the locker rooms.
 
The Dukes managed to knot the score up three times in the third quarter, before finally taking a 47-45 lead with 1:39 to play in the period. A basket with 26 seconds on the clock by Sole made the score 51-47, but a last-second shot by VCU's Sarah Te-biasu cut the Duquesne lead to two at the end of the third quarter.
 
Myers rebuilt the Dukes' lead to 54-49 with a three pointer to open the fourth, however the Rams countered with nine-straight points over the next two minutes to stake a 58-54 advantage. Duquesne tied the game up twice, but did not reclaim the lead until another basket-and-one by McConnell with 1:11 to play in regulation pushed the Dukes in front 65-64. VCU split a pair of free throws on its end to tie the game at 65-65 with 46 seconds left to force overtime.
 
The Dukes shot 29 of 67 (43 percent) on the evening, compared to VCU's 24 of 63 (38 percent) showing. Duquesne also held a sizeable 40-18 advantage in points in the paint. However, the Rams managed to get to the free-throw line and shoot 17 of 23 (74 percent), compared to Duquesne who was just 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.
 
Taya Robinson led four players in double figures for VCU with 17 points, while Te-biasu added 16 in the win.

It was the second-straight overtime setback to VCU for the Dukes. Duquesne was defeated 68-63 last season at La Roche in overtime. The loss also marked the first time the Dukes had lost to VCU at the Siegel Center since 1990.

VCU was playing for the first time in 19 days after having to cancel or postpone its four previosly scheduled games.

Duquesne returns home to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 8 to take on St. Bonaventure in another A-10 contest. The game will tip at 2 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN+.