HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Despite a late rally by Marshall, the Duquesne women's basketball team grabbed a win on the road Sunday afternoon, winning 77-72.

Duquesne improves to 5-1 on the year while Marshall falls to 3-3.
 
It looked like Duquesne wrapped this one up by the end of the third quarter, but Marshall outscored the Dukes 27-17 in the final frame to close the gap and force Duquesne to make some clutch free throws to win.
 
Duquesne's lead got as high as 21 points with 7:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
Junior forward Precious Johnson led Duquesne with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She shot 3-for-6 from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
Sophomore guard Megan McConnell had another great all-around game, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, six steals and zero turnovers.
 
Sophomore guard Tess Myers had a season-high 18 points herself, shooting 6-for-14 from the field and making two three-pointers.
 
Duquesne shot a season-best 49.2 percent from the field and was 9-for-26 from three. The Dukes outpaced the Thundering Herd in points in the paint (30-16), points off turnovers (24-10) and bench points (25-19).
 
It was a slow start for both sides, but Townsend got the ball rolling for the Dukes as she scored Duquesne's first four points of the games.
 
Redshirt junior guard Lauren Wasylson's three-pointer made it an early 6-0 run for the Dukes, and they led 12-7 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
 
McConnell was then able to impact the game the way she does best – stealing a pass, making a layup then finding freshman guard Reilly Sunday for a three-pointer.
 
Johnson made a layup as the clock expired in the first quarter, and the Dukes led 19-10 after 10 minutes. All seven Duquesne players that saw the floor in the first quarter scored.
 
Duquesne's lead got up to 11 at 21-10 and stayed at 11 after a three-pointer by Johnson. At the second quarter media timeout, the Dukes were shooting 61.1 percent.
 
Another McConnell steal and layup kept the lead in double digits, then a three-pointer by junior guard Amaya Hamilton extended it to a 13-point lead.
 
Duquesne's defense became suffocating as it forced a Marshall turnover on five-straight possessions, and yet another three-pointer by the Dukes extended their lead to 16 points.
 
A Johnson three-pointer gave the Dukes a comfortable lead at the half, as they led 41-28.
 
Marshall made some changes and started the second half better than it ended the first, scoring six quick points and cutting the lead to seven.
 
Duquesne's offense didn't get much going early in the third quarter, but it was able to get the lead back up to 13 after a McConnell layup and a three-pointer by Myers.
 
Another three, this time by Hamilton, extended the lead to 16 at 55-39. Myers got going and hit another three and a two-point jumper to give Duquesne a 15-point lead going into the final frame.
 
Johnson began the fourth quarter with an and-one layup off an offensive rebound, then followed that with another layup on the next possession.
 
The game wasn't over just yet though, as Marshall ripped off a 14-0 run to get the lead down to five.
 
McConnell stopped the bleeding with a layup, and Johnson made two clutch free throws to get the lead back to eight with two minutes left.
 
Duquesne's offense didn't provide a ton late, but the Dukes did enough from the free throw line to hold onto the win despite the fourth quarter rally from Marshall.

GAME NOTES

• With today's win, head coach Dan Burt is now two wins away from tying and three wins away from breaking the all-time women's basketball wins record at Duquesne.
• The Dukes are now 5-4 all-time against Marshall.
• With two today, Myers has made multiple three-pointers in every game this season.
• This is Duquesne's first 5-1 start since 2015-16.
• Johnson put up a season-high 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. This marks her first double-double of the season and the third of her career.
• Myers' 18 points were a season high.
• McConnell's six steals were a season high.
• All seven players that saw the floor scored for Duquesne.

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