Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Duquesne University women's basketball team wraps up its three-game road trip to begin the 2023-24 campaign with a matchup at Howard on Tuesday.

GAMEDAY INFO
Tue. Nov. 14, 2023 • 5:30 p.m. • Burr Gymnasium • Washington, D.C.
Duquesne Dukes (1-1): Roster | Schedule | Stats
Howard Bison (1-2): Roster | Schedule | Stats

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DUQ Game Notes
Howard Game Notes

OPENING TIP

• The Dukes are coming off their first win of the season, 82-79, over Niagara.
• Duquesne returns nearly all of its production from last season's 19-win team with nine players back on the roster including all five primary starters.
• The 19 wins were the most since 2020, when the Dukes posted a 20-11 record.
• Megan McConnell is coming off a Second Team all-conference and All-Academic Team selection in 2022-23 ... Entering this season, she was named to the 2024 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watchlist.
• Duquesne was picked to finish 5th in the A-10 preseason poll.

THE SERIES - vs. HOWARD

• Duquesne leads 6-0
• At Howard: 1-0
• Last meeting: W, 68-55 -- 12/21/22 in Pittsburgh
• Streak: Duquesne W6
• Under Coach Burt: 3-0
• Duquesne averages 82 points over the dominating six-game series ... This will just be the second time the Dukes play at Howard and one game in the series was neutral site in 2001.
• The first meeting was on 12/11/93 in Pittsburgh.
• Last year, Duquesne handled Howard in its non-conference finale ... Tess Myers hit six threes, while Precious Johnson hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds with six assists and nine points ... The Dukes never trailed and led by as many as 25 points.

LAST TIME OUT

• Duquesne outlasted Niagara to pick up its first win of the season, 82-79.
• A Tess Myers three pointer with 3:22 left gave the Dukes a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a contest that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.
• Megan McConnell posted the first double-double of the season for the Dukes with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Duquesne was 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes and fended off a last-second three pointer to secure the win.
• An early-season best 41-22 rebounding margin, including 16-9 on the offensive end was a key point in the contest.
• The performance helped the Dukes own a 16-9 cushion in second-chance opportunities.
• The two teams combined for 23 three-pointers. Myers paced Duquesne with a 5-for-10 performance from beyond the arc in scoring a team-high 17 points
• Four players reached double digit scoring for the Dukes, Myers (17), McConnell (16), Hamilton (11), and Townsend (11).

VS. MEAC OPPONENTS

• Duquesne is 11-0 all-time against MEAC opponents ... The Dukes defeated Howard last season (68-55) in the first meeting with a MEAC team since 2017 ... Howard, at six times, is the most played opponent from the MEAC for the Dukes.

SCOUTING HOWARD

• Howard was tabbed the preseason runner-ups in the MEAC poll ... Three Bison were named preseason all-conference, including preseason Player of the Year Destiny Howell, however Howell suffered an injury and will miss this season ... Senior guard Kaniyah Harris and fifth-year Iyanna Warren round out a veteran preseason all-conference squad for the Bison.
• The Bison won their lone home game on Nov. 9 in blowout fashion over Mount St. Mary's (58-39), while dropping a pair of single-digit contests at George Washington (64-58) and New Hampshire (59-51).
• Howard has the early conference lead in the MEAC in field goal percentage defense (31.6%), blocks per game (5.0), and defensive rebounds per game (25.0).

ON THE ROAD

• Duquesne is on the road for the first three games of the season, its longest away stretch to start the season since four in a row began the 2017-18 campaign.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Dukes were picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll accumulating 172 points and received one first-place vote. Rhode Island, which collected 12 first-place tallies and 218 points, was selected as the preseason favorite, followed by Saint Joseph's (203), Saint Louis (186) and Richmond (176). The Billikens earned a pair of first-place votes. 
• Junior guard Megan McConnell was named to both the 2023-24 Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the 2023-24 Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team.

VETERAN LEADERS

• Veteran returners including guards Megan McConnell, Tess Myers and Lauren Wasylson, forwards Amaya Hamilton and Precious Johnson, and center Ayanna Townsend have combined for career totals of over 3,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in a Duquesne uniform.

TOUGH COMPETITION

• Each of the first two teams played this season (Princeton and Niagara) were the preseason number one ranked teams in their respective conferences, while Howard is the runner-up ... Princeton was an NCAA Tournament participant in 2022-23 ... The Dukes are scheduled for one more non-conference NCAA tournament team this season - at Vermont on Dec. 16.

BACK ON THE BOARDS

• After setting the single-season rebounding record with 303 last year, Megan McConnell has already posted back-to-back double-digit rebounding games to start the season and leads the A-10 at 11.0 per game.

UP NEXT

• Duquesne opens its home season on Saturday at 2 pm against crosstown rival Pitt for the City Game.

TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets for the home opener, which features $1 Beers, as well as every home game this season are available now by clicking here.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne women's basketball, follow @DuqWBB on Twitter (X) and Instagram all season.