Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team will be inside to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for the first time this season, when it hosts Pitt on Saturday afternoon for the City Game.

GAMEDAY INFO
Sat. Nov. 18, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Duquesne Dukes (1-1): Roster | Schedule | Stats
Pitt Panthers (1-2): Roster | Schedule | Stats

GAMEDAY LINKS
Video
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Pitt Game Notes

OPENING TIP
- Duquesne wrapped up its three-game road trip on Tuesday, capturing its second win of the season with a 65-51 victory at Howard on Tuesday evening.
- The Dukes return 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 PITT
- Pitt leads 23-17
- At home: 8-9
- Last meeting: L, 61-45 at Petersen Events Center
- Under Coach Burt: 5-4
- The first meeting was on 12/6/1974 in Pittsburgh
- Dating back to 2013-14, the Dukes won four of the first five meetings against Pitt under Burt before the Panthers have secured three of the last four, including a 61-45 win last season.
- Last year, Pitt handed Duquesne its first loss of the season as Tess Myers and Megan McConnell both finished in double-figures. McConnell registered 11 points, five boards and a steal while Myers netted 10 points with a pair of triples.

LAST TIME OUT
-The Dukes concluded its three-game road slate on Tuesday, capturing its second victory of the season with a 65-51 win at Howard.
- Duquesne used a 17-7 fourth quarter to pull away and secure a 14-point victory over the Bison. Four Dukes finished in double digits led by Nae Bernard who finished with 18 points off six three pointers, which tied a career-high.
- Precious Johnson registered her seventh career double-double and first of her senior season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, all while battling foul trouble. Amaya Hamilton scored 12 points and had a career-high five steals.
- Megan McConnell charted 10 points with seven rebounds, a game-high six assists, and three steals.
- Howard held an early nine-point lead to begin the game but an 8-2 spurt by Duquesne trimmed the Bison lead to a one-possession game, 20-17. The Dukes continued that momentum into the second stanza, outscoring the Bison 19-8, including a 14-3 stretch to close the half and take an eight-point lead to the break.
- Duquesne never trailed after gaining the lead on a fast-break McConnell lay up at the 6:37 mark in the second quarter, however the Bison responded. The Dukes quickly got the lead up to double digits (40-30) early in the third quarter, but a 12-2 Bison spurt tied things up at the 3:35 mark.
- DU held Howard to just one basket over the first six and a half minutes of the final quarter, while extending its margin back up to double figures. Naelle Bernard drained a pair of triples down the stretch and Tess Myers put Duquesne ahead by 10 with a long ball of her own with 3:06 to play.
The stout defense of the Dukes ended up totaling 22 Bison turnovers. Duquesne turned them into 26 points of their own, featuring 10 points off turnovers in both the second and fourth quarters.

SCOUTING PITT
- The Panthers 2023-24 roster features four returners from a season ago and eight newcomers for new head coach Tory Verdi. Pitt returns just 31% of their scoring and 35% of their rebounding from last season.
- After securing a 79-74 victory over Yale in their home opener, the Panthers have dropped its last two contest. Pitt fell to West Virginia (71-62) in the 48^th Backyard Brawl before dropping a 60-52 decision at George Mason in its first road contest of the campaign.
-  Pitt has a trio of players averaging double digit points through the first three contests. Senior Liatu King paces the Panthers with 18.0 points and 14.0 boards per contest. She recorded a career-high 28 against West Virginia while totaling 14 rebounds in all three games. Junior Rapuluchi Ayodele averages a double-double, netting 13.0 caroms and 11.7 points per game. Classmate Bella Perkins is the last Panther in double-figures, registering 10.3 points and 2.7 assists per contest.

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 is idle for a week for the holiday break before traveling to Bowling Green on Monday, Nov. 27, with the opening tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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