Pittsburgh, Pa. – In front of 2,500 fans and a strong second half defensively, the Duquesne women's basketball team captured a thrilling 56-55 victory over crosstown rival Pitt at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the City Game. The Dukes improve to 3-1 this season while extending its win streak to three straight.

TURNING POINT
Trailing 44-40 entering the final frame, junior Kiandra Browne connected on a pair of free-throws before causing a Pitt (1-3) turnover on the defensive end. She found classmate Megan McConnell in the right corner, who buried a triple to give Duquesne its first lead since the second quarter, 45-44. Later in the stanza, the defensive stand continued as Browne took her third charge of the afternoon at the 6:49 mark which a couple possessions later led to a corner three by junior Tess Myers to give the Dukes a 48-45 advantage.

With just under four minutes to go, Duquesne would score five consecutive points to grab its largest lead of the contest, 56-45. Senor Amaya Hamilton connected on a pair of freebies before Myers knocked down her third triple of the afternoon. With just over a minute and a half remaining, the Panthers would mount a 7-0 run to trim the deficit, 53-52 with 11 seconds remaining. Hamilton would go 1-of-2 from the charity stripe before a Pitt travel gave the ball back to the Dukes with two seconds remaining. Browne would step to the line and bury both of her opportunities to seal the deal for Duquesne.

QUOTABLE
"If you're a fan of basketball, even casually, you can't really ask for anything better than what you saw, especially in the second half," head coach Dan Burt said. "Drama, excitement, and two teams that really battled it out and were both very gritty, and we were fortunate enough to come away with the victory."

DEFENSIVELY STOUT
Duquesne picked up the defensive pressure in the second half, causing 12 turnover and scoring 17 points off those turnovers. Over a span of 13 minutes, the Dukes held the Panthers 1-for-20 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-12 from the field in the final quarter, where two of those baskets came in the final 11 seconds. Duquesne registered seven steals in the second half alone, led by McConnel and Browne who each collected a pair.

QUOTABLE
"I think our coaching staff did an incredible job of preparing for this and preparing our players for this game," Burt continued. "I believe our kids executed that and that energy came from Kiandra Brown. Kiandra helped everyone rise up and then you have her and Megan there, it makes it difficult for other teams. Tess Myers struggled to shoot it early but she rebounded the ball and had one bad defensive beat but overall, she played defense pretty well today. For someone who's always been known as a shooter, she become more of a complete player."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was a stagnant start for both squads in the opening five minutes as the Dukes began 1-of-8 from the floor as the Panthers shot 1-of-10. Out of the media timeout, Duquesne mounted a 6-3 stint thanks to a pair of triples from juniors Nae Bernard and McConnell, 10-6. Pitt would respond, scoring seven straight points to hold a 13-10 advantage before McConnell buried her second three-pointer of the quarter to knot the score at 13-all. After trading baskets to begin the second quarter, the Dukes netted six of the next seven points on back-to-back triples from McConnell and Myers. Pitt would answer with a pair of three-pointers of their own before both teams went almost four minutes without a score. The Panthers would end the half on a 5-2 spurt to hold a 27-23 lead at the break.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
A pair of Dukes finished in double-digits led by McConnel, who carded a game-high 20 points while shooting 5-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc. She tied a season high with four steals while grabbing three boards and three assists. Bernard finished with 11 points on three triples while Myers registered nine points, five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Browne tallied a team high six caroms while totaling six points and a pair of steals as Hamilton collected five boards, four points, and three blocks during the win.

UP NEXT
Duquesne is idle for over a week before traveling to Bowling Green on Monday, Nov. 27, for a non-conference game, with the opening-tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
 
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