Bowling Green, Ohio – Despite a career night from senior Amaya Hamilton, the Duquesne women's basketball team fell at the buzzer, 68-66 at Bowling Green on Monday night at the Stroh Center in non-conference action. With the loss, the Dukes fall to 3-2 overall while the Falcons improve to 5-1 this season.

THE DAGGER...
A pair of free-throws by Amy Velasco at the 1:45 mark gave the Falcons a 63-62 advantage before a Hamilton jumper regained the lead for the Dukes with 1:28 to play. After back-to-back empty possession from both squads, Lexi Fleming buried a right-wing triple with 20 seconds remaining to give Bowling Green a two-point lead. On the following possessions, Hamilton found the bottom of the cup once again to knot the score 66-all with under 10 seconds remaining. Junior Kiandra Browne drew a charge on Fleming on the next possession to give the Dukes the ball with 3.5 remaining. Unfortunately, Duquesne turned it back over after a five-second call which led to Velasco drilling a floater as time expired.  

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bowling Green opened the contest with consecutive baskets before Duquesne rattled off a 7-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. Junior Nae Bernard sparked the run with a triple before junior Megan McConnell and senior Ayanna Townsend registered back-to-back layups. After a Morgan Sharp triple knotted it at 9-all, the Dukes scored five straight points, thanks in part from a McConnell three and foul-line jumper from senior Precious Johnson. The Falcons would respond, recording an 8-0 run to end the quarter while holding a 17-14 lead after one. In the second stanza, Bowling Green jumped out to a 24-20 advantage before a layup by Hamilton and a triple by Bernard helped the Dukes regain the lead with 4:55 to play in the half. The two squads traded baskets over the next minute and a half before the Falcons ended the half on an 8-1 run to hold a 40-31 advantage at the break.

THIRD QUARTER THRILLER
The Dukes came out of the break looking to run as they used a 25-9 third quarter to erase a nine point deficit. Duquesne began the second half by hitting four of their first six shots and used a 12-4 spurt to trim the Bowling Green lead to one. McConnell sparked the run with a three-point play before Hamilton found the bottom of the net and Bernard buried another triple. Townsend would connect on a pair of free-throws and Hamilton's hook shot capped the stint. The Dukes held the Falcons to just 2-of-6 from the floor in the opening three minutes. Bowling Green would stretch its lead before consecutive baskets from Hamilton knotted the score 47-all. Duquesne would end the quarter by scoring nine of 11 points to hold a 56-49 lead, thanks to seven points coming from Hamilton.

CAREER-DAY
Amaya Hamilton led a trio of Dukes in double-figures, registering a career-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor. Hamilton recorded 22 of her 28 points in the second-half, where she was 8-for-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. She tallied a season-high nine rebounds, along with one block and one steal while finishing 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Bernard finished the night with 14 points with three triples while collecting a pair of rebounds. McConnell registered her 16^th career double-double and second of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. She finished 5-of-8 from the floor and collected four assists and a pair of steals. Townsend tallied eight points, two boards, and a steal while junior Tess Myers grabbed a season-high seven boards.

The Falcons had four players finish in double-figures, led by Fleming with a team-high 19 points and four three-pointers. She collected six boards while Velasco netted 15 points, after going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Morgan Sharp netted 11 points off the bench, with three triples from behind the arc as Paige Kohler totaled 10 points, four assists, and three rebounds.

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to begin a four-game homestand, welcoming Delaware on Sunday, Dec. 3, with tip-ff scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

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