GAME 10
Duquesne (6-3) at Vermont (6-5)
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023 | 2:00 p.m.
Burlington, Vt.| Patrick Gymnasium (3,266)

GAME DAY LINKS
Video
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Vermont Game Notes

OPENING TIP
- The Duquesne women's basketball team will hit the road for the first time since Nov. 27, when it travels to Vermont on Saturday, Dec. 16, for a non-conference contest against the Catamounts.

- Behind a career and record-setting day from junior Tess Myers, the Dukes routed Longwood, 89-69 on Thursday morning at La Roche University in non-conference action.

- Myers registered a career-high 35 points while breaking the all-time record for most three-pointers in a single game with 11. She finished 11-of-16 from behind the arc while her 35 points ranks 12^th best in program history and sits second all-time under head coach Dan Burt.

- As a team, Duquesne finished 20-of-38 from behind the arc, with the 20 triples tying the program and Atlantic 10 conference record, which the Dukes set last season. The 38 attempts are the most by a team in the Burt era.

- Junior Nae Bernard finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 from behind the arc while collecting four rebounds and four assists. Redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Ammons had a career day, setting career-highs with 10 points, six rebounds, and four blocks. She knocked down a pair of threes while dishing out three assists and collected a steal.

- Megan McConnell finished just shy of another double-double, carding nine assists and eight boards. Senior Ayanna Townsend carded three blocks while classmate Amaya Hamilton registered five boards and three assists. Overall, Duquesne mounted 27 assists on 32 field goals made in the win.

- It was an incredible start on both sides of the floor for Duquesne as they held Longwood scoreless for the last seven minutes of the opening frame. The Lancers were 0-of-11 from the floor while committing seven turnovers. The Dukes in that span, would mount a 22-2 run, finishing 7-for-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from behind the arc.

- Duquesne held a 25-4 advantage, which ties the lowest the Dukes have held an opponent in the first quarter under Burt. In the second quarter, the Lancers opened the stanza on a 7-4 stint to trim the deficit, 29-11. Duquesne responded by scoring 12 of the next 14 points, all coming off triples and from four different Dukes. Myers, McConnell, redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Ammons, and junior Kiandra Browne all connected from behind the arc.

- The Dukes continue its road swing when it travels to New Orleans, La., to take part in the Tulane Holiday Tournament. Duquesne will take on Maine on Wednesday, Dec. 20, before battling either Tulane or Little Rock on Thursday, Dec. 21.

The Series vs. Vermont – It'll be just the second matchup when the Dukes and Catamounts square off on Saturday afternoon. The two teams battled last December inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with Duquesne securing a 56-54 victory as well as head coach Dan Burt becoming the all-time wins leader in program history. Burt's historic victory sent him past former head coach Dan Durkin, who had 176 wins on the Bluff. Duquesne shot just 31.3 percent from the field while Vermont shot 35.2 percent. It did not get any better from three-point range, as the Dukes were just 2-for-20 and the Catamounts were 4-for-19. Precious Johnson led Duquesne with 17 points and eight rebounds while shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Amaya Hamilton was the only other Duke in double digits with 13 points and seven rebounds. The difference in this game came down to free throw shooting. Duquesne was 14-for-15 from the stripe, which was a major factor in securing the victory down the stretch. The Dukes also only had six turnovers compared to Vermont's 13. On the offensive glass, Duquesne outrebounded Vermont 14-8.

Scouting the Catamounts – Vermont is coming off consecutive road games where they split their last two matchups. The Catamounts captured a 62-42 victory at Army (12/6) before falling at Manhattan (12/9) 53-43 last Saturday. Vermont has won three of their last four games while currently ranking ninth in the country in scoring defense (51.1). Against Manhattan, Keira Hanson scored a career-high 11 points and also added a career-high five assists to lead the Catamounts. Anna Olson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with four points and five assists, while Delaney Richason carded five points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. Vermont shot a season-high 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from behind the arc.

The America East Champions a season ago, Vermont was the preseason favorite heading into the 2023-24 campaign. The Catamounts featured a pair on the preseason all-conference team in Emma Utterback and Anna Olson. Utterback earned her second consecutive preseason honor while she leads the squad with 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game. She has scored in double-figures in nine of the Catamounts 11 games while netting double-digits in six of the last seven. Her 14.7 points ranks third in the conference while her total assists (44) and assists per game (4.0) sit second. Olson leads the conference in field goal percentage (.587) while sitting second on the team at 10.4 points per game. She's registering 5.6 boards and 1.5 assists per game for Vermont. Olson received her third straight preseason honor while being selected to the America East First Team last season.

Longwood Remains – Leading 43-23 at the half, the Dukes picked up right where they left off, opening the second half on a 15-3 spurt, all coming off five three pointers. Bernard was 3-of-4 from behind the arc to lead the run while Myers buried a pair from deep to cap the spurt. Longwood would connect on consecutive triples before the Dukes scored eight of the next 15 points to hold a 68-39 advantage. Ammons sparked the run with a layup, followed by consecutive scores from senior Precious Johnson and Myers. Jaynay Tuner would bury a triple before Johnson found the bottom of the net once again. Duquesne finished 11-of-17 from the field (63.7 percent) for the quarter while going 5-of-10 from deep (50.0 percent). The Dukes registered their best shooting performance of the season, shooting .525 percent (32-of-61) from the floor.

It's Raining Triples – Tess Myers stamped herself into the record book after putting on a shooting clinic from behind the arc against Longwood on Thursday. The junior guard broke the single game record for most three-pointers in a game with 11. She surpassed Raegan Moore, who knocked down nine threes at Kent State back in 2013. Her 11 triples are the most treys made by any NCAA Division I player this season while also being the record for the Atlantic 10 conference. Myers finished with a career-best 35 points which ranks tied for 12th best in program history and sits second all-time under Burt. She shot a career-high 66.7 percent (12-for-18) from the field while collecting five boards, two assists, and a block. The Pennsylvania native, currently leads the league in total triples (30) while sitting 11^th in three-point percentage (.417). Myers currently ranks fourth in program history with 235 career triples, with a chance to move into third place as she sits three treys behind Alex Gensler.

Between the Numbers – Nine games into the season, a handful of Dukes continue to climb the leaderboards in multiple statistical categories. Behind Myers, Nae Bernard continues to shoot at a high clip from deep as she sits second in the A-10 in threes per game (3.1) and total triples (28). Bernard has buried three plus jumpers from behind the arc in seven consecutive games. Megan McConnell continues to control the pace for the Dukes as she ranks second in assists per game (4.8) and third in total assists (43). Her 2.7 assist to turnover ratio sits second in the conference while her 2.8 steals per contest is tied for first. The Pittsburgh native continues to lead the country in minutes played at 38.8. Precious Johnson continues to protect the paint as her 1.4 blocks per game is tabbed fifth while her 13 total rejections rank sixth.

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