Burlington, Vt. – A late run for the Duquesne women's basketball team fell short as it dropped a 77-61 decision at Vermont on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action inside Patrick Gymnasium. With the slip, the Dukes fall to 6-4 overall while the Catamounts improve to 7-5 this season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was a stagnant start for Duquesne early on as Vermont jumped out to a 7-3 lead after hitting its first three shots of the contest. The Dukes would respond by scoring five of the next seven to trim the deficit, 9-8. Junior Kiandra Browne converted a layup before senior Ayanna Townsend registered a bucket and a free-throw. The Catamounts responded in a big way, mounting a 14-2 run to hold a 23-10 advantage after the opening frame. Vermont shot an impressive 60.0 percent (9-of-15) to open the contest. In the second quarter, the Catamounts extended its lead to 27-12 before both squads went almost two minutes without a bucket. Later in the quarter, junior Nae Bernard drilled a jumper from behind the arc before redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Ammons found the bottom of the net with a triple, 29-18. Vermont continued to answer as they netted seven straight points to hold a 36-18 advantage with 1:48 remaining. Senior Precious Johnson and junior Megan McConnell would score for the Dukes as they trailed 36-22 at the break.

INCHED CLOSER
Trailing at the half, the Dukes continued to battle as they trimmed the Catamounts lead to eight midway through the third quarter. The two teams continued to trade buckets to begin the second half before a triple from junior Tess Myers sparked a 11-4 spurt for the Dukes. Townsend made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe before McConnell buried a pair at the line. After a missed layup from Vermont, senior Amaya Hamilton connected on a three from the top of the key, followed by a driving layup to get Duquesne within eight. That's as close at the Dukes would get as the Catamounts ended the quarter on a 12-4 run, hitting 6-of-6 from the foul line and 3-of-3 from the field, 62-46.

The Dukes made a final push in the fourth quarter as they erased a 20 point deficit down to nine with just under five minutes to play. Sophomore Jerni Kiaku registered a basket followed by a layup and triple from McConnell. McConnell would connect on a pair of free-throws before Myers capped the 11-0 run with a layup. Over the final four minutes, Vermont held the Dukes without a field goal, carding a 9-2 stint to end the game.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Megan McConnell paced the Dukes with 14 points on 4-of-7 shotting from the floor. She finished with eight boards and a team-high four steals. Amaya Hamilton carded 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocks while Nae Bernard ended with eight points and four caroms. Tess Myers totaled seven points and three steals while Precious Johnson and Ayanna Townsend finished with six points each. Johnson also collected four boards and three blocks while Townsend captured a pair of rejections.

UP NEXT
The Dukes continue its road tilt as they travel to New Orleans, La., to take part in the Tulane Holiday Tournament. Duquesne will battle Maine on Wednesday, Dec. 20 before taking on Tulane or Little Rock on Thursday, Dec. 21.