GAME 6
Duquesne (3-2) vs Delaware (3-3)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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

OPENING TIP
- After playing its fourth road game in the month of November, the Duquesne women's basketball team begins a four-game homestand, when it hosts Delaware on Sunday, Dec. 3, inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

- The Dukes are coming off a heartbreaking buzzer beater loss at Bowling Green, falling 68-66 this past Monday inside the Stroh Center. After senior Amaya Hamilton knotted the score at 66-all, 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 Amy Velasco drilling a floater as time expired. 

- 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.

- 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. Megan McConnell sparked the run with a three-point play before Hamilton found the bottom of the net and Nae Bernard buried another triple.

- Ayanna 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.

- Bernard finished the night with 14 points with three triples while collecting a pair of rebounds. McConnell registered her 16th 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.

- Senior guard Amaya Hamilton enters Sunday's contest ranked eighth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with an average of 14.6 points per game while sitting tied for third in the conference with 1.4 blocks per contest and fifth with 2.0 steals a game.

- Junior guard Megan McConnell currently leads the league in minutes played (39.6 per game) while sitting first in steals per game (3.2). Her 4.4 assists per contest ranks tied for third while she sits tied for second with 2.8 triple per game.

- The Dukes continue their homestand on Tuesday, Dec. 5, when they begin conference play while welcoming Fordham to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a 6:00 p.m. tip.

The Series vs. Delaware – A member of the Coastal Athletic Conference, the two programs will meet for just the fourth time this Sunday as the Dukes hold a 2-1 mark in the series. Behind her second triple-double of the season, Megan McConnell paced Duquesne as they captured a 66-55 victory in Delaware last December. McConnell scored 12 points, grabbed 15 rebounds for the second-straight game and dished out 10 assists. She also had four steals. Center Precious Johnson scored 17 points to lead Duquesne offensively while going 9-for-19 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Guard Tess Myers was consistent from beyond the arc, shooting 4-of-6 from three as she ended the game with 15 points. Guard Nae Bernard also ended in double-figures, scoring 14 points while collecting four rebounds and dishing out three assists. The Dukes shot well from the floor, shooting at a 44.2 percent clip (23-of-52) while going 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from deep and holding the Blue Hens to just 33.9 percent (21-of-62).

Scouting the Blue Hens – After losing three of their first four contests to begin the season, Delaware is coming on consecutive wins over Vermont (73-66) and at American (68-58). In their win over the Eagles on Wednesday (11/29), senior Tara Cousins poured in a career-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 6-for-10 from long range. She paced the team with nine boards while Sydney Boone finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Klarke Sconiers and Darrionna Howard each tallied 10 points while both shot 5-of-9 from the floor. Howard also collected six caroms and Sconiers finished with four. The Blue Hens feature four players averaging double-figures, led by Cousins, who sits third in the CAA with 17.0 points per contest. She's currently shooting .404 from behind the arc which ranks third in the league while her .477 shooting percentage sits in the top 10.

Chloe Wilson ranks second on the team at 13.8 points a game while collecting 6.2 boards, 2.0 assists, and shooting .460 from the field. Sconiers is averaging 12.7 points per contest while grabbing 5.3 boards, 1.8 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game. She's scored in double-figures three times this season while dropping 33 points and 10 rebounds against Lehigh. Sydney Boone is the last Blue Hen in double-digits, totaling 10.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 steals. Boone has finished in double-figures four times while collecting a steal in all by one game this season.

Chasing 1,000 – Leading into Sunday's game, four different Dukes are on the verge of surpassing 1,000 points for their career. Amaya Hamilton is just 110 points from passing the milestone as she currently sits at 890 points. She's looking to become the 33^rd player in program history to achieve the goal. Tess Myers and Ayanna Townsend each sit at 863 career points as Townsend spent four seasons at Xavier prior to joining the Dukes in 2022-23. She has already surpassed 500 career rebounds a season ago while totaling 526 points with the Musketeers.
Myers has totaled 216 triples so far which currently ranks fifth in school history while her 564 attempts sit fourth. Entering the 2023-24 campaign, her .387 three-point percentage ranks second in program history. Precious Johnson currently sits at 818 points for her career as her .505 field goal percentage sits second in school history. Johnson recorded a career best 309 points a season ago while shooting .496 from the field (130-for-262).

Don't Take Me Out – Junior guard Megan McConnell is an all-around performer for the Dukes as the Pittsburgh native rarely ever comes off the floor for head coach Dan Burt. McConnell currently leads the country in minutes played, averaging 39.6 minutes per contest. She has played all 40 minutes in three of Duquesne first five games and 39 minutes in the other two contests. Her 39.6 minutes is a career best so far as she leads the Dukes in multiple statistical categories. The Chartiers Valley product leads with 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.2 steals per game while averaging just under 13.0 points this season.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
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