GAME 8
Duquesne (4-3) vs Kent State (4-3)
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
Stream: ESPN+ with Alex Panormios (pxp), Rachel Zimmerman (color), Tad Maurey (color)

GAME DAY LINKS
Video
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Kent State Game Notes

OPENING TIP
- The Duquesne women's basketball team will play its third consecutive game inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, when it hosts Kent State on Sunday, Dec. 10, for a non-conference contest.

- The Dukes opened Atlantic 10 play and snapped a two-game skid this past Tuesday (12/5), capturing a 75-73 victory over Fordham in overtime. Four Dukes finished in double-figures, led by junior guard Nae Bernard for the second consecutive game.

- She finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 from the floor, including four threes. Bernard posted a career-high six assists while collecting three rebounds and two steals. Tess Myers and Precious Johnson each tallied 13 points as Myers totaled all 13 in the second half while posting a season high eight rebounds, two steals, two assists, and one block.

- Johnson registered 11 of her 13 in the second half, shooting 5-for-5 from the field while carding five boards and two blocks. Megan McConnell was the final Duke in double-digits, netting 12 points, nine caroms, and four steals. The four combined for all 11 three-pointers by the Dukes in the win.

- In her first start of the season, Kiandra Browne recorded a career-high 10 rebounds while tallying nine points, three assists, and two blocks. Jerni Kiaku ended the night with six points, five boards, and four assists while Amaya Hamilton collected five points and five rebounds, all offensive in the win.

- Leading 35-31 out of the media timeout, the Dukes mounted a massive 18-4 run over the final 4:20 of the third quarter. After a jumper from Fordham's Taylor Donaldson, Johnson connected on a layup followed by a driving layup from Bernard.

- Donaldson would connect on a pair from the line for the Rams before Myers buried back-to-back shots from deep, to give the Dukes a 10-point advantage. A Fordham bucket trimmed the lead before a Browne layup and McConnell triple pushed the lead back to double-digits.
- With just 14 seconds remaining, the Rams would misfire from behind the arc before McConnell buried her second straight three, this one from the top of the key as time expired.

- Five Dukes continue their chase of surpassing 1,000 points for their career. Senior guard Amaya Hamilton sits at 903 while junior guard Tess Myers is at 881. Senior center Ayanna Townsend has tallied 867 career points while Precious Johnson has registered 837. Megan McConnell is the final Dukes chasing the milestone as she has carded 806 career points.

- Duquesne will wrap up its homestand on Thursday, Dec. 14, when it welcomes Longwood for a non-conference match at La Roche University. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

The Series vs. Kent State – It'll be the 12^th meeting between the Dukes and Golden Flashes come Sunday afternoon, with Duquesne holding a 6-5 advantage in the series. Before last year, Kent State had won three consecutive matchups before the Dukes captured a 73-67 victory last December. Tess Myers and Amaya Hamilton both posted career-highs as Myers tied her career-bests with 23 points and six three-pointers made to lead Duquesne's offense. She was 6-for-8 from behind the arc. Hamilton finished the night shooting 10-for-17 from the field, grabbing 12 rebounds and notching two steals. Megan McConnell had another well-rounded game, carding 11 points, secured 12 rebounds and dished out eight assists. The win also marked the 176th of head coach Dan Burt's tenure on the Bluff, which tied the all-time wins record for women's basketball at Duquesne. The Dukes offense got off to a blistering hot start to the game, making six of its first nine shots. Myers made two early three-pointers and all five starters for the Dukes were on the board before the first media timeout. Duquesne used its size advantage inside, registering 34 points in the paint, compared to Kent States 18.

Scouting the Golden Flashes – After securing a 77-40 victory over Coppin State in their home opener, Kent State dropped a 76-49 decision at #15 Florida State last Sunday (12/3). Junior Bridget Dunn led the Golden Flashes by grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and scored nine points to just miss a double-double. Jenna Batsch led Kent State with 13 points while Corynne Hauser totaled 10 points, six boards, and two assists. Katie Shumate finished the evening with nine caroms and six points, while Mikala Morris totaled six rebounds.

The Golden Flashes feature four of their five starters averaging over 9.0 plus points per game, led by Shumate. She paces the team with 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds while registering 1.4 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 assists per contest. Batsch sits right behind her at 10.6 points while carding 4.0 boards per game. Morris is averaging just over 9.0 points a game while recording 5.0 rebounds as Hauser has totaled 9.0 points, leading the team with 3.6 assists, and 2.7 rebounds. As a team, Kent State sits second in the Mid-American Conference in holding opponents to just .391 percent shooting from the floor. The Golden Flashes are holding their opponents to just .276 percent from behind the arc while giving up a total of 37 triples this season, both in which rank second in the conference. Kent leads the MAC as in rebounding both offensively and defensively, combining for 40.9 a game. The Flashes are averaging 14.0 offensive boards a game, carding 11+ in every game this season.

Fordham Remains – Before Tuesday's meeting, the Rams had won seven of the last eight meetings, including three straight. Duquesne entered the fourth quarter with a 53-37 advantage, until Fordham erased a 16-point deficit by shooting 11-for-15 (73.3 percent) from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc in the final frame to force overtime. In OT, the Rams secured the first basket before sophomore Jerni Kiaku knotted the score at 67-all with a driving layup. Fordham would string together a 3-0 run before a triple by junior Tess Myers tied it with 2:00 minutes remaining. The two teams traded possessions before a layup by junior Kiandra Browne gave the Dukes its first lead in extra minutes. After forcing a contested three on the following possession, Browne found Myers on a backdoor cut to give Duquesne a 74-70 lead with 23 seconds remaining. Mandy McGurk would be fouled on a three-point attempt, where she connected on all three. After a pair of missed free-throws by the Dukes, an offensive rebound was secured by senior Amaya Hamilton to give Duquesne another opportunity as junior Nae Bernard went one-of-two from the line.

Block Party – Senior forward Precious Johnson has been a tremendous contributor off the bench for the Dukes, especially protecting the paint. Johnson currently ranks third in the Atlantic 10 with 1.7 blocks per game while sitting fifth with 12 total blocks. Earlier this season, Johnson registered a career-high eight rejections in a 65-51 victory at Howard. The eight blocks tie the most under head coach Dan Burt as Kadri-Ann Lass registered the accomplishment twice, collecting eight blocks against Massachusetts in 2016 before carding the same amount at ETSU in 2017. Her 133 career blocks currently ranks 6^th all-time in program history.

Leading The Way – A group of Dukes continue to make plays as they sit amongst the top of the conference in multiple statistical categories. Megan McConnell continues to lead the country in minutes played (39.71) as she registered 40 minutes in four of the first seven contests. McConnell paces the A-10 while sitting 20^th in the NCAA in steals per game (3.14) and total steals (22). She has collected 2+ steals in every game this season while posting four steals three times. Nae Bernard continues to hit from deep, as she paces the league and ranks 25^th in the country in triples per game (3.00). Her 21 total threes rank fourth in the conference as she has knocked down 3+ triples in five consecutive games, including a career-best six in a victory at Howard.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
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