WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Duquesne women's basketball team fell to the George Washington Colonials on the road Wednesday, dropping the low-scoring contest 58-52.
 
Duquesne falls to 14-9 (4-6 A-10) while GW improves to 15-8 (7-3 A-10).
 
The game was a defensive battle the entire 40 minutes, but this matchup came down to three-point shooting and rebounding. Duquesne got outrebounded 55-41 and shot 1-for-29 from long range. The Colonials didn't exactly shoot well from deep, but they did make seven three-pointers. Inside of the three-point line, Duquesne shot 57.6 percent.
 
Sophomore Megan McConnell led the team with 12 points, grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and recorded a game-high four steals. She led Duquesne with three assists.
 
Junior forward Ayanna Townsend scored 11 points despite being in foul trouble most of the game. She was still effective as a scorer, shooting 5-for-9 from the field. Sophomore guard Tess Myers was the third Duke in double digits as she scored 10 points and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
GW led for most of the game, but its largest lead was only nine points. Duquesne did block 10 shots while GW blocked none. Junior guard Amaya Hamilton blocked a season-high four shots while junior center Precious Johnson had three of her own.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The game began slow offensively for both sides. GW led 4-2 all the way until 5:30 in the first quarter then hit a couple three-pointers to make it 10-2.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Johnson and Myers gave the Dukes some confidence, but they were still 0-for-7 from three-point range to begin the game.
 
Redshirt junior guard Lauren Wasylson then hit the longest two-pointer possible to make it a two-point game as the Dukes trailed 10-8 after one quarter.
 
Townsend gave Duquesne its first lead of the night with a nice move down low before Myers traded three-pointers with GW. At the second quarter media timeout, Duquesne trailed 16-15.
 
A 9-2 run by GW right before halftime gave the Colonials a five-point advantage after 20 minutes. The first half consisted of tight defense on both sides, as Duquesne was shooting 31 percent from the field and GW was hitting just 25 percent of its shots.
 
The Dukes scored four points right out of halftime to make it a one-point game, then the two teams traded more buckets for a few possessions. Despite playing with three fouls, Townsend was making an impact in the paint.
 
Townsend scored again thanks to a pretty bounce-pass by Hamilton, then McConnell followed that with a layup of her own. Unfortunately, GW was hitting its stride at the same time and extended its lead to nine points with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The third quarter ended with a steal and finish by McConnell, her second steal of the game, to bring Duquesne within seven points with 10 minutes left in the game.
 
Early into the fourth, Hamilton scored five-straight after converting a three-point play at the free throw line, but GW answered and got its lead back to eight points.
 
Townsend grabbed a huge offensive rebound for the Dukes when they were down by six, then she went to the free throw line on the extra possession to bring them within five with 4:55 remaining.
 
As precious minutes came off the clock, the Dukes' three-pointers just wouldn't fall. Offensive rebounds and good defense kept them alive, but when the shots aren't finding the bottom of the net, it's tough to come back.
 
George Washington ended up winning the defensive slugfest, 58-52.

GAME NOTES

• Today was Townsend's 13^th game this season with 10 or more points. She ended the game with 11.
• McConnell grabbed 12 rebounds tonight, making it her 13^th game of the year with 10 or more.
• With those 12 rebounds plus 12 points, she recorded her 11^th double-double of the year. She also led the team with four steals.
• The Dukes have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field in all but four games this year. GW shot 27.9 percent today.

GET YOUR TICKETS
To buy women's basketball single game tickets, click here.
For full information on renewing or buying season tickets, click here.

If you have any questions or enquiries about season or single game tickets, please email ticketservices@duq.edu or call 412-232-DUKE (3853) Monday-Friday 10am-4pm.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne women's basketball, follow @DuqWBB on Twitter and Instagram.