PREVIEW: Duquesne at La Salle

GAME 25 | DUQUESNE (15-9, 5-6) vs. LA SALLE (14-11, 5-5)
Sun. Feb. 12, 2023 • 2 p.m.
Tom Gola Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPN+

Duquesne goes on the road this weekend to take on the La Salle Explorers on Sunday at 2:00 P.M. ET.

THE SERIES - vs. LA SALLE

The Dukes are 23-21 all-time against the Explorers.
Duquesne is 10-10 against La Salle on the road.
Duquesne is 7-3 in the last 10 matchups against La Salle.
The Dukes are 23-19 against La Salle when they have met in conference play.
The first matchup was in 1983.

SCOUTING LA SALLE

La Salle is 14-11 overall, 5-5 in conference play and is on a three-game losing streak.
The Explorers have lost to VCU, UMass and Richmond in their last three.
Claire Jacobs is the team's leading scorer (13.0) and three-point shooter (45).
Mia Jacobs leads the team with 5.1 rebounds per game.
VCU was picked to finish second in the conference this season.
Mountain MacGillivray is in his 5th season leading the Explorers.

LAST MATCHUP - FEB. 23, 2022

Duquesne lost to La Salle 67-66 in their last meeting.
Libby Bazelak led the Dukes with 25 points and Amaya Hamilton scored 16.
The Dukes shot 49.1 percent from the field.

LAST TIME OUT

Duquesne held off VCU for a 66-63 win last Saturday.
Naelle Bernard led the team with 17 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
Megan McConnell scored 16 points herself and secured seven rebounds.
Ayanna Townsend shot 6-for-11 from the field and scored 15 points.
Duquesne outrebounded VCU 46-31.

STAT CHECK

Megan McConnell is one of two players in Division-I to have multiple triple-doubles this year. Her 8.1 defensive rebounds per game rank 10th in the nation and her 9.6 rebounds per game rank third in the A-10. Her 58 steals are the 24th-most in the country and her 128 assists lead the A-10 and rank 19th nationally.
Tess Myers ranks fifth in the nation in three pointers with 73 and ninth in three-pointers per game with 3.04. Her 90 total threes last season led the conference and ranked 14th in the nation.
The Dukes rank second in the A-10 in rebounds per game (41.4, 31th in nation) and lead the A-10 in defensive rebounds per game (30.2, 13th in nation). Their field goal percentage defense (35.2%) ranks first in the conference and 14th nationally.

MS. TRIPLE-DOUBLE

Megan McConnell is one of two players in Division-I to have multiple triple-doubles this season. She also has 11 double-doubles this year.
Her first came on Nov. 11 against Brown. She scored 10 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.
Her second came against Delaware on Dec. 4 when she had 12 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
She is just the second player in A-10 women's basketball history to have multiple triple-doubles in the same season.
She is the first Duquesne women's basketball player to have multiple triple-doubles in their career - let alone 23 days apart.
Only one other player has had three triple-doubles in a season in A-10 history - Megan's aunt, Susie McConnell (Penn State, 3, 1988).

A-10 ELITE

Since taking over as head coach in 2013-14, Dan Burt has led the Dukes to 184 wins. Only Fordham (197) and Dayton (196) have amassed more wins during that span among A-10 teams.
The Dukes are also one of four Atlantic 10 programs to post a winning season in at least seven of the past nine seasons (Dayton, Fordham, & VCU).
Coming into the season, Duquesne was also tied for the third-most A-10 wins (86) since Burt took over as head coach.
Since 2013-14, the Dukes have led the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (2x), scoring margin, field goal percentage (2x), free throw percentage and assists per game (3x).
Duquesne has ranked at least fifth in the conference in points per game, field goal percentage and assists per game in all but one season since 2014-15.

LOCK DOWN D

Duquesne ranks 14th in the country and first in the conference in field goal percentage defense, with opposing teams shooting just 35.2 percent against the Dukes.
Opposing teams have scored 63.5 points per game against Duquesne this season.
The Dukes held opponents to under 50 points five times last season and won eight games by double digits. They have won seven games by double-digits already this year.
Duquesne held an opponent to under 50 points just once during the previous 2020-21 season (George Mason) and did not win any games in 2020-21 by double digits.
This year, the Dukes have held three teams to under 50 points.
In the Jan. 11 win over St. Bonaventure, Duquesne held the Bonnies to 11 points at half, 21% shooting overall, and just 38 points total.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

Duquesne has 12 wins at home this season already, which is tied for the third-most in program history. The record is 13, set by the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams. This year's team has two home games remaining.
Since taking over as head coach in the 2013-14 season, Dan Burt has led the Dukes to a 99-41 record in home games.
Not including the shortened 2020-21 season (only five home games), the Dukes haven't had a losing record at home since 2006-07 and never have under Burt.
The Dukes went 8-7 at home last season in their first full season at the upgraded UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Duquesne is 12-3 at home this season.

BEASTS ON THE BOARDS

Megan McConnell ranks third in the A-10 with 9.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 32nd nationally. Her 8.1 defensive rebounds per game rank 10th in the nation. Her 231 total rebounds are the 21st-most nationally.
She led the team with 6.4 rebounds per game last season, which ranked 10th in the conference.
McConnell hauled in at least five rebounds in 22 games last season. She has five or more in 23 out of 24 games so far this year, and has 13 games with double digit rebounds.
Precious Johnson ranks second on the team and 13th in the conference with 7.0 rebounds per game.
Duquesne's 30.2 defensive rebounds per game rank 13th in the country. The Dukes' 41.4 rebounds per game rank second in the conference and rank 31st in the nation.
The Dukes secured a season-high 56 rebounds against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 11, 2022, the most since Nov. 26, 2019 against Central Connecticut State (57).

CLUTCH IN CRUNCH TIME

Duquesne was 0-12 last season in games decided by eight points or less, but it is 8-5 this year - a sign that things are different this season in the clutch moments.
The Dukes were also winless in the 12 games in which they trailed heading into the fourth quarter, a streak which was also snapped just two games into this season as they trailed 54-53 against Brown on Nov. 11 after three quarters.
Tess Myers has been clutch late in the game this season. She hit the game-winning three-pointer against Vermont on Dec. 10, scored the last seven points in the six-point win over Kent State on Dec. 7, scored three of the last four points in the five-point win against Marshall on Nov. 27 and hit the go-ahead three with eight seconds left against Davidson.
They are 13-0 when leading after three quarters this year.

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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.

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