GAME 24 | DUQUESNE (14-9, 4-6) vs. VCU (7-14, 4-5)
Sat. Feb. 4, 2023 • 2 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
TV: ESPN+

Duquesne is back home on Saturday to host the VCU Rams at 2:00 P.M. ET. We will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

THE SERIES - vs. VCU

• The Dukes are 11-2 all-time against the Rams.
• Duquesne is 5-2 against VCU at home.
• Duquesne is 8-2 in the last 10 matchups against VCU.
• The Dukes are 9-3 against VCU when they have met in conference play.
• The first matchup was in 1989.

SCOUTING VCU

• VCU is 7-14 overall, 4-5 in conference play and is on a two-game winning streak.
• The Rams beat La Salle on Wednesday and Loyola Chicago on Sunday.
• Sarah Te-Biasu is the team's leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, leading passer (2.9 apg), leading pickpocket (2.1 spg) and lead three-point shooter (38 three-pointers).
• VCU was picked to finish fifth in the conference this season.
• Beth O'Boyle is in her 9th season leading the Rams.

LAST MATCHUP - JAN. 5, 2022

• Duquesne lost to VCU 70-74 in overtime in their last matchup on Jan. 5, 2022 in Richmond, Va..
• Precious Johnson led Duquesne with 19 points, Tess Myers had 17 and Megan McConnell had 15. 
• The Dukes shot 43.3 percent from the field.

LAST TIME OUT

• Duquesne lost in a defensive battle at GW on Wednesday night, losing 58-52.
• Megan McConnell scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to record a double-double.
• Ayanna Townsend scored 11 while battling foul troubles, shooting 4-for-9.
• Duquesne shot 32.3 percent from the field.

STAT CHECK

• Megan McConnell is one of two players in Division-I - men's or women's - to have two triple-doubles this year. Her 8.2 defensive rebounds per game rank fifth in the nation and her 9.7 rebounds per game rank third in the A-10. Her 58 steals are the 20th-most in the country and her 124 assists lead the A-10 and rank 15th nationally. 
• Tess Myers ranks fourth in the nation in three pointers with 70 and 11th 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 (41.2, 34th in nation) and lead the A-10 in defensive rebounds per game (30.4, 14th in nation). Their field goal percentage defense (34.9%) ranks first in the conference and 11th nationally.

MS. TRIPLE-DOUBLE

• Megan McConnell is one of two players in Division-I - men's or women's - to have two 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).

BEASTS ON THE BOARDS

• Megan McConnell ranks third in the A-10 with 9.7 rebounds per game, which ranks 32nd nationally. Her 8.2 defensive rebounds per game rank fifth in the nation. Her 224 total rebounds are the 13th-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 22 out of 23 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 30.4 defensive rebounds per game rank 14th in the country. The Dukes' 41.2 rebounds per game rank second in the conference and rank 34th 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).

PLAYING LIKE A MCCONNELL

• In addition to rebounds, Megan McConnell ranks fourth in the A-10 in steals per game (2.52, 39th in nation) and leads the A-10 in assists per game (5.4, 22nd in nation). 
• Last year she led the team in both assists (4.1) and steals (2.6) per game.
• She has 58 steals, recorded five in the season opener and had six in the Marshall and Dayton game. 
• McConnell recorded a career-high eight steals versus George Washington on Feb. 9, 2022.
• It marked the most steals in a single game by a Dukes player under Head Coach Dan Burt.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

• Duquesne has 11 wins at home this season already, which is tied for the seventh-most in program history. The record is 13, set by the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams. This year's team has three home games remaining.
• Since taking over as head coach in the 2013-14 season, Dan Burt has led the Dukes to a 98-41 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 11-3 at home this season.

A-10 ELITE

• Since taking over as head coach in 2013-14, Dan Burt has led the Dukes to 183 wins. Only Dayton (196) and Fordham (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. 

CLUTCH IN CRUNCH TIME

• Duquesne was 0-12 last season in games decided by eight points or less, but it is 7-5 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 12-0 when leading after three quarters this year.

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.