PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's basketball team bounced back and took down the VCU Rams on Saturday afternoon, winning 66-63 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
Duquesne improves to 15-9 (5-6 A-10) while VCU falls to 7-15 (4-6 A-10).
 
The Dukes took the lead for good with 7:41 left in the third quarter and never looked back. A 12-0 run in the same quarter put them up by 13, which proved to be a large-enough cushion despite the late VCU rally.
 
Duquesne had four players with 14 or more points – sophomore guard Naelle Bernard (17), sophomore guard Megan McConnell (16), junior forward Ayanna Townsend (15) and sophomore guard Tess Myers (14).
 
Bernard set a new career high with eight rebounds and shot 5-for-10 from three-point range. Junior guard Amaya Hamilton led the team with nine rebounds. As a team, Duquesne grabbed 46 rebounds compared to VCU's 31, and set a new season high with 19 offensive rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Bernard was hot right out the gate, scoring 11 of Duquesne's first 13 points and beginning the game 4-for-5 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. She put the Dukes up 13-9 halfway through the first quarter.
 
After a three-pointer by McConnell, VCU went on a 7-0 run to tie things up at the end of the first quarter.
 
Things stayed knotted up at 20-20 until there was a little over three minutes left in the first half. Redshirt junior Lauren Wasylson broke the tie with a layup through contact at the rim.
 
The Dukes managed to stay up, but not by a lot. Five-straight points by McConnell gave Duquesne a 27-24 lead at the halftime.
 
Four quick points by Townsend and a fourth trey by Bernard put the Dukes up 33-30 early in the second half. Duquesne then went on a 12-0 run thanks to a couple three-pointers from Myers, putting the Dukes up by 13 points.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Myers and McConnell gave the Dukes a 12-point lead in the fourth, but that lead shrunk to six points quickly.
 
The Dukes' lead got as small as two points, but a clutch three-pointer by Bernard and late free throws were enough to remain on top as the clock hit zero. Duquesne won 66-63.

GAME NOTES

• Bernard grabbed a career-high eight rebounds today. With 17 points, it marks her 10^th game with 10 or more points and 5^th game with 15 or more.
• Townsend has scored 10 or more points in five-straight games and 14 games overall.
• Myers had made at least two three-pointers in 20 out of 24 games this year. She is one three-pointer away from moving into 5^th-place for most three-pointers made in a season.
• McConnell scored 16 points today, marking her sixth game with 15 or more points.
• This was the seventh time this season that Duquesne hit 10 or more three-pointers as a team.
• Duquesne's 19 offensive rebounds today is a season high and the most since Nov. 30, 2017 against St. Francis (Pa.).
• Duquesne's 12 wins at home this season are tied for third-most ever at Duquesne. The record is 13 wins. The Dukes have two home games remaining.

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