GAME 17
Duquesne (8-8, 3-2 A-10) vs St. Bonaventure (4-12, 1-4 A-10)
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024 | 6:00 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 (ESPN+)
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
St. Bonaventure Game Notes

OPENING TIP
-The Duquesne women's basketball team returns to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse when it welcomes St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, Jan. 17, for an Atlantic 10 matchup.

- The Dukes concluded its two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 77-62 decision at Saint Joseph's in conference action inside the Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena. Senior Amaya Hamilton and junior Tess Myers paced Duquesne in Philadelphia.

- Hamilton tallied 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal. She registered 10 of her 18 in the second quarter, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Myers recorded 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-5 from long range. She collected a team-high four assists and three rebounds on Saturday.

- Junior Megan McConnell and sophomore Jerni Kiaku each posted eight points while McConnell tallied six boards and a pair of triples. Seniors Ayanna Townsend and Precious Johnson each posted six points while Johnson collected a pair of rebounds.

- It was an entertaining opening quarter as Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early 5-3 lead before Duquesne strung together an 11-0 run. Johnson sparked the run with consecutive layups before a jumper by Myers forced a Hawk timeout.

- Out of the break, senior Amaya Hamilton buried a left-wing triple before sophomore Jerni Kiaku drained a jumper to cap the stint, 14-5. Saint Joseph's would respond, ending the quarter by scoring 10 of the final 12 points to trail 16-15 after one.

- The second quarter didn't disappoint as both teams shot over 57.0 percent from the floor. The Hawks registered seven straight points to begin the quarter before holding a 31-24 at the media timeout.

- After a layup by Julia Nystrom, Hamilton would convert back-to-back three-point plays, trimming the Hawks lead, 33-30 with 2:18 remaining in the half. McConnell would keep the scoring going for the Dukes, carding her first triple of the half to knot the score before a pair of free-throws from Saint Joseph's, gave them a 35-33 advantage.

- On the following possession, Myers would knock down a corner triple off a feed from McConnell before the Hawks connected on consecutive layups to hold a 39-36 lead heading into the break.

- Duquesne will hit the road for a conference match in Davidson, N.C. when it battles the Wildcats of Davidson on Saturday, Jan. 20, with the opening tip scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

The Series vs. St. Bonaventure – It'll be the 68^th meeting when the Dukes and Bonnies square off on Wednesday night with Duquesne holding a 46-21 overall mark in the series. The Dukes have dominated the series as of late, winning 12 of the last 13 meetings, including the last four. In the previous meeting, Duquesne hit a school-record 20 three-pointers to claim a 94-62 victory last February. Amaya Hamilton led the team with 22 points, on 9-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from long range. She was one rebound short of a double-double while dishing out two assists. Megan McConnell netted 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out eight assists and netting two steals. Naelle Bernard finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from deep while Tess Myers ended with 15 points on five triples. Ayanna Townsend tallied 13 points and eight boards while shooting 5-of-7 from the field.

Scouting the Bonnies – St. Bonaventure is currently on a four-game losing streak, most recently dropping a 78-62 decision against George Washington this past Sunday (1/14). Three Bonnies finished in double-figures, led by Nadechka Laccen who ended with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Dani Haskell and Isabellah Middleton each posted 10 points while Middleton collected six boards and two steals while Haskell tallied four caroms and one block. Kirah Dandridge registered a team-high eight rebounds while totaling nine points.

Haskell paces the Bonnies with 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals, while shooting .851 percent from the charity stripe, which ranks sixth in the league. She's netted 12 games in double-figures while scoring 27 against Loyola Chicago earlier this season. Laccen is the second player in double-digits, netting 11.5 points, 5.5 caroms, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Middleton is chipping in 9.9 points while grabbing a team-best 5.9 rebounds per contest.

Saint Joseph's Remains - Saint Joseph's remained consistent to begin the second half, mounting a 12-0 run while hitting 4-of-7 shots from the field in the opening three minutes. Three of the four jumpers for the Hawks came from behind the arc. The Dukes wouldn't shy away as they put together a 10-6 spurt to trim the deficit, 57-46. Myers and McConnell connected on triples while Kiaku and senior Ayanna Townsend registered a bucket during the stint. Saint Joseph's held a 61-48 advantage heading to the final 10 minutes. Duquesne would fire on all cylinders to begin the fourth, shooting 4-of-4 from the field that led to a 10-3 stint to trim the lead 64-58. Kiaku started the run with a floater in the lane before a triple by Hamilton and a layup by freshman Gabby Grantham-Medley continued the run. Myers would cap the stint and force a timeout with her third triple of the afternoon. The Dukes would get as close as eight multiple times as the Hawks consistently answered with a run.

Inside The Conference – As we're five games into the Atlantic 10 schedule, a handful of Dukes continue to climb the ladder in many statistical categories. Junior guard Megan McConnell currently ranks third in the league in rebounds per game (8.0) while her assist to turnover ratio sits fourth (2.1). McConnell continues to lead the country and the conference in minutes played (38.45) while sitting seventh in assists per contest (3.4). The Dukes continue to fire from deep as juniors Naelle Bernard and Tess Myers lead Duquesne. Bernard is knocking down 2.4 triples in Atlantic 10 play while her 12 total threes are tied for fifth in the league. Myers is tied for seventh in three-pointers per game (2.3) while burying nine long balls in conference action. Senior Ayanna Townsend sits tied for fifth in blocks per game (1.0) while totaling one in every league game this season. Freshman Gabby Granthan-Medley (0.8) ranks in the top 15 in blocks per contest while collecting four rejections in five conference matches.

Silky From Deep - The Dukes continue to be one of the top shooting teams from behind the arc as their 8.9 triples per game sit second in the A-10 and 17th in NCAA Division I. As a team, Duquesne is shooting at .349 percent clip from behind the arc, ranking them third in the conference. The Dukes have registered six games with 10+ threes, all in which have led to a perfect 6-0 record. Duquesne features two of the top three-point shooters in the league, Tess Myers and Naëlle Bernard. Myers is knocking down 2.93 triples per contest while shooting .415 percent from behind the arc, both in which sit second in the Atlantic 10. Her 2.93 threes per game sit 17th in the country while her 44 total triples rank second in the league. Bernard has knocked down 43 total triples this season, ranking her third in the conference. She's connecting on 2.69 long balls per game which ranks behind Myers in the league and 38th in the NCAA. Bernard has recorded nine games this season where she has connected on 3+ triples.