GAME 18
Duquesne (9-8, 4-2 A-10) at Davidson (13-4, 3-3 A-10)
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 | 2:00 p.m.
Davidson, N.C.| John M. Belk Arena (5,295)
Stream: CBS Sports Network with Chick Hernandez (pxp) &  Fallon Stokes (analyst)

GAME DAY LINKS
Video (CBS Sports)
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Davidson Game Notes

OPENING TIP
-The Duquesne women's basketball team hits the road, traveling to Davidson, N.C. to take on the Wildcats on Sunday, Jan. 21, in Atlantic 10 action at John M. Belk Arena.

- The Dukes are coming off a 76-67 victory over St. Bonaventure this past Wednesday (1/17) inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Duquesne featured four players finishing in double figures.

- Megan McConnell paced the Dukes, posting her 18th career double-double and fifth of the season. She posted 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting while collecting 13 boards, two blocks, one steal, and dishing out six assists.

- Ayanna Townsend carded a season-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while securing six rebounds and two blocks. Amaya Hamilton recorded an all-around performance, finishing with 14 points, six rebounds, and a season-best six assists.

- Hamilton posted 12 of her 14 in the second half while shooting 4-for-7 from the field. Tess Myers was the final Duke in double-figures, tallying 11 points with three triples, four assists, and three rebounds.

- It was a blistering start for Duquesne in the opening five minutes, shooting 6-of-6 from the field to hold a 16-3 lead. Junior guard Naelle Bernard and senior forward Ayanna Townsend each posted five points while junior guard Megan McConnell netted four during the stint.

- The Dukes finished the quarter 9-of-12 from the field (75.0 percent), including 60.0 percent from behind the arc. Duquesne continued to be consistent in the second quarter, netting seven of the first nine points to begin the second 10 minutes. McConnell sparked the run with a layup, followed by a bucket from Townsend, before junior Tess Myers buried a triple to cap the stint.

- The Bonnies would respond, mounting an 18-5 run over the final five minutes to cut the Dukes lead. St. Bonaventure would finish the quarter 6-of-8 from the field while holding the Dukes 2-of-7 shooting from the floor. Duquesne would hold a 38-33 advantage at the break.

- After its trip to North Carolina, Duquesne will return back to Pittsburgh for a pair of conference home games, battling Richmond on Wednesday, Jan. 24, before welcoming Loyola Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 28.

The Series vs. Davidson – Come Sunday afternoon, it'll be just the 12^th meeting between the Dukes and Wildcats as Duquesne holds a 6-5 edge in the series. Davidson has won four straight meetings, including a 66-65 victory in Pittsburgh. It was a back-and-forth game most of the way, but the fourth quarter had everyone in the building on the edge of their seat. A three-pointer by Tess Myers gave Duquesne a one-point lead with eight seconds to go, but two free throws by Davidson with two seconds left won the visitors the game. Myers scored a team-high 18 points while shooting 6-for-12 from three-point range. Megan McConnell scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out six assists and had four steals while Ayanna Townsend also recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and tallying 11 rebounds, including five offensively. As a team, Duquesne out rebounded Davidson 33-32, but turned the ball over (16-13). The Dukes shot 44.0 percent from the field compared to 38.6 percent by Davidson. The Wildcats drilled 11 three-pointers and shot 40.7 percent from deep which edged Duquesne's nine threes and 37.5 three-point percentage.

Scouting the Wildcats – Davidson has dropped three of their last four games, most recently falling 59-54   against Richmond on Wednesday (1/17). Elle Sutphin was the lone Davidson player in double figures with 15 points. Three others added nine each, including Issy Morgan, who also contributed eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Millie Prior had nine points and 12 boards while Charlise Dunn corralled five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Despite losing Suzi-Rose Deegan to a knee injury, Davidson features three players averaging double-figures.

Charlise Dunn and Elle Sutphin both pace the Wildcats by averaging 11.9 points per game. Dunn is grabbing just under six rebounds a game while dishing out 1.8 assists and collecting 1.1 steals. She has registered 10 games in double-digits, including a 20-point performance at Fordham. Dunn is also leading the league in free-throw percentage at .881. Sutphin is grabbing 4.5 rebounds while posting 1.1 steals and shooting .929 from the charity stripe. Millie Prior is the third Wildcat in double-digits, averaging 11.4 points a contest. She leads the A-10 in field goal percentage (.611) while ranking sixth in rebounds per game (7.6). Prior is averaging 1.8 blocks per game while totaling 30 rejections this season, both ranking second in the conference.

St. Bonaventure Leftovers - In the second half, the Dukes came out firing as they scored seven consecutive points to begin the final 20 minutes. Hamilton converted a pair of layups while Bernard connected on a jumper from behind the arc. Over the next three minutes Duquesne would keep their foot on the pedal, mounting an 11-2 run to stretch its lead even further, 56-35. Townsend would lead the charge with six points during the run. After a pair of free-throws from the Bonnies, the Dukes secured its largest lead of the contest (62-40) on a triple by Myers with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. St. Bonaventure would make a run to end the quarter as Duquesne held a 64-45 advantage after three. The Dukes finished the quarter 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from the field while holding the Bonnies to just 33.3 percent (4-of-12) shooting.

St. Bonaventure didn't shy away in the final frame, outscoring Duquesne 22-12 while opening the quarter on a 7-1 spurt. Duquesne would stretch its lead to 17 midway through the final quarter, before an 8-3 run by the Bonnies cut the deficit to single digits with 1:30 remaining. A layup by Myers would secure the win in the end.

About To Make The List – Entering Sunday's contest, a pair of Dukes are less than 10 points from surpassing 1,000 career points. Senior guard Amaya Hamilton and junior guard Tess Myers are looking to become the 33^rd and 34^th player in program history to concur the honor. Hamilton comes in just seven points (993) shy after carding 14 points this past Wednesday against the Bonnies. She is averaging 10.4 points per game while collecting 5.2 boards, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 steals. Hamilton has scored in double-figures in four straight games while posting nine games this season in double-digits. Myers goes into Davidson just nine points (991) shy after posting 11 points against St. Bonaventure. She's averaging 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting .412 from behind the arc. Her 252 career triples rank her second all-time in program history while her 2.94 long balls a game sit 16^th in the country. She has carded back-to-back games in double-digits while registering nine games with 3+ threes.

Continuing To Climb – Already the programs all-time winningest coach, head coach Dan Burt is on the rise to capturing his 200^th career victory and also his 100^th Atlantic 10 win. He has led the Dukes to the third most wins in the Atlantic 10 with 197 victories and became the all-time winningest coach at Duquesne last season. Burt's 97 A-10 victories are just two shy of tying the great Dawn Staley (South Carolina head coach) who compiled 99 conference victories in her eight seasons at Temple. His 100^th league win will move him into ninth place all-time in Atlantic 10 history. In his 10 seasons leading the Dukes, he has had unprecedented success in both the Atlantic 10 Conference as well as nationally. It took only 149 games for Burt to claim his 100th career victory, the 15th fastest to that feat in NCAA women's basketball history. Duquesne has earned 11 postseason appearances and 10 20-win seasons in the 15 campaigns in the Steel City.

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