GAME 20
Duquesne (11-8, 6-2 A-10) vs Loyola Chicago (11-8, 5-3 A-10)
Sunday, Jan. 28, 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
Loyola Chicago Game Notes

OPENING TIP
-The Duquesne University women's basketball team puts its three-game winning streak on the line, when it welcomes Loyola Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 28 inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for the Hall of Fame Game.

- The Dukes are coming off a defensive battle on Wednesday night, securing a 72-59 victory over conference leading Richmond inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Sophomore Jerni Kiaku paced four Dukes in double-figures while posting season-highs against the Spiders.

- She finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor while being a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Kiaku collected six rebounds (four offensive) and a steal during the win. The sophomore guard scored 12 of her 18 in the first half, where at one point netted seven consecutive points for the Dukes.

- Three other Dukes finished in double-figures. Amaya Hamilton finishes with 16 points on 50.0 percent shooting (6-of-12) while collecting six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Ayanna Townsend finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while Megan McConnell tallied her 19th career double-double and sixth of the season. She posted a season-high 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points and three triples.

-  In the second quarter, Duquesne turned up the defensive pressure, holding the top shooting team in the conference to just 3-of-19 from the field. After a triple from Richmond, the Dukes would mount a 15-2 run, featuring five different players registering a bucket.

-  Hamilton started the run with a layup, followed by consecutive triples from McConnell and redshirt senior Lauren Wasylson. Wasylson would follow up the next possession with a layup before Kiaku converted an old-fashion three-point play.

- Townsend would cap the run with a foul line jumper as the Dukes held a 30-18 advantage. Duquesne would score six of the final 11 points of the half to hold a 36-23 halftime advantage. Late in the second half, Duquesne continued to knock down shots as it grabbed its largest lead of the contest (47-26) after Bernard converted a three-point play.

- The Spiders wouldn't shy away as they trimmed the Dukes lead to 10 (57-47) with 7:12 remaining but consecutive driving layups from Hamilton pushed the lead back to 14.

- Duquesne will hit the road when it travels to Richmond, Virginia, to battle VCU on Wednesday, Jan. 31, with opening tip scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

The Series vs. Loyola Chicago – It'll be just the third meeting between the Dukes and Ramblers come Sunday afternoon as Loyola Chicago joined the A-10 in July of 2022. Duquesne has won the only two meetings, most recently in the first round of the conference tournament last season (58-57). The game came down to one final possession by Loyola for the win, but Duquesne's defense held firm and forced a tough look to hold on. Amaya Hamilton had a potential game-saving block with three seconds left. Precious Johnson had a game-high 13 rebounds and led Duquesne with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Megan McConnell scored 11 points and had eight rebounds while Tess Myers and Hamilton scored 12 points each. As a team, the Dukes registered 10 blocks while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and made seven three-pointers. They also outrebounded the Ramblers 42-30. Despite the close final score, Duquesne never trailed in the game.

Scouting the Ramblers – Loyola Chicago is coming in on a three-game winning streak, winning two of their last three on the road. The Ramblers most recently captured a 73-64 victory at Fordham on Wednesday (1/24). Ali Berg scored 18 points and snagged three steals for two new career-highs. Sam Galanopoulos led Loyola with 20 points while Alyssa Fisher, who dished out a career high six assists, was the third Rambler in double figures with 15 points.

A pair of Ramblers average double figures, led by Alyssa Fisher. She's averaging 13.5 pints, 2.7 boards, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest. She's scored in double digits in three straight games while posting five 20-point games this season. Sam Galanopoulos is the second Rambler in double digits, tallying 13.3 points a game. Just two games ago, Galanopoulos surpassed 1,000 career points, becoming just the 29^th Rambler to clip the milestone. She ranks third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.475) while sitting 10^th in field goal percentage (.477). Galanopoulos ranks tied for second with a 2.0 assist to turnover ratio while sitting fourth in assists per game (4.1). The graduate student has posted three consecutive double figure games, two of them being 20-point performances.

Richmond Remains - Richmond came into Wednesday night ranked nationally in multiple scoring categories. The Spiders led the A-10 in field goal percentage (47.1, 21st nationally), three-point percentage (37.1, 19th nationally) and three pointers per game (9, 15th nationally). The Dukes defensively held them under their season average in almost every statistical category. They held them to just 21-of-62 (33.9 percent) from the field, 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from deep, and its third lowest scoring total this season (59). Duquesne also outrebounded the Spiders 44-29 while registering 38 paint points to their 30.

Did You Know? – The Dukes are 8-1 this season when they lead after the second and third quarter. Duquesne has continued to turn up the defensive pressure and move to 5-0 on the year when holding opponents under 60 points. When holding teams under .400 percent shooting, the Dukes post a 7-3 mark while being 2-0 when teams shoot below .300 percent from the field. On the offensive, Duquesne moves to 6-3 when shooting over .401 percent from the floor while sitting at 5-2 when scoring 70+ points.

Going For 200 – Entering Sunday's contest, head coach Dan Burt is just one win shy of capturing his 200^th career victory. He would be the only coach in program history to capture his 200^th win at Duquesne. Burt, the all-time winningest coach, just secured his 100^th Atlantic 10 victory with a 72-59 triumph over Richmond on Wednesday (1/24). He moved into ninth all-time in conference history while capturing the milestone in 163 total conference games. The Pennsylvania native has compiled a 199-127 (.610) record in his 11 seasons on the Bluff while only taking 149 games to claim his 100th career victory, the 15th fastest to that feat in NCAA women's basketball history.

Joining The Club – A pair of Dukes are in striking distance of joining the 1,000-career point club. Senior Ayanna Townsend and junior Megan McConnell are the next two Dukes to concur the milestone. Townsend and McConnell look to join teammates Amaya Hamilton and Tess Myers, who surpassed the achievement in a victory at Davidson. Townsend is just 10 (990) points shy of reaching the plaudit as she has totaled 464 points in two seasons with the Dukes. The Pittsburgh native spent four seasons at Xavier, where she registered 526 points. She's averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game this season. McConnell is looking to become the fourth Duke to capture the honor this season as she sits 39 points shy (961). The junior guard paces the squad in multiple categories, points (12.6), rebounds (8.5), assists (4.3), steals, (2.1), and minutes played (38.6).

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