Richmond, Va. – The Dukes were victims of a fourth quarter run at VCU on Wednesday morning, dropping a 64-51 decision in conference action at the Stuart C. Siegal Center. With the slip, the Duquesne University women's basketball team falls to 12-9 this season, with a 7-3 mark in league play. Meanwhile the Rams improve to 18-3 overall, behind a 7-2 record in A-10 action.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a hot start for VCU as they opened the contest on a 9-2 stint just two minutes into the matchup. Out of a Duquesne timeout, the two teams would go scoreless over the next two minutes before senior
Amaya Hamilton scored eight straight points to trim the deficit, 11-10. Hamilton connected on a set of free-throws before burying back-to-back triples. The Rams would score four of the final six points of the opening quarter to hold a 15-12 advantage. The Dukes would grab a 16-15 lead to begin the second quarter, thanks to a triple from junior
Megan McConnell and a free-throw from sophomore
Jerni Kiaku. VCU would respond with a 9-2 stint, thanks to three consecutive threes, two from Sarah Te-Biasu, to take a 24-18 lead with 4:06 remaining. The Dukes didn't shy away as four straight points from senior
Precious Johnson cut the Rams lead to two, before VCU ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 30-22 advantage.
LATE RUN …
In the third quarter, Duquesne made its run, opening the half on a 7-3 stint to trim the deficit (33-29). Junior Naelle Bernard buried a long ball followed by consecutive jumpers from senior
Ayanna Townsend. Later in the quarter, the Dukes trimmed the deficit to two with a Johnson layup before a coast to coast layup from Kiaku cut the lead to 37-36 heading into the final 10 minutes. Duquesne held the Rams to just 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) from the field and 1-for-6 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc in the quarter. In the final stanza the Dukes took its first lead since the second quarter off a jumper from Kiaku before later taking a 42-40 advantage off a bucket from Kiaku again. VCU knotted the score at 42-all before it used a 18-7 run over a span of four minutes to push its lead to double-digits (60-49).
TOP TO BOTTOM
It was a balanced effort for Duquesne on Wednesday, led by senior
Amaya Hamilton. She was the lone Duke in double-figures, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, a season-high four blocks, and went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Junior Megan McConnel finished just shy of a double-double, with 10 rebounds, eight points, and four assists. Seniors
Ayanna Townsend and
Precious Johnson each finished with eight points while Johnson collected five rebounds. Sophomore
Jerni Kiaku netted seven points while tallying five rebounds and two steals off the bench.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Neither team shot the ball predominantly well as VCU finished 36.9 percent (24-of-65) while Duquesne ended 32.7 percent (17-for-52) from the floor. The Rams held a 40-36 rebounding advantage while scoring 18 points off turnovers and mounted 12 second chance opportunities. VCU was led by Sarah Te-Biasu, who had a game-high 26 points while finishing 7-of-12 from behind the arc. Te-Biasu scored 17 of her 26 in the second half, ending 6-for-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from deep.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns home when it hosts Rhode Island on Saturday, Feb. 3, for an Atlantic 10 matchup inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with the opening tip scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
