GAME 4
Duquesne (2-1) at Kent State (1-3)
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Kent, Ohio | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,327)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team hits the road when it travels to Kent, Ohio to battle the Golden Flashes on Wednesday, Nov. 20 in non-conference action inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

- The Dukes are coming off a dominating performance over Niagara on Saturday night, throttling the Purple Eagles 100-65 in non-conference action. Duquesne featured four players in double figures.

- Junior Jerni Kiaku finished with a season-high 24 points on an impressive 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) shooting from the floor. She ended with five assists, three steals, and two rebounds while going 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. The junior got off to a fast start, registering eight points in the opening quarter on 4-of-4 shooting before chipping in seven points to begin the second half on 3-of-3 shooting.

- Freshman Mackenzie Blackford strung together an impressive performance in just 16 minutes of action. She finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting (62.5 percent) while going 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) from long range. Blackford dished out four assists while doing it on the defensive end as well, registering three steals. The freshman recorded seven points in just 4:23 in the opening quarter while dishing out three dimes and a steal.

- Senior Megan McConnell finished with 15 points, seven steals, six assists, five rebounds, and buried a pair of triples. Graduate student Gabby Hutcherson netted 10 points, three boards, one steal, and one assists while connecting on a pair of threes. Freshman Nadia Moore ended with nine points and five rebounds while Kaitlyn Ammons finished with eight points and a steal.

- The Dukes came out of the gates clicking on all cylinders, hitting its first four shots and grabbing a 9-2 lead in the early going. Junior Jerni Kiaku paced the Duquesne with four points during the run.

- Later in the quarter, the Dukes pushed its lead to double digits off five straight points from freshman Nadia Moore before classmate Mackenzie Blackford led a 9-4 stint to stretch the Duquesne lead, 29-13. After a bucket from senior Kiandra Browne, Blackford converted a pair of layups before connecting on a long ball to cap the stint as Duquesne held a 31-17 advantage after one.

- After a layup from graduate student Gabby Hutcherson started the second quarter, Niagara strung together a 13-5 stint to trim the deficit to single digits (38-30) with 4:12 remaining in the half. Duquesne would respond later in the quarter, ending the half on a 7-3 run. Blackford buried another triple while McConnell and Kiaku each tallied points to give the Dukes a 52-38 halftime break.

- Duquesne returns home when it welcomes Robert Morris on Monday, Nov. 25 for a non-conference match inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

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The Series vs. Kent State – It'll be the 13^th meeting between the Golden Flashes and Dukes come Wednesday night and the seventh straight meeting in the last seven years. Duquesne holds a 7-5 lead in the all-time series while winning the last two meetings, including an 89-82 double overtime victory last December. In the first OT, both teams struggled from the floor, combining 2-of-8 from the field before both squads went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Trailing by one with 14 seconds remaining, Megan McConnell knocked down a top of the key three to give the Dukes a 73-71 advantage. The following possession, Katie Shumate was fouled and knocked down a pair of free-throws for Kent State with a second remaining. It was a back-and-forth affair in overtime number two, until Duquesne mounted a 9-0 run to grab its largest lead of the contest, 84-76. Ayanna Townsend connected on a layup before Nae Bernard knocked down a triple while McConnell found the bottom of the net with a jumper. Bernard would cap the run with a pair of free-throws with 1:03 remaining. In the final minute, the Dukes converted 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, four of them coming from McConnell.

Scouting The Golden Flashes – A member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Kent State was picked second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll and comes into Wednesday with a 1-3 record. The Golden Flashes are coming off back-to-back road contests, recently dropping a 66-63 decision at Elon. Jenna Batsch paces Kent with 14.0 points and 1.3 steals per game as she has totaled double figures in three straight contests. Riley Rismiller is averaging 12.8 points per game and Kaley Perkins is chipping in 10.5 points per contest for the Golden Flashes. Bridget Dunn leads the team in rebounds (10.0) while dishing out 2.3 assists and collecting 1.5 blocks per contest.

Niagara Remains - The Dukes forced Niagara into 38 miscues, the most in program history and the most in the Dan Burt era. Duquesne collected 25 steals during the win, the most under Burt and tied the most in program history. 10 different Dukes registered a steal, led by Megan McConnell who posted a season-high seven steals while junior Andjela Matic carded a career-high five takeaways during the win. Jerni Kiaku and Mackenzie Blackford each tallied a trio of steals for the Dukes. Duquesne held the Purple Eagles to just .357 percent (20-of-56) shooting from the floor and 5-of-20 (.250 percent) from behind the arc. The Dukes did its damage in the second half, holding them to just 7-of-30 (23.3 percent) from the field and 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from long distance.

Against The MAC – Duquesne has had success against opponents in the Mid-American Conference, holding a 39-26 overall record, dating back to 1984. The first ever meeting against a MAC opponent was against the Golden Flashes, where Kent State grab a 67-63 victory over the Dukes. In the last 10 meetings against a MAC foe, Duquesne is 5-5.

Causing Havoc – Over the last three contests, the Dukes have made it difficult for opposing teams on the offensive end. Duquesne currently leads the conference and ranks 14^th in NCAA Division I in turnovers forced at 27.33 per game. The Dukes most recently broke the program record for turnovers forced against Niagara with 38 while forcing Penn State into 26 and Princeton into 18. Not only are they causing turnovers but they pace the conference in steals per game and sit 16^th in the country at 14.3. Against the Purple Eagles, 10 different Dukes collected a steal while tying the program record with 25 takeaways in a single game. Duquesne tallied 10 steals against the Lady Lions while beginning the year with eight against the Tigers. Senior Megan McConnell ranks 23^rd in the country in steals per game (3.33) while sitting sixth in total steals (10). Junior Andjela Matic sits sixth in the Atlantic 10 in steals per contest (2.67) while being tied for eighth in total takeaways (8).

From No Man's Land – In the early going, Duquesne has shown it has the ability to shoot the long ball as they don't hesitate to let it fly from behind the arc. In the first three contests, the Dukes have knocked down 10+ three's and as a team they currently rank fourth in the country at 11.7 triples per game. They're averaging 30 attempts per contest, ranking them 16^th in NCAA Division I while leading the A-10 in scoring offense at 86.3 points per game. Freshmen Nadia Moore currently sits second in the league in three-point percentage (.714) while Mackenzie Blackford sits fifth at .556. Senior Megan McConnell ranks tied for fourth in the league in treys made per game (2.3) while graduate student Gabby Hutcherson sits 10^th at 2.0 per game. In just three contests, five different Dukes already have five or more triples this season.

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