Kent, Ohio – Second half shooting woes seemed to be the difference as the Duquesne women's basketball team dropped an 81-61 decision at Kent State on Wednesday night during non-conference action. The Dukes slipped to 2-2 overall on the season.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Both teams struggled to find its mark in the opening quarter, combining 11-of-38 from the field. Junior
Jerni Kiaku started the scoring for Duquesne with consecutive layups before the Golden Flashes registered eight straight points. Senior
Megan McConnell stopped the bleeding with a triple before freshman
Mackenzie Blackford gave the Dukes a 10-8 advantage with a long ball. Kent State countered with five straight points to take a 13-10 lead before McConnell found the bottom of the net with her second three of the quarter. The two teams traded baskets as it was knotted at 15-all after one. The Golden Flashes would take a 22-19 lead in the second quarter before a layup from graduate student
Gabby Hutcherson and a bucket from McConnell gave the Dukes a 23-22 lead. Later in the quarter, Kent State used a 12-4 run to grab its largest lead of the first half as they took a 36-29 advantage into the break.
QUOTABLE
"We were exposed tonight for some of our deficiencies by a very well coached Kent State team," head coach
Dan Burt said. "They played a little bit more man than we anticipated and sat in gaps which was to their benefit, because we kept shooting threes. When you're one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, you hope it's going to turn around. I felt like we got a lot of good looks and unfortunately, we shot it poorly today and that's a big part of the outcome."
SHOOTING WOES
Duquesne was unable to find its rhythm in the second half, especially in the third quarter as it shot just 5-of-19 from the floor. The Dukes struggles continued in the fourth, shooting just 4-of-16 from the field. Kent State (2-3) opened the third on a 9-4 stint, hitting 4-of-7 shots from the field and taking the first double digit lead of the night. The Dukes continued to battle as they responded by scoring nine of the next 11 points to trim the deficit to single digits (47-41). Senior
Kiandra Browne connected on a three while freshman
Nadia Moore hit a jumper as the Dukes went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe the rest of the run. Kent State countered with an 8-3 stint as its lead swelled back to 11 with just under two minutes to go in the third stanza. Duquesne would cut the lead to eight but the Golden Flashes took a 57-47 lead into the final frame.
QUOTABLE
"We believe that we're a really good basketball team," Burt continued. "Tonight, was not our night and we did a lot of things that are a little uncharacteristic of our early part of our season. We've got to figure out a couple adjustments so that when we do shoot it poorly from the three, that we can get better. I thought our kids showed a lot of fight though in the end."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Two Dukes finished in double figures, led by senior
Megan McConnell. She posted her second double-double of the season and 27
th of her career, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. McConnell netted 12 of her 19 in the first half while leading the team with three steals and collecting three assists.
Jerni Kiaku was the second player in double figures, ending with 10 points, three rebounds, and one steal. Sophomore
Andjela Matic recorded a team-high five assists and four rebounds while
Mackenzie Blackford grabbed a season-best five boards.
NOTES
Duquesne shot a season low from the field (22-of-71 / 31.0 %) and from behind the arc (5-of-34 / 14.7%) … Kent State featured four players in double figures, led by Dionna Gray, who finished with a game-high 20 points, including 11-of-11 from the free-throw line … The Golden Flashed held a 53-39 advantage on the boards but the Dukes forced 22 turnovers and tallied 12 steals while scoring 21 points off turnovers … The contest featured three ties and nine lead changes.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns home when it welcomes Robert Morris on Monday, Nov. 25, for a non-conference contest inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with the opening tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
