Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind a triple-double from senior guard Megan McConnell, the Duquesne women's basketball team captured a 77-61 victory over Robert Morris on Monday night, inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during non-conference action. The Dukes improved to 3-2 overall with the win.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a slow start for Duquesne as the Colonials jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, hitting three of its first four shots. Junior Andjela Matic got the Dukes on the board with a triple, followed by a jumper from freshman Nadia Moore. Robert Morris would take a 14-7 advantage off a floater from Madison O'Dell before Duquesne ended the quarter an 8-2 stint to trail 15-14 after one. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford and Moore each connected on a shot from behind the arc while senior Kiandra Browne drilled a pair of free-throws. Duquesne came out firing in the second stanza, opening the quarter on an 11-0 stint. Matic and Moore each buried a triple while McConnell converted a three-point play, 26-16. The Dukes held the Colonials scoreless for the entire stretch, forcing a pair of turnovers. Later in the quarter, McConnell converted a layup to push the Dukes advantage to 33-24 before RMU used an 11-3 run to end the half and cut the DU's lead 36-34 at the break.

A GAME OF RUNS
After Robert Morris (2-4) posted a run to end the half, the Dukes responded in a huge way to begin the third quarter. Isys Grady hit a three-pointer to give the Colonials the lead but a triple from Browne bolstered a 21-2 run over the next 5:45 for the Dukes. Junior Jerni Kuaku tallied consecutive buckets before McConnell and Moore connected on back-to-back triples (49-39) and forced an RMU timeout. Out of the break, sophomore Reina Green had a driving layup followed by an old fashioned three-point play from Kiaku. A long ball from Moore capped the stint and gave Duquesne its largest scoring run of the contest, 57-39. The Dukes held RMU to just 1-of-6 shooting from the floor and forced six turnovers while collecting four steals. The Colonials would end the quarter by scoring seven of the next nine points as Duquesne held a 64-49 advantage heading to the final frame.

MISS TRIPLE-DOUBLE
For the third time in her career, Megan McConnell has carded a triple-double. She is the only player in program history to register more than one triple-double while becoming just the sixth player in the country and is the only player in the Atlantic 10 to achieve the honor. McConnell finished the night with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists while adding five steals and three triples. The senior was held scoreless in the opening quarter but boosted nine points in the second frame on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. She entered halftime with nine points, six boards, five assists, and four steals. The Pittsburgh native dished out five dimes in the third quarter alone giving her 15 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds heading into the fourth quarter. McConnell secured the achievement with her 10^th and final rebound on an offensive board at the 3:01 mark.

QUOTABLE
"I have so much love for Duquesne and the people that come to our games," McConnell said. "They've been supportive of me for five years here, but none of this is possible without my teammates. Even though we didn't play our best, I think we still executed very well. We had some mess ups here and there, but I'm just glad we were able to get the win."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Two other Dukes joined McConnell in double figures in Nadia Moore and Jerni Kiaku. Moore finished with a season-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from long range. She also tallied a trio of steals. Kiaku posted her fifth straight game in double digits, registering 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while totaling four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Kiandra Browne and Andjela Matic each recorded nine points while graduate student Gabby Hutcherson and freshman Mackenzie Blackford totaled six points each. Hutcherson carded a season-best seven rebounds while dishing out two assists.

QUOTABLE
We expected today to be exactly what it was," head coach Dan Burt said. "They were not going to give up. They were going to play us really hard and play with great effort, and they did that, especially in the first two quarters. But throughout the game for us, we were able to assert ourselves in spurts. And so, we had several times where we had spurts of eight or 10 with in a lot of deflections and turnovers and 10 second counts within that. So that really wears on an opponent when you have that happen. Plus, we have Meg McConnell, and she had a triple-double, and she's the best player in mid major basketball."

NOTES
Duquesne forced 25 turnovers while collecting 10 steals … It's the fourth straight game the Dukes have forced 20+ miscues and the fourth straight contest with 10+ takeaways. … DU registered 17 points in transition while holding a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers. … RMU featured one player in double figures, led by Madison O'Dell, with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. … The Colonials held a 43-33 advantage on the glass. … It's the fifth straight game this season that both McConnell and Kiaku have finished with double digit points.

UP NEXT
Duquesne is off for the holiday break before returning home to host Saint Francis on Sunday, Dec. 1, inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, beginning at 1;00 p.m.