GAME 6
Saint Francis (1-7) vs. Duquesne (3-2)
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team closes out its two-game homestand on Sunday afternoon, when it hosts Saint Francis inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse at 2:00 p.m.

- The Dukes are coming off a triple-double performance from senior guard Megan McConnell as they defeated Robert Morris 77-61 last Monday in Pittsburgh.

- For the third time in her career, Megan McConnell had 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.

- Two other Dukes joined McConnell in double figures in freshman Nadia Moore and junior 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.

- Senior Kiandra Browne and junior 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.

- 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.

- After battling the Red Flash, the Dukes will travel down the road to take on cross-town rival Pitt, Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. inside the Petersen Events Center.

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The Series vs. Saint Francis – It'll be the 37^th meeting come Sunday afternoon and the first matchup since the 2021 campaign. Duquesne holds a commanding 30-6 record in the all-time series while winning 12 straight against Saint Francis. The Dukes captured a 70-61 victory in the last meeting, led by former guard Tess Myers. She finished with 23 points, all coming in the second half. Myers led the Dukes (5-6) while shooting 6-of-13, including 4-of-7 from long range, entirely in the second half. She scored 12 of the team's 17 points in the third quarter and half of Duquesne's 22 fourth-quarter points. Three other Dukes scored in double figures. Libby Bazelak posted 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists, while both Megan McConnell and Fatou Pouye each finished with 10 apiece. McConnell added a career-high five steals to her final line. The Dukes shot 25 of 53 (47 percent) from the field as a team, including a 9-of-18 (50 percent) showing from beyond-the-arc. Saint Francis ended the evening shooting 22 of 51 (43 percent) and 7-of-19 (37 percent) from deep.

Scouting The Red Flash – Saint Francis comes into Sunday's contest with a 1-7 overall record while being on a two-game skid. The Red Flash most recently dropped an 88-35 decision at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday (Nov. 27). Natalie Johnson led the team in scoring with nine points and knocked down both three-pointers that she took. Jade Campbell led the Red Flash on the glass with six rebounds and added five points. Ineivi Plata logged a team-best three assists. A member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Saint Francis was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. … They're currently led by Yanessa Boyd and Natalie Johnson, both averaging over 7.0 points per game. Boyd is scoring 7.8 points per game while collecting 3.1 rebounds per contest. Johnson is chipping in 7.0 points and 1.3 rebounds while shooting .453 percent from the field.

Robert Morris Remains - 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.

Triple-Double Queen – Senior Megan McConnell has continued to stuff that stat sheet ever since she stepped foot on campus and Monday night was no different. The 5-7 guard recorded the eighth triple-double in Duquesne history while registering the third of her career. McConnell has the most triple-doubles in program history while being just the second player in the Atlantic 10 to achieve the honor. The Pittsburgh native finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists while adding five steals and three triples. McConnell is just one of eight players in the country to post the achievement. She currently sits third in the conference in points per game (18.8) while sitting 10^th in NCAA Division I in steals per game (3.60). McConnell sits second in the Atlantic 10 and 20^th in the nation in double-doubles with three, trailing only forward Laura Ziegler of Saint Joseph's.

Unleashing Mayhem – Despite ranking fourth in the league in scoring offense, the Dukes continue to make teams uncomfortable on the defensive end. They currently lead the conference while ranking 13^th in NCAA Division I in turnovers forced at 25.80 per contest. Duquesne is leading the league in steals while sitting 24^th in the country at 13.0 takeaways per game. The Dukes have forced 20+ turnovers in four straight contests while collecting 10+ steals in four consecutive games. Megan McConnell leads the team with 18 total takeaways while junior Andjela Matic sits second with nine steals this season. Jerni Kiaku, Mackenzie Blackford, and Kiandra Browne all have five steals for the Dukes. As a team, the Dukes have taken 10 charges, led by Browne with 7.

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