Pittsburgh, Pa. – Stretching its winning streak to five consecutive games, the Duquesne women's basketball team claimed a 65-48 victory over Bucknell on Tuesday night during non-conference action inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes improved to 7-2 overall with the win and stayed undefeated at home with a 6-0 mark.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
It went back-and forth to begin the contest until the Bison jumped out to a 12-8 lead heading into the first media timeout. Out of the break, the Dukes ended the quarter on a 7-2 stint to take a 15-14 lead after one. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford started the run with a triple, followed by a pair of free-throws from junior Jerni Kiaku and senior Kiandra Browne. Duquesne held Bucknell scoreless for the final 3:32 of the quarter while causing three turnovers. It was a blistering start for the Dukes in the second quarter, opening the stanza by scoring 11 consecutive points while forcing four Bison miscues. Senior Megan McConnell started the run with a long ball while Kiaku and graduate student Gabby Hutcherson converted layups. Hutcherson registered another bucket before McConnell stretched the Duquesne lead with a layup, 26-14. The script would flip as Bucknell responded with 11 straight points to cut the deficit to one (26-25) with under a minute to go. Browne would go 1-of-2 at the line before Kiaku buried a pair at the chalk to take a 29-25 lead into halftime.

GAME OF RUNS
The two teams went scoreless to begin the second half before the Dukes mounted a 9-0 run in just two minutes to increase its lead, 38-25. A three-pointer from Browne bolstered the stint followed by a layup from Hutcherson. Browne carded a point before junior Andjela Matic drilled a right-wing trey to increase the advantage. Bucknell would respond once again, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to cut the Dukes lead 41-36, heading into the final frame. The Bison connected on three triples while forcing four Duquesne turnovers. The Dukes lead would swell to 14 (50-36) once again as they netted nine consecutive points to begin the fourth quarter. Kiaku paced the run with a pair of layups while freshman Mackenzie Blackford buried a three-pointer and McConnell went two-of-two from the charity stripe. Bucknell wouldn't shy away, stringing together a 7-2 run to cut the lead to nine, but that's as close as Bucknell would get.

QUOTABLE
"Not our best night, and all of that can be credited pretty much to two things, I think Bucknell is a really well coached team, and they were as physical on us just as much as we were physical with our press on them," head coach Dan Burt said, "That's clearly indicative, because we had 25 turnovers. A team that's won five in a row like they have, and has a post player like they do, they played a very good basketball game against us, and were very well prepared, and we played a little bit more their style than ours. We just couldn't generate enough turnovers from them and that credit goes to their coach. They were able to run their stuff and I think the post player had a lot to do with it, because we really couldn't fire. We couldn't help off the guards, because they made some shots early and they were able to get one on one looks in the post. We needed to move quicker while the ball was in the air. Just not a great performance by us defensively, but good enough to come away with the win."

THE TRIO
A trio of Dukes finished in double figures, led by graduate student Gabby Hutcherson. She posted a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting (.700 percent) from the floor with a pair of threes. Hutcherson collected six rebounds and a steal while totaling 12 of her 16 points in the second half. Senior Megan McConnell ended with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals while knocking down two three-pointers. Junior Jerni Kiaku was the final Duke in double digits, recording 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal while going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. The trio combined to shoot .538 percent (14-of-26) from the field while totaling 17 rebounds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Freshman Mackenzie Blackford carded nine points on three long balls while dishing out three assists. Senior Kiandra Browne ended with seven points and five rebounds while going 4-of-6 from the chalk. Despite having 25 turnovers, the Dukes held Bucknell to its worst shooting performance of the season, holding them to just .283 percent (15-of-23) from the field. Duquesne did most of its work in the second half, holding them to just 7-of-28 (.250 percent) from the field while forcing eight turnovers. The Dukes dominated on the glass, posting a 41-24 advantage while getting out in transition, scoring 20 fast break points. Despite the Bison having the ninth best shot blocker in the country, Duquesne produced 24 points in the paint while holding Bucknell to just eight.

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to action on Sunday, December 15, when it welcomes Canisius to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a non-conference match, beginning at 2:00 p.m.