GAME 11
Bowling Green (6-4) vs. Duquesne (8-2)
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 | 12:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
­- The Duquesne women's basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Bowling Green to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a 12:00 p.m. tip. The Dukes are the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's team to follow against UC Irvine at 2:30 p.m.

- Behind a career day from senior guard Megan McConnell, the Duquesne women's basketball team cruised to a 90-66 victory over Canisius in non-conference action on Sunday inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes stretched its winning streak to six straight wins while improving to 8-2 on the season and a perfect 6-0 at home.

- Senior Megan McConnell delivered a standout performance, recording the first 30-point game of her career with a career-high 35 points to lead Duquesne. She shot an impressive 14-of-21 (.667) from the field, tying her career-best with five three-pointers. McConnell also notched a career-high nine steals, tying for the third-most in program history, while adding six assists and four rebounds in the victory.

- Joining McConnell in double figures was Jerni Kiaku and Kiandra Browne. Kiaku ended with 15 points while shooting .625 percent (5-of-8) from the field and collected a pair of steals while Browne registered 11 points, with a pair of triples, three assists, and two rebounds.

- Graduate student Gabby Hutcherson finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three blocks while sophomore Reina Green ended with eight points, three boards, three assists, two steals, and one block. Duquesne totaled 32 fast break points while getting 20 points from its bench.

- Duquesne entered halftime with a 44-32 lead, but Canisius (1-8) opened the second half on an 11-5 run, cutting the deficit to six (49-43) with 6:18 left in the third quarter. Junior Jerni Kiaku halted the momentum with a step-back jumper, but the Golden Griffins responded with an 8-2 surge to narrow the gap to 53-51 with 3:17 remaining in the period.

- Duquesne answered decisively, scoring nine of the quarter's final 11 points—all courtesy of McConnell—giving the Dukes a 62-53 advantage heading into the fourth. McConnell wasn't finished, spearheading an 18-2 run to open the final frame, with 15 of those points coming from her, as Duquesne surged to an 80-55 lead with just over six minutes to play.

- The Dukes cruised to victory, outscoring the Golden Griffins 28-13 in the fourth quarter while shooting an impressive 47.4 percent from the field, including five three-pointers.

- After battling the Falcons, Duquesne begins Atlantic 10 play when it hosts Davidson on Sunday, Dec. 29, inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with the opening tip scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

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Bowling Green Game Notes

The Series vs. Bowling Green – It'll be the seventh all-time meeting between the Dukes and Falcons and just the second meeting since the 2013 season. Bowling Green holds a 5-1 record in the series while winning three straight against Duquesne, including a buzzer beater last season. A pair of free-throws by Amy Velasco at the 1:45 mark gave the Falcons a 63-62 advantage before a Hamilton jumper regained the lead for the Dukes with 1:28 to play. After back-to-back empty possession from both squads, Lexi Fleming buried a right-wing triple with 20 seconds remaining to give Bowling Green a two-point lead. On the following possessions, Hamilton found the bottom of the cup once again to knot the score 66-all with under 10 seconds remaining. Kiandra Browne drew a charge on Fleming on the next possession to give the Dukes the ball with 3.5 remaining. Unfortunately, Duquesne turned it back over after a five-second call which led to Velasco drilling a floater as time expired.

Scouting The Falcons – A member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Bowling Green enters Saturday's contest with a 6-4 overall record, riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak. The Falcons most recently edged Marquette, 64-62, on Wednesday night, with three players scoring in double figures. Senior Amy Velasco led the balanced offensive effort with 14 points, while sophomore Paige Kohler and junior Kendal Moxey contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Falcons are paced by a trio of standout performers: Velasco, Kohler, and Porter. Velasco leads the team, averaging 18.9 points per game, along with 5.2 assists, while shooting over .500 percent from the field. Kohler follows with 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Porter rounds out the double-figure scorers, contributing 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and an impressive .528 shooting percentage.

Canisius Remains - Duquesne continues to create havoc for its opponents, and Sunday's contest was no exception. The Dukes forced 30 Canisius turnovers, marking the second time this season they've achieved that feat. Duquesne also recorded 17 steals—reaching double figures for the eighth time this season and the third consecutive game. Canisius committed 14 turnovers in the first half alone, followed by 16 more in the second. Megan McConnell spearheaded the defensive effort with a career-high nine steals, tying for the third-most in program history and the highest total under head coach Dan Burt. Sophomore Reina Green and junior Jerni Kiaku each added two steals, while four other Dukes contributed one takeaway apiece. The defensive dominance translated to 42 points off turnovers and 38 points in the paint, propelling Duquesne to a convincing victory.

Weekly Accolades - Senior guard Megan McConnell was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday, following her standout performances last week. The Pittsburgh native delivered an exceptional week, averaging 24.0 points, 6.5 steals, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and maintaining an impressive 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, all while shooting .600 percent from the field and .467 percent from beyond the arc. McConnell kicked off her week with a solid performance against the Bison, tallying 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, along with six rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two three-pointers. She followed that with a career-defining game against the Golden Griffins, scoring a personal-best 35 points on 14-of-21 shooting (66.7%), including a career-high five three-pointers. McConnell also recorded a career-best nine steals, tying for the third-most in program history. Her 35-point performance, the first 30-point game of her career, is tied for the 12th-highest single-game scoring total in Duquesne history. This marks the third time in her career that she has earned the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor.

The Stealer Queens – The Dukes continue to wreak havoc for its opponents on the defensive end as they lead the Atlantic 10 and sit 15^th in the country in steals per game (13.3). Duquesne has collected double figure steals in eight of its first 10 contests while sitting 13^th in the country in turnovers forced per game (24.60). Senior Megan McConnell ranks first in NCAA Division I with 4.4 steals per game while ranking second with 44 total steals. McConnell's career-best nine steals tied the third most in program history and the highest total under head coach Dan Burt. Juniors Jerni Kiaku and Andjela Matic each average 1.5 steals per game, while freshman Mackenzie Blackford contributes 1.3 per contest.

Sharpshooters United - With their new up-tempo style of play, the Dukes continue to excel from beyond the arc—and for good reason. Duquesne leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks second nationally with 10.9 three-pointers per game while sitting fourth in the country in three-point attempts (32.0 per game). The Dukes have made double-digit three-pointers in three of their last four games and seven of their first 10 contests this season. Senior Megan McConnell is second in the conference with 29 total three-pointers and leads the league, ranking 21st nationally, with 2.9 triples per game. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford follows with 16 made threes, having hit at least one in every game this season. Classmate Nadia Moore ranks third on the team with 14 triples, while Andjela Matic (12), graduate student Gabby Hutcherson (10), and senior Kiandra Browne (10) have also reached double digits in made three-pointers.

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