Pittsburgh, Pa. – Career days from junior Andjela Matic and senior Kiandra Browne as well a triple-double from classmate Megan McConnell paced the Dukes to a 67-59 victory over Bowling Green in its final non-conference contest of the season on Saturday afternoon, inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Duquesne women's basketball team stretches its winning streak to seven consecutive victories as well as a perfect 8-0 record at home as it holds a 9-2 mark this season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
A pair of free-throws from Amy Velasco trimmed the Dukes lead to 11 with 6:08 to go in the third quarter before the home team bolstered an 11-2 stint to end the frame and grab its largest lead of the contest (54-33). Browne paced the charge with eight points during the run while sophomore Raymi Coueta also produced a bucket. Bowling Green responded in a big way to start the fourth, opening the final frame on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit, 54-43, with 5:56 to play. A driving layup from Matic halted the run before the Falcons mounted a 10-4 stretch to close the gap to seven (60-53) with 1:56 remaining. Matic scored four consecutive points from the charity stripe to extend the lead back to double figures but Paige Kohler buried a triple to cut the lead to eight, with less than 40 seconds remaining. Sophomore Reina Green went one-of-two from the chalk before Lexi Fleming cut the lead to six with a long ball. Browne would step to the line with 18 seconds remaining to seal the win with a pair of free-throws.

DEFENSE TURNS TO OFFENSE
From the 2:16 mark in the first quarter to the 2:32 mark of the second quarter, Duquesne put together a 21-4 run that boosted them to its 40-21 halftime lead. Browne sparked the run with a four-point play before graduate student Gabby Hutcherson buried a pair at the chalk. After a bucket from the Falcons, Matic buried a right-wing triple as time expired, to give the Dukes a 20-15 after one. After both teams went scoreless for over two and a half minutes to begin the second stanza, Keiryn McGuff hit a free-throw to end the drought. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford drilled back-to-back three pointers before Matic connected on a pair of long balls to cap the stint, 32-17. Defensively, Duquesne put together its best performance in a quarter this season. The Dukes held Bowling Green to just six points and 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) shooting from the field while forcing four turnovers. The Falcons hit its lone field goal at the 1:02 mark of the second quarter while going just 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) from the foul line.

QUOTABLE
"We had contributions from everyone today that helped us win this basketball game against a good Bowling Green team," head coach Dan Burt said. "I don't think their record is indicative of how good they are. They just recently beat Marquette, Arkansas, Xavier, and were on a four-game winning streak. They're well coached, they're very connected, and they were really concerning to us because they out rebound their opponents by about seven. And we really challenged our kids that if we're going to take the next step, that we have to do a much better job of rebounding the ball offensively and defensively, and we did that today by out rebounding them by 10. But that's got to be a consistent thing as we go into the Atlantic 10. We're very happy to be nine and two and have the contributions that we had today without Jerni Kiaku being able to go today."

MEG BEING MEG
For the second time this season, senior guard Megan McConnell has recorded a triple-double. It's the fourth of her career and her second of the season in less than a month. McConnell finished with 13 points. 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the victory. She is just one of two players in NCAA Division I to record multiple triple-doubles this season. The Pittsburgh native did most of her damage in the first half, producing eight points, eight assists, and six rebounds, with three steals in the opening 20 minutes. It's the ninth time this season she has led the team in rebounding while being the 10^th time she's led in assists and steals. McConnell now has five games with 10+ assists in her career and 35 contests with 10+ rebounds. Leading into today, the senior guard led the country in steals per game (4.40), ranked second in total steals (44) and paced the Atlantic 10 in points per game (19.2).

GLOBAL HOOPS SPOTLIGHT
Junior Andjela Matic and senior Kiandra Browne paced the Dukes in both posting career days on Saturday. Matic led the team with a career-best 20 points on 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) shooting from behind the arc while collecting a personal best nine rebounds. The native of Serbia scored 11 of her 20 points in the first half, knocking down 4-of-7 shots from the field, including three long balls. Browne tallied 15 points of 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) shooting from the field while burying three three-pointers. Browne also went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe while tallying four rebounds. The Canada native netted 10 of her 15 in the second half, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, with two triples. The duo combined for 35 points, seven three pointers, and went 8-of-9 from the foul line.

NOTES
Mackenzie Blackford finished with nine points on three long balls … Duquesne forced 18 turnovers but recorded a season-low four steals … Bowling Green has four players in double figures, led by Erika Porter, who finished with 19 points and five rebounds … The win on Saturday snapped a three-game losing streak against Bowling Green and the first win against the Falcons since the 2004-2005 season.

UP NEXT
Duquesne begins Atlantic 10 play when it returns from Christmas break, hosting Davidson on Sunday, Dec. 29, with tip-off scheduled for 12:00 p.m.