Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team featured five players in double figures as it cruised to a 98-58 victory over Carnegie Mellon Sunday afternoon in non-conference action inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Dukes stretch its winning streak to four straight while improving to 6-2 this season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne jumped out to an early 13-2 lead after hitting six of its first seven shots to begin the contest. Senior Kiandra Browne and junior Jerni Kiaku paced the early stint. Out of a Tartans timeout, the Dukes strung together a 10-3 run, boosting their lead 23-5 with 3:27 remaining. Sophomore Raymi Coueta sparked the run with a layup, followed by a triple from senior Megan McConnell. After a Tartans basket, Kiaku converted a driving layup while freshman Kellie McConnell knocked down a left corner three-pointer to cap the stint. Duquesne would end the quarter on a 9-5 run to hold a 32-10 lead after the opening stanza. Freshman Faith Walker carded four points during the run. The Dukes lead swelled to 39-17 midway through the second quarter before Carnegie Mellon mounted a 7-2 stint over the next minute and a half to cut the deficit, 41-24. After a free-throw from Browne, Kiaku and McConnell led a 7-3 stint to end the half as the Dukes held a 49-27 advantage at the break.

HOT SHOOTING
Duquesne featured two quarters where they shot over .600 percent as a team. The Dukes opened the contest shooting an incredible .737 percent (14-of-19) from the floor while knowing down 11-of-18 (.611 percent) shots from the field in the third quarter. Duquesne opened the second half on a 17-5 stint, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field and stretching its lead to 66-32. McConnell buried a pair at the chalk while junior Andjela Matic connected on a long ball. After a Tartans bucket, Matic registered a bucket followed by a layup from Browne and a triple from McConnell. Sophomore Reina Green recorded a layup while Matic capped the stint with long ball. The two traded the next 10 points before going scoreless over the next two minutes. Duquesne would take a 77-42 lead into the final quarter.

BALANCED ATTACK
The Dukes featured five players in double figures for the first time this season and the first time since last February. Megan McConnell paced the way with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting (.500 percent) while tallying seven rebounds, six steals, and five assists. Jerni Kiaku ended with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting (.538 percent) from the floor and tallied three rebounds and two steals while Kiandra Browne posted a career-high 14 points. She shot .833 percent (5-of-6) from the field while collecting five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Andjela Matic and Nadia Moore each posted 11 points as Matic dished out four assists and two steals while Moore totaled two rebounds and two steals. The quintet carded 10 of the Dukes 13 triples as McConnell and Matic each buried three.

QUOTABLE
"Today was a day that we did what we thought we were capable of doing," head coach Dan Burt said. "We didn't necessarily play a great game at times, but I credit Carnegie Mellon for that. I think that coach McConnell is an excellent coach and has got them where they need to be. They're a borderline top-20 team in Division III, and by the end of the year, I expect them to be a top-10, top-15 team in the country, in Division III. For us, we had a little bit of slippage with missed assignments defensively in the fourth quarter that I'm disappointed in. But overall, we're happy to get the win and move on."

INSIDE THE BOC SCORE
As a team, Duquesne shot its second-best percentage from the floor, posting a .514 percent clip (37-of-72) while shooting a season best .443 percent (13-of-30) from behind the arc. The Dukes caused 27 turnovers, scoring 26 points off those miscues while posting 48 points in the paint. Duquesne got 34 points from its bench, with freshman Kellie McConnell registering her first collegiate points. She ended with six points, five rebounds, and one assists while classmate Fatou Sane collected six rebounds in the win.

UP NEXT
It's a quick turnaround for Duquesne as it welcomes Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 10, with the opening tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m. inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse