GAME 29
Duquesne (18-10, 13-4 A-10) vs Saint Joseph's (25-4, 14-3 A-10)
Saturday, March. 2, 2024 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
Stream: ESPN+ with Alex Panormios (pxp) & Rachel Zimmerman (color)
 
GAME DAY LINKS
Video (ESPN+)
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Saint Joseph's Game Notes

OPENING TIP
- The Duquesne women's basketball team wraps up its regular season on Saturday afternoon, hosting Saint Joseph's for its final regular season contest while celebrating senior day inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

- The Dukes are coming off its first loss in the month of February, falling at Richmond, 90-74 this past Wednesday. With the loss, Duquesne's six game winning streak came to an end and split the season series with the Spiders.

- A pair of guards paced the Dukes tonight, led by Naelle Bernard and Megan McConnell. Bernard posted a season-best 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, while tying her season-high with five triples. She netted 11 of her 20 points in the first half burying three treys. Bernard also collected four rebounds, a steal, and a block.

- McConnell finished the evening with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, with three triples. She registered 13 of her 19 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-6 from the field, with a pair of threes. McConnell corralled with seven rebounds while dishing out three assists.

- Amaya Hamilton tallied nine points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. Tess Myers, Jerni Kiaku, and Lauren Wasylson all registered six points each while Kiaku netted four rebounds.

- It was a stagnant start for both squads as they combined 4-of-14 in the opening five minutes. Out of the media timeout, the two teams continued to trade buckets as it was knotted 13-all, with 2:14 remaining in the opening quarter.

- Richmond would net the next four points before junior Tess Myers buried three straight free-throws to trim the deficit, 17-16. The Spiders ended the quarter on a 4-1 run to hold a 21-17 lead after one. In the second quarter, Richmond strung together an 8-0 spurt to grab a 29-17 lead and forced a Dukes timeout. Duquesne would respond, scoring nine of the next 14 points to trim the deficit (34-26).

- Senior Amaya Hamilton sparked the run with consecutive layups before redshirt senior Lauren Wasylson buried a left corner triple. After a Spiders basket, Hamilton connected again on a jumper in the paint to cap the stint.

- Later in the quarter, junior Naelle Bernard connected on a triple before Richmond sparked an 8-2 run to stretch its lead, 44-31 with 1:06 remaining. Duquesne wouldn't shy away, as it responded by scoring seven of the final nine points of the half. Bernard and Wasylson netted long balls to lead the stint as the Dukes trailed 46-38 at the break.

The Series vs. Saint Joseph's – Come Saturday, it'll be the 62^nd meeting between the Dukes and Hawks, with Saint Joseph's controlling the series, 48-13. The Hawks have won the live five meetings, including a 77-62 victory earlier this January. A pair of Dukes finished in double-figures, led by Amaya Hamilton, who tallied 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal. Hamilton registered 10 of her 18 in the second quarter, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Tess Myers tallied 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-5 from long range. She collected a team-high four assists and three rebounds on Saturday. Megan McConnell and Jerni Kiaku each posted eight points while McConnell tallied six boards and a pair of triples. During the last meeting the Hawks featured just five players scoring, three of them combining for 66 of Saint Joseph's 77 total points.

Scouting the Hawks – Saint Joseph's comes into Saturday as one of three teams tied for second in the conference with a 14-3 league record while posting a 25-4 overall mark. The Hawks most recently fell to Fordham, 62-57 this past Wednesday, with a pair of players in double figures. Mackenzie Smith led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 10-15 from the field. The Canadian also added a team-high six rebounds and three steals. Talya Brugler finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Saint Joseph's comes in as one of the top defensive teams in the country, sitting fourth while allowing just 53.3 points per game. The Hawks are one of the top shooting teams in the conference, shooting at a 44.7 percent clip which ranks second. Saint Joseph's features four players averaging double figures, led by Talya Brugler. She's scoring 16.3 points per game which sits third in the conference while collecting 4.2 rebounds. Laura Ziegler is averaging 14.3 points per game while leading the league and sitting 33^rd in the country in double-doubles (12). Her 8.2 defensive rebounds a game rank sixth in NCAA Division I. Mackenzie Smith (12.7 ppg.) and Chloe Welch (10.7 ppg.) are the final two Hawks in double digits while Smith leads the team with 44 triples made and Welch is collecting 5.1 rebounds.

Richmond Remains - Richmond (25-5, 15-2 A-10) continued its momentum in the second half, opening the third quarter on a 12-3 run, to take a 58-41 advantage. Hamilton would connect on a pair from the chalk before junior Megan McConnell buried a triple to stop the run. Later in the quarter, both teams traded a pair of triples each before the Spiders answered with an 8-2 stint to end the quarter (76-54). Richmond shot an impressive 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from the field in the third quarter while going 5-for-7 from deep (71.4 percent). Duquesne made a run in the final quarter, opening the final frame on an 8-1 run. Junior Jerni Kiaku split a pair at the line before Bernard and McConnell converted consecutive driving layups. McConnell would secure another bucket as Kiaku split another pair at the chalk to cap the stint.

Senior Salute – Prior to its matchup against the Hawks, the Duquesne women's basketball team will honor five seniors with a pregame ceremony. Amaya Hamilton, Precious Johnson, Selma Kulo, Ayanna Townsend, and Lauren Wasylson will be the five Dukes being celebrated for their continuations to the program.

February Frenzy – The Dukes put together one of its best stretches in the month of February, posting a 6-1 (.857) overall mark. Duquesne averaged over 72.0 points a game during that time frame while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor (176-for-389). As a team, the Dukes were defensively stout, holding its opponents to just 64.1 points per game, 37.5 (162-of-432) percent shooting from the floor and 30.7 percent (75-for-96) from behind the arc. A trio of Dukes paced the team during the month, led by Megan McConnell. She averaged 14.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in the month of February. McConnell shot an impressive 50.0 percent (31-for-62) from the field and from long range (14-of-28). In that seven-game span, the junior guard scored in double figures six times. She also collected 2.0 steals a game, tallying 14 on the month.

Naelle Bernard was the second Duquesne player to average double figures, netting 11.6 points a game. She shot an impressive 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor while knocking down a team leading 19 triples (19-for-43). Bernard tallied over three rebounds a game and knocked down two-plus threes in six contests. Precious Johnson was the final Duke in double digits, finishing with 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. She registered five games in double figures while shooting an incredible 69.2 percent from the floor (27-of-39). Johnson also finished 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe.

How Bout Six - Duquesne features an achievement that only four other teams in the country can say, and that's having five players surpass 1,000 career points in the same season. But the Dukes are on the verge of adding another member to that list and that is Precious Johnson. The senior center enters Saturday's contest just 19 points shy (981) of the honor and joining teammates Amaya Hamilton, Tess Myers, Ayanna Townsend, Megan McConnell, and Naelle Bernard. Those five conquered the honor earlier this season while doing it in a two-week span. Louisville, Mississippi State, Kansas and Baylor are the other four schools that have conquered the threshold.