GAME 34
Duquesne (21-12) at Purdue (14-18)
Thursday, March. 28, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. ET
West Lafayette, IN.| Mackey Arena (14,876)
Stream: B1G+ with Charlie Schmidgall (pxp) & Craig Combs (color)
 
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DUQ Game Notes
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OPENING TIP
-The Duquesne University women's basketball team advanced to the Super 16 of the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), where they'll travel to Purdue on Thursday, March 28 inside Mackey Arena.

- The Dukes are coming off an overtime thriller in the second round of the WNIT, rallying from eight points down in regulation to capture a 69-65 overtime victory over Monmouth on Monday night. Four Dukes finished in double figures, paced by Megan McConnell.

- She posted her ninth double-double of the year, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. McConnell scored 10 of her 16 in the second half while dishing out three assists and collecting a steal. Precious Johnson recorded 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with a pair of triples. She tallied seven rebounds and two blocks, which now moves her tied for fourth all-time in program history with Wumi Agunbiade, with 158 career blocks.

- Jerni Kiaku finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while totaling five rebounds, two steals, and one block. Lauren Wasylson was the final Duke to reach double digits, registering 11 points, all in the fourth quarter and overtime. She finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, six of them coming during her 9-1 stint in the final minute.

- After a pull up jumper from Ariana Vanderhoop gave the Hawks a 59-51 advantage with 1:03 remaining in regulation, Duquesne would respond in a big way. Wasylnson would go on a 9-1 run by herself to knot the score and send the game into overtime.

-  She began the run by burying a triple with 46 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to five. After Monmouth missed a pair of free throws, Wasylson was fouled behind the arc and went to the line with 38 seconds remaining.

- The redshirt senior connected on all three from the chalk as the Hawks went 1-of-2 on the following possession. After a timeout from Duquesne advanced the ball, Wasylson was fouled again behind the three-point line.

- She buried all three from the charity stripe and knotted the score at 60-60 with 29 ticks remaining. The Dukes would get one final defensive stop to send the contest into overtime.

The Series vs. Purdue – It will be the first ever meeting when the Dukes and Boilermakers take the floor on Thursday night. Duquesne will battle its first Big Ten team since the 2021 season, where they hosted Penn State. The Dukes currently hold an all-time record of 2-16 record against Big Ten foes.

Scouting the Boilermakers – Purdue comes into Thursday night with a 14-18 overall mark after capturing a 62-51 victory over Butler in the second round of the WNIT. Three Boilermakers finished in double figures, led by Mila Reynolds. She posted 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc while dishing out two assists. Jayla Smith tallied 11 points and five rebounds while Abbey Ellis netted 10 points, four assists, and two boards for Purdue.

The Boilermakers are paced by Abbey Ellis, who's averaging 14.3 points per game while collecting 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest. She's scored in double figures 28 times this season and is currently on a streak of nine consecutive games in double digits, four being 20-point performances. Mary Ashley Stevenson is totaling 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and just under 1.0 steals per game while shooting .428 from the field. The freshman has shot .400 percent or better in 15 games this season. Jeamae Terry leads the Boilermakers in rebounds (8.4), assists (6.0), and steals (2.0). She's recorded 12 games with 10+ boards while posting 16 games with six-plus assists. Terry is carding 5.1 points per game while owning 20 contests with two-plus steals.

Monmouth Remains - In overtime, the Dukes would jump out to a 64-62 advantage, thanks to layups from junior Megan McConnell and sophomore Jerni Kiaku. McConnell would extend the Duquesne lead to three after going 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 3:20 remaining. Monmouth would respond with three consecutive points, capped with a jumper from Jania Hall to tie the score at 65-all, with 42 ticks left. Out of a Dukes timeout, senior Amaya Hamilton would collect her own missed layup with a putback to give Duquesne a two-point advantage with 21 ticks remaining. The Hawks were called for an illegal screen on the following possession as Wasylson sealed the deal with a pair of free throws in the end, 69-65.

Block Party – Senior center Precious Johnson entered the 2023-24 season ranked seventh all-time in program history with 121 blocks. With her team leading two rejections against Monmouth on Monday night, Johnson currently ranks tied for fourth in Duquesne history with 158 career blocks. She's tied with Wumi Agunbiade (2011-14) and has totaled a team-high 37 rejections this season. The Sweden native is averaging 1.1 blocks per game and has tallied 10 games with two-plus rejections, including a career-high eight at Howard earlier this season. Johnson has been a massive continuation off the bench for the Dukes this season, averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest while shooting .560 percent from the floor. She's one of six Duquesne players to surpass 1,000 career points this season while posting 13 games in double figures and three double-doubles. Johnson's career field goal percentage of .518 currently ranks second in the Duquesne record book.

From Dahn Tahn – As a team, Duquesne has been one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference as well as the country. The Dukes are connecting on 8.2 triples per game, thanks to junior Tess Myers. Myers entered this season in fifth place in Duquesne history with 205 career three-pointers. She enters Thursday's contest currently tied for first all-time in program history, with 279 career triples, with Chassidy Omogrosso (2013-16). The junior guard has buried 74 treys this season while averaging 2.7 triples per contest. She's recorded 14 games this season with three-plus long balls while knocking down a career-high 11 in a victory over Longwood. Her 11 three-pointers still currently sits as the most triples by any player in the country. Myers is currently averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game for Duquesne. The Lower Burrell native has totaled 728 career three-point attempts, which ranks third in program history while her .383 career three-point field goal percent sits second.

CSC Academic All-District® - A trio of Dukes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team on Tuesday afternoon. Seniors Ayanna Townsend and Precious Johnson as well as junior Megan McConnell were all selected for their performance on the court and in the classroom. Townsend is currently completing her doctorate in Occupational Therapy and has posted a 3.78 GPA. The Pittsburgh native is averaging 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting .489 percent from the field. Johnson has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while earning her degree in Leadership. She's currently averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest while shooting .560 percent from the floor. McConnell is the final Duke to receive the honor, posting a 3.80 GPA while completing her degree in Education. She continues to lead Duquesne in points (13.2), rebounds (8.6), assists (4.6) and steals (1.9).