GAME 18
Rhode Island (8-10, 3-2) vs. Duquesne (11-6, 2-4)
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team looks to bounce back when it hosts Rhode Island on Sunday, Jan. 19, inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with the opening tip scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. It's one of three nationally televised games for the Dukes this season.

- A contest that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties, the Dukes couldn't overcome a fourth quarter run by Dayton as they dropped an 80-71 decision on Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 action. Four players finished in double figures led by junior Jerni Kiaku

- She finished with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Kiaku netted 11 of her 18 in the first half, shooting 4-of-6 from the field. Senior Megan McConnell ended with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. With her second assist in the first quarter, McConnell surpassed April Robinson (2013-16) to become the 2nd all-time assists leader in program history. She now has 583 dimes for her career.

- Graduate student Gabby Hutcherson totaled 13 points off three triples while totaling four rebounds on Wednesday. Junior Andjela Matic was the final Dukes in double digits, carding 10 points, with two triples and two rebounds.

- It was a back-and-forth affair to begin the contests as both teams traded the opening 18 points before a jumper from graduate student Gabby Hutcherson gave the Dukes an 11-9 lead, with 4:20 remaining.

- Consecutive buckets from Nicole Stephens pushed the Flyers lead to three before Duquesne mounted a 10-0 run to end the quarter, 21-14. Junior Jerni Kiaku paced the stint with four points while classmate Andjela Matic and senior Kiandra Browne each tallied three points.

- Dayton opened the second quarter on a 9-5 run to trim the deficit, 26-23 before a free-throw from senior Megan McConnell and a three-pointer from freshman Faith Walker extended the advantage back to five. The Flyers would respond once again, ended the half on a 10-5 stint as it was tied 35-35 heading into the break

-  Dayton held a slight 45-44 edge in rebounding but the DU grab a season-best 19 offensive rebounds … The Dukes turned it over just nine times and forced 14 Flyer turnovers … Duquesne shot a program record 43 three-pointer, connecting on only nine … The Dukes shot a season-low 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the foul line.

- After battling the Rams, Duquesne travels back to Philadelphia, Pa., when it battles La Salle on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 11:00 a.m.

GAME DAY LINKS
Watch (CBS Sports Network)
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Rhode Island Game Notes

The Series vs. Rhode Island – It'll be the 62^nd meeting when the Dukes and Rams take the hardwood on Sunday afternoon. Duquesne holds a 38-23 advantage in the all-time series and has won seven of the last nine contests, including a 70-61 victory last season. A quartet of Dukes finished in double-figures against the Rams, led by Amaya Hamilton. She finished with 16 points while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and went 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Megan McConnell and Precious Johnson each posted 13 points while McConnell fell shy of a triple-double, with nine rebounds and nine assists while collecting three steals and a block. Johnson recorded five rebounds (three offensive) and a pair of blocks in 34 minutes off the bench. Tess Myers was the final Duke in double-digits, posting 10 points, with a pair of triples and collecting two boards, one steal, and one block. The four combined for 52 of Duquesne's 70 points while shooting 19-of-41 (46.3 percent) from the floor.

Scouting The Rams – Rhode Island comes into Sunday's contest with an 8-10 overall mark and 3-2 record in Atlantic 10 play. The Rams are coming off a dominant 64-50 victory at VCU on Wednesday. Harsimran "Honey" Kaur led with 17 points and nine rebounds while Sophie Phillips posted 14 points. Ines Debroise finished with 13 points off the bench. Kaur paces to Rams in double figures, carding 13.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per contest. She has scored in double digits in six straight games while recording six double-doubles. Phillips is the second Ram averaging 10.1 points per contest while leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with 39 three-pointers. She has registered two-plus triples in eight of her last nine contests. As a team, Rhode Island sits second in the league in defense, holding teams to just 55.7 points per game.

Dayton Remains - Duquesne trailed 59-57 heading into the final quarter before Dayton (11-6 / 5-1) pushed its lead to 62-59 with 8:46 remaining in regulation. Hutcherson would tie the score with a triple before the Flyers broke the contest open with an 11-0 run, pushing their lead to 73-72 with just 4:17 remaining. Dayton went 4-fo-5 from the field during the stint, led by Rikki Harris. The Dukes would make a final push, responding with seven unanswered to cut the deficit, 73-69. Freshman Nadia Moore sparked the run with a layup, followed by a triple, a steal, and a layup all from McConnell. Dayton unfortunately would stem the tide, ending the contest by scoring seven of the final nine points to secure the win.

Becky Hammon Midseason List - Senior guard Megan McConnell has earned a spot on the midseason watch list for the prestigious 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, presented by Her Hoop Stats. After being named to the 25-member preseason watch list earlier this season, McConnell remains among the 15 players on the midseason list. She represents one of 15 programs and 10 conferences, and is one of only two players from the Atlantic 10 to make the cut. McConnell has been a cornerstone for the Dukes this season. She is one of just three players nationwide to record multiple triple-doubles this year and holds the program record for the most triple-doubles in Duquesne history. Averaging 19.3 points and 5.5 assists per game, McConnell leads the Atlantic 10 in both categories. Nationally, her scoring ranks 32nd, while her assists rank 23rd in NCAA Division I. Defensively, McConnell is equally dominant, leading all of NCAA Division I with 4.31 steals per game and ranking second nationally with 69 total takeaways. In her most recent outing against George Washington, the Pittsburgh native reached a significant milestone, becoming just the fourth player in Duquesne history to surpass 300 career steals.

The Rise Of A Rookie - Following a productive week, freshman guard Mackenzie Blackford was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, announced by the league office on Monday. The Ohio native had an outstanding week, averaging 16.5 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting an impressive 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the field and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from three-point range. Against the Hawks, she tallied 13 points, shooting 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) from beyond the arc and going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Blackford hit a clutch three-pointer to extend the Dukes' lead to four with 2:19 remaining in the fourth quarter and sealed the game with two free-throws in the final three seconds. She capped off the week with a career performance against the Revolutionaries, scoring 20 points on 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) shooting from three-point range and 7-of-11 (62.5 percent) overall. She also added a rebound and an assist in the game.

High Speed. Higher Impact – Junior guard Jerni Kiaku continues to play a vital role in the success for the Dukes this season. Averaging 14.0 points per game, Kiaku is second on the team in scoring and ranks among the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 conference. She leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting an impressive 54.5%, which places her fifth in the A-10. Additionally, she ranks sixth in the conference with a strong 78.8% accuracy from the free-throw line.  The North Carolina native has been a model of consistency, scoring in 15 of 16 games this season and delivering three 20-point performances. Together with senior guard Megan McConnell, Kiaku forms one of the most dynamic backcourt duos in the conference. While McConnell leads the team in steals, Kiaku has proven to be a solid defensive presence, averaging 1.3 steals per game. She has recorded two or more takeaways in six contests this season and has collected at least one steal in four of her last five games.

400 Straight – The Dukes enter Sunday's contest against Rhode Island having hit at least one three-pointers in 410 consecutive games, a span of 14 years. The last time Duquesne failed to connect on a three-point field goal in a game came December 21, 2011, when the Dukes finished 0-of-19 from long range at Florida during the championship game of the Gator Holiday Classic. Recently, the NCAA Division I women's record for consecutive games with a made three-pointer was broken. Iowa State previously held the record with an astounding 945-game streak, dating back to February 19, 1995, when the program competed in the Big Eight conference. Now, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga holds the longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball, with 790 consecutive games featuring a made three-pointer.

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