Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind four Dukes in double figures, the Duquesne women's basketball team rolled to a 77-64 victory over Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during Atlantic 10 action. The Dukes improved to 12-6 overall with a 3-4 mark in league action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Both teams were consistent early as the Rams took an 8-7 lead before Duquesne mounted a 9-0 stint to claim a 16-8 advantage. Four different Dukes registered a bucket as they went 4-of-4 from the field during the run. Rhode Island responded with six of the next 10 points as the Duquesne took a 23-14 lead after one. Duquesne was out and running to begin the second quarter, stringing together an 11-3 run to take a commanding 34-14 lead. Junior Jerni Kiaku started the run with a triple followed by a steal and layup from senior Megan McConnell. Graduate student Gabby Hutcherson capped the stint with back-to-back long balls, forcing a Rhode Island timeout. Out of the break, Duquesne posted another 11-4 run to end the half, handing them a 45-21 lead at intermission. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford started the stint with a three-point play, followed by a pullup jumper from junior Andjela Matic and a three-pointer from McConnell. After a layup from Palmire Mbu, Kiaku drilled a right-wing triple as time expired to take a 24-point advantage into the half.

QUOTABLE
"we're obviously happy with our performance today," head coach Dan Burt said. "We led for 39 minutes, and a lot of those minutes were double figure leads. I feel like our kids executed the game plan. We shot the ball well, which is really important for us. When you're pressing on every make and every miss, it's much more difficult to press on misses. And so, we had a lot of success with that today and had a lot of contributions from a lot of people. Just really happy with our performance against a good Rhode Island team, a really athletic, tall Rhode Island team that has more athleticism and more size than us."

STEM THE TIDE
Rhode Island (8-11 | 3-3 A-10) opened the second half strong, hitting five of its first seven shots to ignite a 13-5 run and cut the deficit to 50-34 with 5:58 remaining. After a Duquesne timeout, the teams exchanged the next eight points before the Dukes surged ahead with a 12-3 run to close the quarter, extending their lead to 66-41 entering the final frame. McConnell and Kiaku each went 1-of-2 from the line to kick off the run, followed by a pull-up jumper from Blackford and a driving layup by Kiaku. Matic would cap the streak with back-to-back three-pointers. The Dukes showcased efficient shooting, finishing the quarter at 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field and 60.0 percent (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. Kiaku and Matic led the way offensively in the third, with Kiaku tallying seven points and Matic adding six points along with two assists.

QUOTABLE
"I think the difference maker was just our focus and our preparation leading up to this game" senior Megan McConnell said. "We know every game in conference is going to be a dog fight, so we have to prepare each game like it's the championship. And, we're a very young team, and so some of us are inexperienced, so we're going to have ups and downs, but let's just hope we can keep riding this wave."

BATMAN AND ROBIN
For the 16^th time this season senior Megan McConnell and junior Jerni Kiaku have scored in double figures together. McConnell paced the Dukes with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals. She finished 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from the floor while connecting on two long balls. McConnell netted 12 of her 18 points in the first half, finishing 4-of-6 from the field, with two triples. Kiaku netted 18 points, five rebounds, while tallying a pair of three-pointers, and finishing 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the field. She scored seven of her 18 in the third quarter, finishing 3-of-4 from the field. The duo combined for 37 points while shooting a combined 14-of-27 (51.8 percent) from the field and four three-pointers.

NOTES
Gabby Hutcherson was the third player in double figures, posting 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including three triples. She finished with eight rebounds and a team-high three blocks … Andjela Matic finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers and three assists … Mackenzie Blackford netted eight points, four rebounds, and three assists … Duquesne held Rhode Island's top two scorers, Hawa Komara and Sophie Philips to just 2-of-10 from the field and seven total points … Ines Debroise led the Rams with 19 points, five assists, five rebounds, and a steal … Duquesne held a 30-26 advantage in points off the bench while scoring 28 points in the paint …The Dukes registered 14 assists on 28 of its made field goals

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to action when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., to battle La Salle on Wednesday, Jan. 22, with the opening tip scheduled for 11:00 a.m.