GAME 19
Duquesne (12-6, 3-4) at La Salle (7-13, 1-6)
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 | 11:00 a.m.
Philadelphia, Pa. | John Glaser Arena (3,000)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team hits the road as it travels back to Philadelphia to battle La Salle on Wednesday, Jan. 22 for Education Day, beginning at 11:00 a.m. inside the John Glaser Arena.

- Behind four players in double figures, the Dukes rolled to a 77-64 victory over Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during Atlantic 10 action. Senior Megan McConnell and junior Jerni Kiaku paced Duquesne in the win.

- For the 16th time this season Megan McConnell and 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.

- 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.

- 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.

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La Salle Game Notes

The Series vs. La Salle – Wednesday morning will be the 47^th meeting between the Dukes and Explorers in a series that dates back to 1983. Duquesne holds a 24-22 edge in the all-time series while securing a 57-52 victory over La Salle last season in Pittsburgh. In the second half, both squads continued to struggle shooting it from the floor as they combined 5-of-14 in the opening four minutes. Duquesne stretched its lead to 38-29 and forced a La Salle timeout with 5:12 remaining, thanks to a pair of threes from Bernard and redshirt senior Lauren Wasylson. After going scoreless for over two and half minutes, the Explorers would trim the Dukes advantage and trailed 41-33 after three. A layup from senior Precious Johnson started the fourth quarter before another triple from Wasylson secured the largest lead for the Dukes on the afternoon (46-33). La Salle would score eight of the next 12 points, thanks to a pair of triples, to cut the lead to single digits. A free-throw from junior Megan McConnell would push the lead back to 10, 51-41, before the Explorers put together a 9-4 stint to trim the deficit (55-50) with 2:31 remaining. A layup from Nicole Melious would cut the Dukes lead to three with 34 second remaining, before McConnell buried a pair at the charity stripe to secure the win.

Scouting The Explorers – La Salle comes into Wednesday with a 7-13 overall record and a 1-6 mark in Atlantic 10 action. The Explorers have lost its last seven contests, most recently a 57-40 defeat vs. George Mason on Wednesday. Joan Quinn was the loan Explorer in double figures, finishing with 15 points, two rebounds, and two steals. Ashleigh Connor paces the team with 11.9 points per game while collecting 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. She has netted double figures in 12 contests this season while shooting 38.5 percent from the field. Quinn took home Under Armor A-10 Rookie of the Week honors this past week, leading the Explorers the last two contests. She posted 13 points at UMass before registering 15 points against George Mason on Wednesday. Quinn scored in double figures in six contests while averaging 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Rhode Island Remains - 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.

The Dynamic Duo – Senior guard Megan McConnell and junior guard Jerni Kiaku have established themselves as one of the best backcourts this season, and the statistics back it up. The dynamic duo has scored in double figures together 16 times, with McConnell achieving the mark in 17 games and Kiaku in 16. McConnell leads the team in scoring with an impressive 19.0 points per game, while Kiaku follows closely with 14.2 points per game. They also excel defensively, with McConnell averaging a remarkable 4.2 steals per game and Kiaku contributing 1.2. McConnell's offensive prowess places her atop the Atlantic 10 in scoring, while Kiaku ranks fifth in the conference with an efficient 51.6 percent field goal percentage. Additionally, Kiaku's 76.8 percent free-throw shooting is seventh-best in the league.

400 Straight – The Dukes enter Wednesday's contest against La Salle having hit at least one three-pointers in 411 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 792 consecutive games featuring a made three-pointer.

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 19.0 points and 5.5 assists per game, McConnell leads the Atlantic 10 in both categories. Nationally, her scoring ranks 31st, while her assists rank 23rd in NCAA Division I. Defensively, McConnell is equally dominant, leading all of NCAA Division I with 4.11 steals per game and ranking second nationally with 74 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.

I Have A Hutch – Graduate student Gabby Hutcherson has been a key contributor off the bench for the Dukes in recent games. Over the last two contests, she has averaged 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting an impressive 50.0 percent from beyond the arc and 42.1 percent from the field. In the matchup against Dayton, the Ohio native tallied 13 points, four rebounds, and drained three three-pointers. Hutcherson followed that performance with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting (66.7 percent) from the floor, including 3-of-4 (75.0 percent) from three-point range, while also recording eight rebounds and three blocks in the win over Rhode Island. The 6'2" guard leads the Atlantic 10 in blocks per game (1.2) and total blocks (21). She has registered three or more blocks in three games this season and scored in double figures seven times.