Pittsburgh, Pa. – A layup from Irene Murua as time expired helped lift Fordham to a 64-62 victory over the Duquesne women's basketball team Sunday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during conference action. The Dukes fell to 9-5 overall on the year, including 0-3 in the Atlantic 10.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Taylor Donaldson went one-of-two from the line to extend the Rams lead to three (62-59) with 1:13 remaining. After a pair of empty trips from both teams, senior Megan McConnell drove baseline and found freshman Nadia Moore who buried a three-pointer to knot the game at 62, with 42.0 seconds remaining. The Dukes would get a stop on the following possession and have the ball with 22.0 seconds remaining. Fordham would force a jump ball and have the arrow favored in their possession with just 3.0 ticks left. Out of a timeout, the Rams threw it in to Murua who scooped a layup over the front of the rim as time expired to give Fordham the win.

TURNING THE TIDE
It was a stagnant start for Duquesne to open the contest as the Rams jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. McConnell would spark a 6-0 stint with a layup, followed by a pair of free-throws from Moore. Sophomore Reina Green collected a steal and found freshman Mackenzie Blackford to cap the stint, 8-8. Both teams would trade the last six points as it was tied 11-11 after one. Duquesne opened the second quarter on a 14-2 surge to grab its largest lead of the contest, 25-13. A McConnell triple started the run, followed by a layup from junior Jerni Kiaku and another long ball from McConnell. The senior guard would complete an old-fashioned three-point play to extend its lead, 22-13, before Blackford capped the run with a trey. Fordham responded with a 9-5 boost to end the quarter and trim the deficit as the Dukes held a 30-22 advantage at the break.

QUOTABLE
"All of Fordham's kids came in and played with a real sense of urgency and a real sense of toughness," head coach Dan Burt said. "They played their roster, and we played our roster, and very frankly, we did not get contributions from who we needed to, and that reflects in our three-game losing streak. We must find ways for some of our players, besides Megan, to score the ball and rebound the ball and defend, and right now, we're in a place where that's not happening. We're obviously disappointed with the loss today, but we didn't deserve to win. You know, like I said, Fordham's roster came and punched us in the face, and some of our roster responded and some of ours did not. And that's the tale of the game today."

NEAR TRIPLE-DOUBLE
For the third straight game, senior Megan McConnell posted another 20-point performance and missed a near triple-double on Sunday. She finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-18 (50.0 percent) from the field while collecting nine steals, and eight rebounds. McConnell buried three triples and went 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. The Pittsburgh native scored 13 points in both halves while tallying five steals in the opening 20 minutes, three of them coming in the second quarter. It's her sixth 20-point outing this season and 11^th of her career.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Freshman Mackenzie Blackford was the second Duke to finish in double figures, posting 10 points, tying a season-high three steals, while hitting a pair of three pointers. Sophomore Reina Green finished with a season-best nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals off the bench. Freshman Nadia Moore chipped in eight points, three boards, and a steal on Sunday.

QUOTABLE
"Raina Green played outstanding today, and her shot selection was really good. She battled for rebounds, she defended, she played a very good basketball game. Really happy with how she played. Hopefully we'll have a consistent production like that from her each time. Mack is coming along and playing better and better, certainly shooting the ball better. Nadia Moore hit a big three there. She's not afraid of taking big shots. But you know, overall, we're just not getting enough production. It can't be Meg McConnell scoring 26 every night and doing what she's doing. I have to watch the tape to see are we standing around that much and watching? I don't know, we're going to have to watch the film."

NOTES
Fordham featured four players in double figures, led by Taylor Donaldson. She finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and four steals … Anastasija Veljovic finished with 13 points while Irene Murua posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds … Duquesne held a 27-16 advantage in bench points … It's the ninth time this season the Dukes have forced a team into 20+ turnovers, forcing 29 on Sunday … Duquesne tallied 18 steals while carding 27 points off turnovers … Fordham held a 45-35 advantage on the boards

UP NEXT
Duquesne hits the road for the next two trips, traveling to Philadelphia, Pa., to battle Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, Jan. 8, with the opening tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m.