GAME 4
West Liberty (0-0) vs. Duquesne (3-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 | 5:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team returns to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse when it hosts West Liberty on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for a non-conference match, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

- Behind three Dukes in double figures, the Dukes earned its first road victory of the season, defeating Western Michigan 72-64 inside University Arena on Sunday afternoon during non-conference action. With the win, the Dukes improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2022-23 season.

- Three Dukes finished in double figures, led by freshman Alexis Bordas, who posted a game-high 24 points along with four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Bordas was 5-of-10 from three-point range, scoring 14 of her 24 points in the first half.

- The West Virginia native shot 5-of-9 from the field and an impressive 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. In her first action of the season, sophomore Harriet Ford contributed 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting while collecting a team-high seven rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.

- She scored 10 of her 15 points and grabbed all seven boards in the final 20 minutes. Junior Dunja Zecevic rounded out the trio with 10 points, three assists, and two rebounds, marking her third straight game with a double-figure scoring effort this season.

- Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford ended with seven points, four rebounds, and three assists while Raevin Washington ended with six points and five boards. Sophomore Faith Walker tied her career-high with six rebounds.

- As a team, Duquesne held a 37-32 advantage on the glass while leading 17-7 on the offensive glass. It's the third straight contests the Dukes have forced 20 or more turnovers, forcing Western Michigan into 22 while totaling seven steals.

- After battling the Hilltoppers, Duquesne will be idle for a week before it travels up I376 to take on Robert Morris on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

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Scouting The Hilltoppers - Come Tuesday evening, the Dukes and Hilltoppers will meet for the first time in program history. West Liberty, a member of the Mountain East Conference, is led by ninth-year head coach Kyle Cooper. Cooper returns his top scorer from last season, Bailee Smith, who averaged 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field. Smith scored in double figures 23 times, including a streak of 13 consecutive games with 10 or more points. This season, Cooper's roster features seven newcomers, a blend of transfers and first-year players. The group includes transfer guard Abbie Davidson (Youngstown State) and point guard Ana-Isabel Andersson Rodriguez (Western Wyoming CC). Freshman additions include Ohio wing Kaleigh Norris, West Virginia state champions Dria Parker and Ella Giles from Spring Valley, local returner Jillian Huffman of Wheeling Park, and Ohio standout Jameka Brungard, who helped lead Springfield Local to an Ohio State Final Four appearance.

Western Michigan Remains - The second half was as evenly matched as it could get, with both teams shooting over 40 percent in the final 20 minutes. The difference came on the glass as the Dukes held a 20-16 edge in total rebounds in the half, including a 12-5 advantage on the offensive boards, which helped them score eight second-chance points and 26 points in the paint. Duquesne opened the half with a 10-6 run, extending its lead to 43-36, with five different Dukes contributing a basket. After a two-minute scoring drought, freshman Raevin Washington pushed the advantage back to double digits with a layup at the 4:46 mark. Western Michigan responded with six straight points to trim the lead to 46-42, but Bordas answered with an old-fashioned three-point play, giving Duquesne a 52-44 lead heading into the final quarter. The Broncos got as close as 55-50 early in the fourth, but the Dukes pulled away, shooting 7-of-14 from the field over the final seven minutes to secure the win.

Back Where It All Began – Tuesday's contest carries a special connection between the two programs, as head coach Dan Burt will face his alma mater. A 1993 graduate of West Liberty State College, Burt was a scholar-athlete award winner and a member of the men's basketball team during his time with the Hilltoppers. Now the all-time winningest coach in Duquesne women's basketball history, Burt became the program's head coach on April 27, 2013. In his 11 seasons at the helm, he has guided the Dukes to unprecedented success in both the Atlantic 10 Conference and on the national stage, including leading Duquesne to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Freshman Phenom – Following an outstanding opening week of college hoops, freshman guard Alexis Bordas was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, announced by the league office on Monday. She helped the Dukes to three straight victories while averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 1.0 assist per game. In her first collegiate start, she tallied 11 points, a team-high four steals, three rebounds, and an assist in the win over the Red Flash. She followed that with 11 points, three rebounds, and two steals, including three three-pointers in the victory over The Rock. The freshman saved her best performance for last, posting a season-high 24 points on .430 percent shooting (9-of-21) while hitting five three-pointers in the win over the Broncos. She also added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the outing. Bordas earns the honor for the first time in her career and becomes just the second Duke in last five years to earn the achievement.

Steal City – Duquesne continues its defensive ways in pressuring teams 94 feet while causing havoc for its opponents. After it opening week of college hoops, the Duke feature a trio that ranks in the top five in the Atlantic 10 in steals. Freshman Alexis Bordas currently ranks first in the league with nine steals while sophomore Mackenzie Blackford sits behind her with eight. Junior Reina Green rounds out the trio ranking fourth in the conference with seven takeaways. Bordas is averaging 3.0 steals per game which ranks fifth in the A-10 while Blackford sits at 2.7 and Green is averaging 2.3. As a team, the Dukes are averaging 14.7 per contest as they feature five players with four or more takeaways through the its first three contests.

Did You Know? - The Dukes enter Tuesday's contest vs. West Liberty having made at least one three-pointer in 430 consecutive games, a streak spanning 14 years. The last time Duquesne failed to connect from beyond the arc was on December 21, 2011, when the Dukes went 0-for-19 from long range against Florida in the championship game of the Gator Holiday Classic. Just last season, the NCAA Division I women's record for consecutive games with a made three-pointer was broken. Iowa State had previously held the mark with an astounding 945-game streak dating back to February 19, 1995, when the Cyclones competed in the Big Eight Conference. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga now owns the longest active streak in Division I women's basketball, with 810 straight games featuring a made three-pointer.

Carrying The Torch – Duquesne, which notched back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2015 and 2016, will aim to record three consecutive 20-win campaigns for the first time since their streak of seven straight 20-win seasons from 2009 to 2016. The Dukes have amassed 723 victories in program history.

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