Pittsburgh, Pa. – For the second time this season, the Duquesne women's basketball team surpassed the century mark, cruising to a 102-73 victory over West Liberty on Tuesday evening in non-conference action at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes start 4-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The 102 points mark the third-highest single-game total in program history.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne took an early 4-3 advantage before netting 13 consecutive points to break open the contest. Junior
Dunja Zecevic paced the way with four points while freshmen
Raevin Washington and
Maja Rohkohl each converted an ole fashioned three-point play, followed by a triple from sophomore
Mackenzie Blackford. After junior
Reina Green converted on a pair at the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers connected on back-to-back triples to cut the deficit to 22-14 with 4:00 minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Freshman
Alexis Bordas sparked a 9-0 surge to close the period, pushing Duquesne's lead to 31-14 after one. In the second quarter, freshman
Harriet Ford extended the Dukes' advantage to 43-26 with 3:39 remaining in the half, before West Liberty pieced together a 14–6 run, hitting 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, to close the gap to 49-38. In the final 50 seconds, Bordas scored five consecutive points to send Duquesne into halftime with a 54-38 cushion.
GLASS MASTERS
For the fourth straight game, the Dukes capitalized on their size advantage, dominating the glass with 69 rebounds, tying the most in the
Dan Burt era. Duquesne came just two shy of the program record of 71 and pulled down an astounding 30 offensive boards. The Dukes outrebounded West Liberty 69-27 (+42), marking both the largest rebound margin in program history and under Burt's leadership. Freshman
Harriet Ford led the effort with 11 rebounds, including a team-high nine on the offensive glass. Duquesne converted those opportunities into 16 second-chance points in the second half, fueling their strongest offensive stretch of the night. The Dukes blew the game open in the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run, surging to a 92-64 advantage. Sophomore
Faith Walker sparked the burst with a pull-up jumper, followed by back-to-back layups from Zecevic. Redshirt sophomore
Gabby Grantham-Medley added a bucket, Blackford finished at the rim, and Zecevic capped the sequence with five straight points. Duquesne shot a blistering 61.9 percent (13-of-21) in the final frame while hauling in 20 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end.
QUOTABLE
"We had a distinct height advantage in the post with our multiple post players, and we gave ourselves a lot of opportunities because we kept missing from point-blank range," head coach
Dan Burt said. "We still had a second effort and a third effort and sometimes a fourth and a fifth effort to finally put the ball in the basket. And so, we obviously want to make the first shot, but that didn't happen. We didn't drop our heads, we continued to battle. We continued to fight and get multiple opportunities for ourselves. I'm happy with the physicality and how we were determined to eventually put the ball in the basket."
THE QUINTET
For the third time this season, the Dukes had five or more players finish in double figures, led by
Dunja Zecevic. She recorded her first career double-double and a career-high in points, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She shot an efficient 9-of-15 (.600 percent) from the field while collecting five offensive rebounds.
Alexis Bordas recorded 16 points and a season-high seven rebounds while collecting four assists and one steal while going 6-of-6 from charity stripe.
Gabby Grantham-Medley registered 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting (.545 percent) from the field while falling just short of a double-double with nine caroms.
Mackenzie Blackford and
Harriet Ford rounded out the five, as Blackford tallied 13 points and three rebounds while Ford carded her first double-double in a Duquesne uniform, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The quintet combined for 73 of the Dukes 102 points while collecting an impressive 40 of Duquesne's 69 rebounds.
QUOTABLE
"I'm incredibly proud of myself, but also this would never be possible if I didn't have endless trust from the coaching staff and my teammates," Zecevic explained. "For them to just keep going to me and for the coaches to keep me in the game and recognize that I am able to do what I did, I got to give it to my teammates and the coaches and everybody on staff for believing in me. I mean, that's exactly what builds my confidence."
"I've always taken such great pride in defense, and I feel like sometimes I haven't been recognized for that because of how much I'll score sometimes," Bordas said. "So just staying intense on the defensive end and just focused on that, it means a lot when people recognize that, because I work very hard on that end, and it's just as important, if not more."
NOTES
It's the first time in program history the Dukes have surpassed the century mark in consecutive home games ... Duquesne recorded 66 points in the paint, the most in Duquesne history … The Dukes finished 42-of-84 (.500) from the field, both in which are the highest total under Burt … The 47 bench points is the third time this season the Dukes have netted 40+ plus points from its bench … West Liberty featured five players in double figures, led by Dria Parker, who carded a game-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including six triples … Abbie Davidson finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and three three's while Bailee Smith tallied 11 points and three triples … The Hilltoppers connected on 23 field goals on Tuesday night, 15 of them coming from behind the arc … West Liberty's 43 three-point attempts is the most against Burt in his era.
UP NEXT
Duquesne will be idle for the week before traveling up I‑376 to face Robert Morris in a non-conference matchup, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
