GAME 1
Saint Francis (0-0) vs. Duquesne (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne University women's basketball team opens its 2025-26 campaign on Monday evening, welcoming Saint Francis to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a 2:00 p.m. opening tip.

- The Dukes are led by the all-time winningest coach in Duquesne women's basketball history, Dan Burt who enters his 13th season as head coach and 19th year on staff at the helm. Burt has totaled 230 career victories for the red and blue while posting 116 Atlantic 10 wins for the Dukes.

- It'll be a young but experience group for Duquesne in the 2025-26 season as it returns eight players from a season ago. Sophomore guards Mackenzie Blackford and Nadia Moore will lead the charge for the Dukes as Blackford returns as the leading scorer from last season at 8.2 points per game. She shot 42.5 percent from the field while knocking down 70 triples, second most on the team.

- Duquesne welcomes six newcomers to the program, including three transfers and three freshmen. Junior Dunja Zecevic and sophomores Harriet Ford and Maya Rohkol will begin their first season in a Duquesne uniform while freshman Alexis Bordas, Raevin Washington, and Bakhaw Seye will be donning the red and blue this season.

- The 2025-26 season marks the 53^rd year of Duquesne basketball and the 43^rd season of Division I competition. The Dukes started play in 1973-74 and have posted 720 victories. Duquesne first joined the Atlantic 10 in 1983-84 and have complied 616 wins as a Division I institution.

- The Dukes will open its season at home for just the third time in the last 11 years and for the second straight season. DU hosted Point Park during the 2022 season and Princeton last year to open the campaign. Before welcoming the Pioneers, Duquesne opened their season on the road seven straight times.

- Sophomore guard Nadia Moore is the second active returning scorer for the Dukes this season, after averaging 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 35.6 percent from behind the arc. She scored in double figures four times while leading the team in rebounding on three different occasions last year.

- Duquesne should also get a boost from redshirt sophomore guard Gabby Grantham-Medley, who is coming off a redshirt season and looking to play a bigger role for the Dukes this season.

- The Dukes added some height to the roster, bringing in a pair of forwards in Maja Rohkohl and Harriet Ford. Coming from Gardner-Webb, Rohkohl ranked second on the team and 10^th in the Big South with 5.8 rebounds per game while Ford sat fourth on the team with 7.8 boards at Omaha.

- The Dukes will be back at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse when it welcomes Slippery Rock on Thursday, Nov. 6 with the opening tip set for 6:00 p.m.

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The Series vs. Saint Francis – Dating back to 1974, Monday's matchup will mark the 38th meeting between the Dukes and the Red Flash and just the second time the two programs have squared off in a season opener. Duquesne holds a commanding 31-6 advantage in the all-time series and has won 13 straight contests, including an 85-71 victory last season. That win featured a career performance from Gabby Hutcherson, who led four Dukes in double figures with a career-best 22 points on an impressive 10-of-12 (83.3%) shooting from the field. She also added six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Megan McConnell contributed 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals, while Jerni Kiaku posted 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Mackenzie Blackford chipped in 10 points, three steals, and two rebounds, and Reina Green added six points and five rebounds.

Scouting The Red Flash – A member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Saint Francis is guided by first-year head coach Chynna Bozeman, who was promoted after serving as an assistant last season. Bozeman's debut roster features 12 newcomers, headlined by graduate students Aleah James, Shelby Ricks, and Sonia Sato. James joins the Red Flash after playing at UMES last season, where she ranked fourth on the team with 43 assists. Ricks arrives from NCAA Division II Bowie State, where she totaled 179 points during the 2024–25 campaign. Sato brings Division I experience from Presbyterian, appearing in 85 games over three seasons and collecting 182 rebounds. As a program, Saint Francis stands as the winningest team in NEC history and enters the season just four wins shy of becoming the first school in the conference to reach 400 victories.

Against The NEC – The Dukes have enjoyed unprecedented success against Northeast Conference opponents, compiling a 43–14 record. Duquesne is currently riding a 21-game winning streak against NEC teams, with their last defeat coming on Dec. 1, 2009, at Robert Morris.

What Was Lost … - In the era of the NCAA Transfer Portal, teams often reload rather than rebuild, and the Dukes are a prime example. Duquesne does not return a single starter from last season, a group that collectively recorded 190 double-figure scoring games. That total included 93 from former standout Megan McConnell, 50 from former guard Jerni Kiaku (36 of those at Duquesne), 20 from Gabby Hutcherson, and nine from former forward Kiandra Browne (seven with the Dukes).

… And What Was Gained – The Dukes will take the floor this season with a young yet experienced roster, featuring eight sophomores and three transfers. Sophomore guard Mackenzie Blackford returns as last season's leading scorer, registering 14 games in double figures. Harriet Ford contributed eight double-figure outings at Omaha while appearing in 25 games, and junior Dunja Zecevic tallied six double-figure performances at UTEP, starting 10 times and appearing in 43 contests. Duquesne will also be one of the tallest teams in the league this season, with four players standing 6-foot-2 or taller.

A Storied Tradition – 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 720 victories in program history.

New Faces On The Bluff – The Dukes will feature three new transfers and three freshmen on the roster for the 2025-26 season. Dunja Zecevic joins Duquesne after two seasons at UTEP, where she averaged 15.1 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game, shooting 40.7percent from the field and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line. Maja Rohkohl comes to the Bluff after spending her freshman season at Gardner-Webb, appearing in 26 games with 17 starts and averaging 2.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. She ranked second on the team and 10th in the Big South in rebounds per game, while her 156 total rebounds ranked 14th in the conference. Harriet Ford arrives from Omaha, where she posted 7.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, finishing fourth in the conference in rebounds per game and leading her team with 195 total boards (10th in the league). The Dukes will also welcome freshmen Alexis Bordas, Raevin Washington, and Bakhaw Seye. Bordas, a three-time West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year, is the first player in state history to earn the honor three times. She also claimed three MaxPreps Player of the Year awards and three Mary Ostrowski Awards (Sportswriter Player of the Year). Washington, from Virginia, was named Valley District Player of the Year as a senior and Daily News-Record All-Valley Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, averaging 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. Seye, from Senegal, was selected as a Basketball Without Borders All-Star and earned MVP honors at the Hoop Forum.

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