GAME 6
Kent State (3-3) vs. Duquesne (4-1)
Monday, Nov. 24, 2025 | 6:00 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 welcomes Kent State on Monday, Nov. 24, with the opening tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

- The Dukes are coming off its first set back of the 2025-26 season as they dropped a 64-62 decision at Robert Morris last Tuesday night (Nov. 18).

- For the fifth straight game, the Dukes featured three or more players in double figures. Mackenzie Blackford paced Duquesne with 16 points on 6-of-13 (.462 percent) shooting from the field. She collected four rebounds and a pair of steals while netting 10 of her 16 in the second half.

- Harriet Ford finished with her second double-double of the season, totaling 15 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. She finished 6-of-9 (.667 percent) shooting from the field while collecting four assists. Gabby Grantham-Medley rounded out the trio with 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

- Trailing 50-45 entering the fourth quarter, the Dukes opened the final 10 minutes with a 9-2 run to take a 54-52 lead. Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford ignited the push with back-to-back layups, followed by a bucket from redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley.

- Freshman Alexis Bordas then banked in a right-wing triple to put the Dukes in front. Ava Leroux briefly tied the game at 54 before the Colonials reclaimed the lead with 5:54 remaining. After a two-minute scoring lull, sophomore Faith Walker knotted things again at 58-58.

- Both teams then traded empty trips until Aislin Malcolm converted a three-point play to give the Colonials a 61-58 edge with 34 seconds left. Following a Duquesne timeout, sophomore Harriet Ford drove in for a layup to make it a one-point game with 31 tics remaining. Jada Lee went 1-of-2 from the line with 22 seconds left, leaving the door open, but Grantham-Medley's jumper didn't fall. Malcolm secured the win at the stripe with two final free-throws.

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The Series vs. Kent State – Come Monday night, it'll be the 14^th meeting between the Dukes and Golden Flashes as Duquesne holds a slight 7-6 lead in the all-time series. Last year in Ohio, uquesne was unable to find its rhythm in the second half, especially in the third quarter as it shot just 5-of-19 from the floor. The Dukes struggles continued in the fourth, shooting just 4-of-16 from the field. Kent State (2-3) opened the third on a 9-4 stint, hitting 4-of-7 shots from the field and taking the first double digit lead of the night. The Dukes continued to battle as they responded by scoring nine of the next 11 points to trim the deficit to single digits (47-41). Senior Kiandra Browne connected on a three while freshman Nadia Moore hit a jumper as the Dukes went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe the rest of the run. Kent State countered with an 8-3 stint as its lead swelled back to 11 with just under two minutes to go in the third stanza. Duquesne would cut the lead to eight but the Golden Flashes took a 57-47 lead into the final frame. Two Dukes finished in double figures, led by senior Megan McConnell. She posted her second double-double of the season and 27th of her career, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. McConnell netted 12 of her 19 in the first half while leading the team with three steals and collecting three assists. Jerni Kiaku was the second player in double figures, ending with 10 points, three rebounds, and one steal. Sophomore Andjela Matic recorded a team-high five assists and four rebounds while Mackenzie Blackford grabbed a season-best five boards.

Scouting The Golden Flashes – A member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Kent State was picked as the preseason favorite as it's led by head coach Tony Starks, who's in his 10^th season at the helm. The Golden Flashes come into Monday with a 3-3 mark, most recently dropping an 88-68 decision at Ohio State on Wednesday night (Nov. 19). Kent State features a pair of players averaging double figures, led by Mya Babbitt. She's averaging 16.5 points per game while connecting on 16 three-pointers, which ranks 19^th in the country. Babbitt is averaging 2.67 triples per game, good for second in the MAC while her .364 percent (16-of-44) from deep sits fourth. Janae Tyler is the second Golden Flasher to average double digits, totaling 10.0 points per game whole collecting 4.2 rebounds. Tyler is also shooting .438 percent from the field. Riley Rismiller paces the team with 7.5 rebounds while chipping in 7.3 points per contest while Dionna Gray is dishing out just under five dimes. As a team, Kent State is forcing over 18 turnovers per game while collecting just under 40 rebounds per contest, ranking third in the conference.

Robert Morris Remains - It was a hot start for the Colonials as they jumped out to an early 9-3 advantage before Duquesne responded with 10 unanswered points to grab a 13-9 lead. Grantham-Medley sparked the run with a pull up jumper, followed by back-to-back triples from sophomore Mackenzie Blackford and another jumper from Grantham-Medley. After a two-minute scoring drought, Grantham-Medley pushed the Dukes lead to six with a layup before Duquesne took a 17-14 lead at the end of one. In the second quarter, the Dukes stretched its advantage to 22-14 but the Colonials bolstered a 15-4 burst over a three and a half minute span, to regain a 29-24 advantage. Duquesne responded with six of the final nine points of the quarter to trail 32-30 at the break. Sophomore Harriet Ford paced the way with four points during the stint. Alexis Bordas ended with seven points and a team-best four steals … Duquesne held a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint … RMU featured a pair of players in double figures, led by Noa Givon, finishing with a game-high 21 points while going 5-of-9 from behind the arc …. Myriam Traore ended with 13 points and five rebounds … Duquesne held an 11-7 advantage in steals.

Ford Shifts Into Overdrive – After missing the first two games of the season, sophomore forward Harriet Ford has made an immediate impact off the bench for the Dukes. She's coming off back-to-back double-double performances, including a 15-point, 10-rebound showing at Robert Morris last Tuesday. Ford currently leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game and is averaging over 13 points per contest, ranking third on the squad in scoring. The Australian native has scored in double figures in all three games she's appeared in, reaching 15 points twice. She has also led the team in rebounding in three straight outings, highlighted by a season-high 11 boards in the win over West Liberty. Ford has been especially effective on the offensive glass, collecting 20 offensive rebounds, and is shooting an efficient .500 from the field (17-of-34).

Bench Presence - Duquesne continues to thrive with impactful contributions from its bench, ranking 12th nationally and leading the Atlantic 10 with 37.0 bench points per game. The Dukes have topped 40 bench points in three games this season, highlighted by a season-high 47 in a 102–73 win over West Liberty. Junior Dunja Zecevic and sophomore Nadia Moore have been central to that success. Zecevic is tied for fourth on the team at 11.4 points per game while adding five rebounds per contest. She has reached double figures four times and is shooting an efficient .561 from the floor (23-of-41). She recorded her first career double-double in the win over West Liberty, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Moore, who has missed the last three games, was equally impactful to start the season. She's averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. She opened the year with a career-best 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, then added 13 points in a win over Slippery Rock.

Mack Attack – Sophomore guard Mackenzie Blackford, the Dukes' top returning scorer from last season, has continued to find her rhythm early in the year. She has reached double figures in three of Duquesne's first five games, most recently leading the team with 16 points at Robert Morris. Blackford shot 6-of-13 (.462) from the field in that outing, including a pair of three-pointers. The Ohio native, who hit 70 threes last season, has stayed hot from long range, recording at least one made triple in 11 straight games, a streak dating back to February 2 of last season. She has also been active defensively, tallying 10 steals this year, third most on the team and an average of two per game. Earlier this season, Blackford posted a career-high four steals in a 108-53 win over Slippery Rock. She also notched a season-high 17 points in that contest, shooting .750 (6-of-8) from the floor and knocking down four three-pointers.

Arc Angels - The Dukes enter Monday's contest vs Kent State having made at least one three-pointer in 432 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 812 straight games featuring a made three-pointer.

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