Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind a stifling defensive effort, the Duquesne women's basketball team grinded out a 58-53 win over Kent State on Monday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The victory pushed the Dukes to 5-1 (.833) on the season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a slow start for both offenses, as the teams combined for just two field goals through the first five minutes. Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford finally broke the ice for Duquesne at the 4:21 mark, trimming the deficit to 5-4. A floater from Dionna Gray evened the score at 7-7, as Duquesne closed the quarter on a 10-4 surge to take a 17-11 lead after one. Blackford and freshman Alexis Bordas each connected on triples during the run. Kent State opened the second quarter with a 7-3 push to pull within 20-18, but the Dukes answered with a 7-2 burst to take a 27-20 edge into halftime. Freshman Raevin Washington and Bordas each chipped in a bucket during the stretch, while Duquesne held the Golden Flashes scoreless over the final four minutes of the frame while causing 10 first half turnovers.

QUOTABLE
"I'm incredibly proud of our players, because we defended at a very high-level tonight, and really proud of the defensive effort that we had," head coach Dan Burt said. "Whether it was communication, switching, being physical and tough, and even taking charges. All that goes to one play, and I think it's the play of the year for us. Reina Green was down at our offensive end on the ground as Kent State was on a fastbreak and Reina got up and sprinted the floor and beat everyone down the floor to get set up and take a charge against the Kent State player. It might be the best energy play that I've been around in a long time. But overall, really proud of the effort that our kids had tonight, Mackenzie Blackford was exceptional, but a lot of people were on our team tonight."

STIFLING DEFENSE
Duquesne was dominant on the defensive end against Kent State (3-4), holding the Golden Flashes to their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season at just 28.5 percent (20-of-70). The Dukes tightened the screws even further in the third quarter, limiting Kent State to 4-of-18 shooting (22.2 percent). After the Flashes pulled within 33-27 on a jumper by Riley Rismiller, Duquesne answered with nine straight points to build its largest lead of the night, 42-27. Bordas ignited the run with a three-pointer, followed by two free-throws from sophomore Harriet Ford and another long ball from Blackford. Ford then capped the burst by splitting a pair at the line. Kent State closed the quarter with six of the final nine points to cut the deficit to 45-33 heading into the fourth. The Golden Flashes continued to battle, pulling within 49-42 on a pull-up jumper from Tatiana Thomas with 5:40 remaining, but Blackford stayed hot, burying her second triple of the quarter to push the lead back into double figures. Kent State made one final charge, trimming the margin to 57-51 on a late layup, but Blackford sealed the victory by knocking down one of two at the stripe.

QUOTABLE
"Our defensive effort was so important tonight," Blackford explained. "Especially with our slow start, our coaches said a lot about getting it done on the defensive end, to get our offense going, and I think we did a great job of that. We knew we were very prepared with our scout and we knew that it was going to take everything we had on defense to win this game, And I think that showed tonight."

THREE IS ME
The Dukes featured three players in double figures, led by Mackenzie Blackford, who poured in a game-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and an impressive 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. She added five rebounds and scored 13 of her 19 after halftime. The Ohio native was a perfect 4-for-4 from deep in the second half and recorded the second game of her career with six or more made threes. Harriet Ford notched her third straight double-double, finishing with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds while shooting 5-of-8 from the floor. Nine of her points came in the second half, including six in the fourth quarter alone. Alexis Bordas rounded out the trio with 11 points, highlighted by three triples. She also handed out three assists, collected two steals, and pulled down two rebounds in the win.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
As a team, the Dukes swatted away 10 shots, their most in a game since March 1, 2023, against Loyola Chicago. Freshman Raevin Washington led the charge with five blocks, the most by a Duke since Precious Johnson during the 2023-24 season. Washington also pulled down a season-high seven rebounds in the victory. Junior Dunja Zecevic matched her career high with three blocks and added four rebounds, while Faith Walker contributed six points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Offensively, Duquesne showcased sharp ball movement, recording 17 assists on 20 made field goals and knocking down a season-best 11-of-21 from three-point range.

UP NEXT
Duquesne now turns its attention to a five-game road swing, beginning with a trip to Annapolis, Md., for the Navy Classic on Saturday, Nov. 29, and Sunday, Nov. 30. The Dukes open the event against Liberty on Saturday before facing host Navy on Sunday.