GAME 7
Liberty (3-2) vs. Duquesne (5-1)
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 | 3:30 p.m.
Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)

GAME 8
Duquesne (5-1) at Navy (4-1)
Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 | 1:00 p.m.
Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team travels to Annapolis, Md., to compete in the Navy Classic. The Dukes open competition against Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3:30 before battling the host Navy on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 1:00 p.m.

- Behind a stifling defensive effort, Duquesne grinded out a 58-53 win over Kent State on Monday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. 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.

- 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.

- 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.

GAME DAY LINKS
DUQ Game Notes
Liberty Game Notes
Navy Game Notes

Scouting The Flames – A member of Conference USA, Liberty enters Saturday's matchup with a 3-2 overall record after an 80-35 win over UVA Wise on Wednesday. The Flames are powered by Emmy Stout, who leads the team with 16.2 points per game while adding 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals. She's shooting better than 49 percent from the field and has reached double figures in all five contests this season. Avery Mills contributes just under 14 points per game along with 5.2 rebounds, while Ify Nwaobi anchors the interior with a team-best 10.0 rebounds per outing. Nwaobi has posted double-figure rebound totals in three straight games. As a unit, Liberty ranks among the nation's top rebounding teams, averaging more than 47 boards per game, sitting ninth in the country and holding a +15.6-rebounding margin, which sits 14th in NCAA Division I. Saturday marks just the third meeting between the Dukes and Flames, with the all-time series tied at 1-1. Liberty claimed the most recent matchup in 2018, 55-51, while Duquesne won the inaugural meeting in 2012, 63-46.

Scouting The Mids – A member of the Patriot League, Navy enters the weekend at 4-1 after taking its first loss of the season, a 69-56 setback against Richmond. The Mids are led by a pair of double-figure scorers in Zanai Barnett-Gay and Zoe Mesuch. Barnett-Gay sets the pace with 19.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, already tallying three double-doubles and three 20-point performances. Mesuch adds 13.6 points per contest along with 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and has reached double figures in all five games. She also leads the team with 15 made three-pointers and ranks 25th nationally with 3.0 triples per outing, while Barnett-Gay stands 27th in Division I in scoring average. Saturday's matchup marks just the fourth meeting between the Dukes and Mids, with Navy holding a 2–1 advantage in the all-time series. It will also be the first meeting between the programs since 1991.

Kent State Remains - 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.

Double-Double – Sophomore forward Harriet Ford continues to provide a significant spark off the bench, recording three straight double-doubles. Over that stretch, she's averaging 12.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting an efficient 53.6 percent from the field. Ford is coming off a 13-point, 10-rebound effort against Kent State (Nov. 24), where she shot 5-of-8 from the floor (.625). The Australian native has scored in double figures in all four of her appearances this season, and her three double-doubles rank second in the Atlantic 10 and 17th nationally. She also owns three of the Dukes' five highest single-game rebounding totals this year and has led the team on the glass in four straight contests.

The Precision Pair – The Dukes feature a pair of sharpshooters who rank among the Atlantic 10's best from long range, as sophomore Mackenzie Blackford and freshman Alexis Bordas both sit inside the league's top five in three-pointers per game. Each is averaging more than two triples per contest and has knocked down 15 threes on the season. Blackford has been on a surge over her last three outings, averaging 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal while shooting just under 53 percent from the field. She's also gone 9-of-20 (.450) from beyond the arc during that stretch and is coming off a six-three performance against Kent State (Nov. 24), her second career game with six or more made triples. Bordas currently leads the Dukes with 13.3 points per game and adds 3.7 rebounds along with a team-best 2.7 steals. She has hit at least one three-pointer in all six games this season and has connected on three or more in three of them. Together, Blackford and Bordas have accounted for 30 of Duquesne's 38 made threes this year.

Secondary Unit Output - Duquesne continues to excel with strong production from its bench, ranking 15th nationally and leading the Atlantic 10 with 34.0 bench points per game. The Dukes have surpassed 40 bench points in three outings this season, including a season-high 47 in their 102-73 win over West Liberty. Junior Dunja Zecevic and sophomore Nadia Moore have been key drivers of that depth. Zecevic is tied for fourth on the team at 9.5 points per game and adds five rebounds per contest. She has reached double figures four times and is shooting an efficient 53.5 percent from the field (23-of-43). Her breakout performance came against West Liberty, where she posted her first career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. Moore, who has missed the last four games, was equally impactful to open the season. She averaged 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals through her first two contests. She opened the year with a career-best 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and followed it with a 13-point effort in the win over Slippery Rock.

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