Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team kicked off its 2025-26 season in dominant fashion on Monday afternoon, rolling past Saint Francis 89-60 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Dukes improved to 1-0 on the year and have now won three of their last four season openers.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
After a sluggish start in which both teams combined for just four field goals over the opening four and a half minutes, Duquesne found its rhythm with a 14-3 run to take an 18-8 lead. Freshman Raevin Washington sparked the surge with back-to-back layups before redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley drained a pull-up jumper. Following a triple from Cassandra Hawthorne, Grantham-Medley and junior Reina Green added consecutive layups, and classmate Dunja Zecevic and sophomore Maja Rohkohl capped the stretch with buckets of their own. Saint Francis answered with a 7-5 spurt to close the quarter, trimming the deficit to 23-15 after one. The Red Flash carried that momentum into the second period, cutting the margin to 28-21 on a long-range shot from Makyiah Ward. Duquesne responded immediately, scoring eight of the next 11 points to reestablish a double-digit lead. After a pair of free throws by Sonia Sato made it 38-29, the Dukes closed the half on a 9-4 run, led by Zecevic and sophomore Faith Walker, who each scored four points to send Duquesne into the locker room with a 47-33 advantage.

QUOTABLE
"Well, that's a good start to a new year," head coach Dan Burt said. "Our system is our system, and we showed that that today. As a coach, you're going to nitpick, and there's things that I'm certainly not real pleased with but overall, to have very little on Saint Francis and come out and play the way we did, I'm really happy about it. We had an idea that they would run some dribble drive, and they played hard and a lot of credit goes to Saint Francis, because it's not fun to play against us and the style that we're playing. And those kids never got down. They never quit, and they continued to play hard. I think that they're going to have a good year, and I think they have a good young head coach, and they just need to stay the course. You know, obviously our post play has been addressed. We had 31 points from two of our post players today and we didn't shoot the ball well from the arc, but that will happen, I can promise you."

CAUSING HAVOC
Duquesne carried its trademark defensive intensity from last season right into the new campaign, and Monday's contest was no exception. The Dukes smothered Saint Francis from start to finish, forcing 30 turnovers while tallying 22 steals and converting those miscues into 29 points. Duquesne found its offensive rhythm in the third quarter, shooting a game-best 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the field while holding the Red Flash to just 33 percent (5-of-15). Freshman Alexis Bordas ignited an 11-2 run to open the half, helping the Dukes build a commanding 58-35 lead midway through the frame. Sophomore Nadia Moore led the charge with four points during the stretch as Duquesne forced five turnovers and grabbed two steals. Later in the quarter, Moore and Zecevic fueled a 6-2 burst that extended the lead to 72-41 before the Dukes entered the final period with a 74-46 advantage. Duquesne's relentless defense continued to shine, forcing 10 Saint Francis turnovers in the third quarter alone and collecting 11 steals in the second half.

THE FAB FIVE
Five Dukes finished in double figures on Monday afternoon, highlighted by a pair of career performances. Nadia Moore posted a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58.3%), adding three rebounds and two steals. She did most of her damage in the third quarter, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and leading all scorers with 10 points in the frame. Dunja Zecevic also recorded a personal best in her Duquesne debut, scoring 16 points on 63.6 percent shooting (7-of-11) to go along with five rebounds, a block, and a steal. Freshman Raevin Washington, making her first collegiate start, contributed 15 points and five rebounds on an efficient 6-of-10 (60.0%) shooting performance. Gabby Grantham-Medley and Alexis Bordas rounded out the balanced attack with 11 points apiece, with Grantham-Medley securing her first career double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds. Bordas also impressed in her debut, collecting four steals and three rebounds. Together, the quintet combined for 70 of Duquesne's 89 points, along with 27 rebounds and eight steals.

QUOTABLE
"You have to thank the kids and just really appreciate the kids on the roster, because they have bought completely into what we're doing with five in and five out," Burt continued. "There's no rest for our opponent, but there's also no time to check out if you're playing this style, because you come to the bench and you can't relax, you're going to get your breath but two minutes later you're going right back in. There's really no time to check out, and it really engages your entire team and allows for everyone to be valued and be a part of this. In the day of the transfer portal that we're in where, half of teams leave every year, we don't have that situation and I believe this is a big reason why."

NOTES
All 11 players scored at least one field goal against the Red Flash … Sophomore Fatou Sane tallied a career-high five steals in the win, with four rebounds … Duquesne outrebounded Saint Francis 51-36 while collecting an impressive 21 offensive boards … The Dukes totaled 14 assists while carding 43 bench points, the most since they netted 47 at George Washington last season … The 22 steals are the most since the Dukes carded 25 takeaways against Niagara last year … Saint Francis featured a trio in double figures, led by Aleah James with 17 points. Saonia Sato ended with 13 points, three assists, and two steals while Makyiah Ward rounded out the trio with 11 points, five rebounds, and three steals.

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Thursday, Nov. 6, when it welcomes Slippery Rock for a non-conference matchup, beginning at 6:00 p.m.