Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind six Dukes in double figures and posting the second-highest point total in program history, the Duquesne women's basketball team rolled to a 108-53 victory over Slippery Rock on Thursday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The win moves the Dukes to 2–0 on the season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne came out firing in the opening four minutes, knocking down six of its first 12 shots to build a quick 17-7 advantage. Sophomore guard Mackenzie Blackford set the tone early with seven points, connecting on her first three attempts from the field. After the teams traded baskets over the next few possessions, the Dukes closed the quarter on a 9–2 run. Junior Dunja Zecevic sparked the surge with four straight points, and following a jumper from The Rock, redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley drove for a layup before Blackford buried a long three to make it 32-15 after one. The Dukes stayed red-hot in the second quarter, erupting for a program-record 34 points in the frame. Duquesne shot an impressive 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the floor and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from beyond the arc. A 16-5 run midway through the quarter helped them pull away, led by Grantham-Medley's five points and sophomore center Maja Rohkohl's four. Duquesne capped the half on an 8-2 burst to take a commanding 66-32 lead into the locker room, the largest halftime margin under head coach Dan Burt.

QUOTABLE
"These are very difficult games to coach in, and you want to always exhibit grace and kindness while also being ruthless and relentless, and I thought we accomplished that tonight," head coach Dan Burt said. "Slippery Rock is a program that's growing, and I think they have a lot of class to them. I think the world of their head coach and their staff, those kids played really hard in a tough situation. We believe that we're a pretty good basketball team. Our system is our system, and it's predicated on being ruthless and relentless, and we were able to do that tonight and play the standard that we have set. And so, I'm very happy with the performance tonight."

RUTHLESS AND RELENTLESS
For the second straight game, the Dukes forced more than 25 turnovers, pressuring Slippery Rock into 29 giveaways on Thursday night. Duquesne capitalized on those miscues with 39 points off turnovers and dominated the interior with 50 points in the paint. The Dukes clamped down defensively in the second half, limiting The Rock to just 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30) and only nine points in the fourth quarter. Out of 12 second-half turnovers, Duquesne converted 14 points while adding 26 points in the paint and 23 from the bench over the final 20 minutes.

SIX PACK
For the first time since January 25, 2023, six Dukes finished in double figures. Redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley and sophomore Mackenzie Blackford led the way with 17 points each, with Grantham-Medley's total marking a career high. Blackford was efficient all night, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, while adding a team-best four steals, three assists, and two rebounds. Sophomore Nadia Moore contributed 13 points on 50 percent shooting, grabbing four rebounds, while junior Dunja Zecevic added 12 points, six rebounds, and two steals, going a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Freshmen Alexis Bordas and Raevin Washington rounded out the half dozen with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bordas chipped in three rebounds and two steals, while Washington pulled down six boards, including four on the offensive glass. Together, the six accounted for 80 of Duquesne's 108 points, combining for 10 three-pointers and nine steals in the dominant victory.

QUOTABLE
We've got some very good players," Burt continued. "You know, we have a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in West Virginia and a lot of these kids have some big accolades, but they've all sacrificed to understand and play within the system that we have. If I'm a player, I know I have value in this system, I know that my role is important. And it's not just knowing your role, but it's embracing your role. First of all, kudos to our coaching staff for really having definitive roles for our players, and then our players, not only knowing what those roles are as we communicated to them, but then embracing it."

NOTES
The 108 points Duquesne scored is the second highest total in program history while being the sixth time they've scored over 100 in a game … The 55-win margin in the highest total during the Burt era while being the second largest win in Duquesne history … Sophomore Faith Walker finished with seven points, four rebounds, and four assists … Fatou Sane collected a career-high seven rebounds with six points … Maja Rohkohl collected a team-high nine rebounds while junior Reina Green tallied four steals … Duquesne finished with 15 steals … The Dukes recorded 40+ plus bench points for the second straight game finishing with 46

UP NEXT
Duquesne hits the road for the first time during the 2025-26 season, traveling to Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 9, with the opening tip scheduled for 1:00 p.m.