Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team returned to Atlantic 10 action on Tuesday afternoon, dropping a 72-62 decision to Saint Louis inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the loss, the Dukes fall to 7-6 (.538) overall and 0-2 in league action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Trailing by as many as 13 points with 9:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, Duquesne pieced together a 10-2 run to pull within 55-50 at the 5:25 mark. Sophomore Kellie McConnell ignited the surge with a floater, followed by a layup from fellow sophomore Nadia Moore and a driving finish from freshman Alexis Bordas. After Saint Louis knocked down a pair of free throws, junior Reina Green kept the momentum going with a jumper, and sophomore Faith Walker capped the spurt with a turnaround jump shot. Later in the quarter, the Dukes again closed the gap, trailing 61-54 before Bordas buried a right-wing three to cut the deficit to four with two minutes remaining in regulation. That would be as close as Duquesne would get, however, as the Billikens closed the game on an 11-5 run to secure the victory. Despite shooting just 1-of-6 (16.7 percent) from the field in the fourth quarter, Saint Louis proved decisive at the foul line, converting 19-of-24 free throws (79.2 percent) in the final period. The Billikens finished the game 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) from the charity stripe.

QUOTABLE
"Tough day at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse today, St Louis played their game and coach Tillett did a really good job of coaching her kids," head coach Dan Burt said. "Her big four, her four starters played exceptionally well into the to the what their game plan was and we looked like the young, inexperienced team that we are, especially when you look at how physical the game was. We were somewhat shell shocked by the physicality, and it clearly determined a lot of the game."

DEFENSIVE BATTLE
Saint Louis opened the game on a 6-0 run, knocking down three of its first six shots, before Moore answered with a layup and a three-pointer to pull Duquesne within one. The Billikens briefly extended the margin to 9-5, but consecutive steals and layups by Green tied the game with 3:07 remaining in the first quarter. Later in the period, a basket from Alyssa Koerkenmeier gave Saint Louis a 14-11 edge, though Moore responded with a pull-up jumper to trim the deficit to 14-13 at the end of the opening quarter. Koerkenmeier opened the second frame with a three-point play to push the Billikens' lead to 17-13, but Duquesne quickly countered with a 7-0 run to take a 20-17 advantage. Bordas ignited the spurt with a layup, followed by a pair of free throws from sophomore Harriet Ford, and capped by a turnaround jumper from classmate Faith Walker. During the stretch, the Dukes locked in defensively, holding Saint Louis scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting while forcing four turnovers over a four-minute span.

BALANCED EFFORT
For the fourth time this season, Duquesne placed four players in double figures, led by Nadia Moore. Playing in her first game since Nov. 6, Moore posted a team-high 15 points on 50.0 percent shooting (7-of-14) from the field while adding three rebounds. Freshman Alexis Bordas followed with 14 points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers, and led the team with three steals while also dishing out two assists. Sophomore Harriet Ford finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.5 percent) from the floor, to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Junior Reina Green rounded out the quartet in double figures with 10 points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

NOTES
Faith Walkers tied for the team-lead with six rebounds … Saint Louis featured four players in double figures, led by Zya Nugent with 19 points, six rebounds, and one steal … Jahda Denis finished with 16 points while going 8-of-8 from the foul line while Alexis Nelson ended with 13 points, eight assists, and four steals … Alyssa Koerkenmeier rounded out the four with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while totaling four blocks … Duquesne held a 34-14 advantage in points in the paint while holding a 32-11 edge in bench points … The Dukes also held a 42-34 advantage on the glass while collecting 14 offensive rebounds

UP NEXT
Duquesne hits the road when it travels to Dayton on Saturday, Jan. 3, for an A-10 contest, beginning at 1:00 p.m.