Chicago, Ill. – Despite a fourth quarter surge from the Ramblers, the Duquesne women's basketball team held off Loyola Chicago to secure a 75-70 victory on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic 10 play at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena. The win snapped the Dukes' three-game losing streak, improving their record to 16-7 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Loyola Chicago (11-15, 3-12 A-10) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead before Duquesne responded with an 8-0 run to take an 11-8 advantage. Freshman
Mackenzie Blackford and junior Andjela Match each connected on a three-pointer, while junior
Jerni Kiaku added a basket. Later in the quarter, the Ramblers trimmed the deficit to three, but graduate student
Gabby Hutcherson knocked down a triple to extend Duquesne's lead as the Dujes held a 17-14 advantage after the first quarter. Early in the second, Rosalie Mercille tied the game at 17-all with a three-pointer, but Duquesne answered with a dominant 17-5 run over five minutes to seize a 34-22 lead. Kiaku ignited the surge with a three-pointer, followed by five consecutive points from senior
Megan McConnell. Blackford added a shot behind before Loyola momentarily halted the momentum with a long-range basket. Hutcherson then took over, scoring six straight points—two of them jumpers—to extend the lead. Jess Finney capped off the half with a three-pointer, as the Dukes held a 34-25 advantage at the break.
QUOTABLE
"We're happy with how we played in the first three quarters, but obviously disappointed with the fourth," head coach
Dan Burt said. "Some of that falls on me—we got a little out of rhythm with our rotation, but we have to be better. Anytime you win on the road in conference play, it's a good win. We'll celebrate it, but we'll also take a hard look at what went wrong in the fourth. That said, I'm really pleased with our ball movement—21 assists on 24 baskets is impressive—and our performance at the free-throw line. When you combine that with making 13 threes, you put yourself in a great position to win. But at one point in the fourth, we went cold. It wasn't just the rotation; we missed shots and didn't execute defensively. We're still relying on a lot of young players, and I'm proud of their effort today. I'm happy with the win, happy with how we shot the ball for three quarters, and most importantly, happy with the pace and ball movement we showed throughout the game."
OUTLASTING THE RUN
Coming out of the break, Duquesne delivered one of its best defensive quarters of the season, holding Loyola Chicago to just four points in the third. The Ramblers managed only 2-of-14 shooting (14.3%) from the field, while the Dukes forced seven turnovers and recorded a pair of steals. Duquesne opened the half with an 11-2 run, fueled by three three-pointers, and closed the quarter with eight straight points—all from sophomore
Raymi Coueta—to take a commanding 53-29 lead into the final stanza. However, Loyola Chicago flipped the script in the fourth, catching fire with a blistering 72.7 percent shooting performance (16-of-22), including four three-pointers. With 7:22 remaining, the Ramblers used a 16-5 run to cut the deficit to 62-50, bringing the margin to just 12 points with under four minutes to play. McConnell halted the momentum with a driving layup, but Loyola continued to push, trimming the deficit to single digits (69-60) following a 10-5 spurt. In the final 46 seconds, Duquesne remained composed at the free-throw line, converting 6-of-8 attempts, including three makes from Blackford to seal the victory.
BALANCED EFFORT
Four Dukes finished in double figures, led by senior
Megan McConnell, who filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block. She scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-9 from the field. Freshman
Mackenzie Blackford contributed 14 points, three assists, and two rebounds while knocking down three three-pointers. She was especially efficient at the free-throw line, going 5-of-6—all in the second half. Junior
Andjela Matic added 13 points, draining three triples and going a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. She also grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists in the win. Graduate student
Gabby Hutcherson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points, three rebounds, three blocks, and a steal. Together, the quartet combined for 54 points and connected on nine three-pointers.
NOTES
As a team, Duquesne registered 21 assists on 24 made shots … Loyola Chicago outscored Duquesne 41-22 in the fourth quarter … The Ramblers featured three players in double figures, led by Nae Bernard. She finished with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor, including five three pointers. … Audrey Deptula finished 14 points while Jess Finney carded 10 … Duquesne scored 26 points off 23 Ramblers turnovers … The Dukes netted double figure triples for the 14
th time this season and double digit steals for the 16
th time.
UP NEXT
Duquesne continues its road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it travels to Fordham for an Atlantic 10 matchup, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
