GAME 23
RV Richmond (19-5, 10-1) vs. Duquesne (15-7, 6-5)
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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NOTHING BUT NYLON
- The Duquesne women's basketball team returns to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse where it welcomes conference leading Richmond on Sunday, Feb. 9, with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. streamed on CBS Sports Network.

- The Dukes had its four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night, dropping a 59-57 decision at Rhode Island. Senior guard Megan McConnell led the Dukes with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting (.500) from the floor. She finished with seven rebounds, five steals, and two assists in Wednesday's contest. McConnell was particularly dominant in the second half, scoring 15 of her 22 points while shooting 6-of-12 (.500) from the field.

- Junior Jerni Kiaku finished in double figures, ending with 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Freshman Nadia Moore chipped in nine points, with three three-pointers and two rebounds.

- Duquesne held a 24-22 edge in points in the paint. The Rams captured a 39-35 rebounding advantage … The Dukes turned it over 13 times and totaled just seven steals.

- Entering the fourth quarter tied at 44, senior Megan McConnell put Duquesne ahead 49-47 with a pair of free throws and a layup at the 7:58 mark. Rhode Island responded with a three-pointer from Sophie Phillips and a layup from Hawa Komara, reclaiming a 52-49 lead.

- Junior Jerni Kiaku answered with a basket, and McConnell added three more points to push the Dukes back in front, 54-52. The Rams quickly tied the game and later built a 58-54 advantage with 1:29 remaining.

- Freshman Nadia Moore drilled a clutch three-pointer to cut the deficit to one (58-57), but both teams then endured three consecutive empty possessions. Harsimran Kaur made one of two free throws with 15 seconds left.

- After a Duquesne timeout, the Dukes unfortunately turned the ball over on their final possession, and following an official review, the game ended with no time remaining.

- After battling the Spiders, Duquesne welcomes Massachusetts on Wednesday, Feb. 12, for a conference matchup inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

GAME DAY LINKS
Watch (CBS Sports Network)
Live Stats
DUQ Game Notes
Richmond Game Notes

The Series vs. Richmond – It'll be the 33^rd meeting when the Dukes and Spiders take the floor on Sunday afternoon with Richmond holding a slight 17-15 advantage in the all-time series. The two squads met three times last season, the last time in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championships, where the Spiders claimed an 80-66 victory at the Henrico Sports and Events Center. Three Dukes finished in double figures, led by Ayanna Townsend. She finished 6-of-8 shooting from the floor while collecting seven rebounds, one block, and one steal. Townsend netted nine of her 13 points in the second half, where she was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Amaya Hamilton registered 12 points while totaling five rebounds and three assists. Tess Myers was the final Dukes in double digits, tallying 10 points with a pair of triples while collecting four rebounds and a block. It was a stagnant start to the second half for both teams as they combined 3-of-8 shooting the floor, with four combined turnovers in the opening three minutes. Later in the quarter, junior Megan McConnell would cut the deficit to single digits (43-34) with a triple before Richmond (28/5) strung together a 7-2 spurt to push its lead up to 14.

Scouting The Spiders – Richmond enters Sunday atop the Atlantic 10 standings with a 19-5 overall record and a 10-1 mark in conference play. The Spiders have consistently received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls throughout the season. Most recently, Richmond secured its ninth straight victory with a dominant 72-53 win at La Salle on Wednesday. Maggie Doogan led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Rachel Ullstrom added 20 points and Addie Budnik contributed 11, giving the Spiders three players in double figures. Richmond boasts a balanced offensive attack, with three players averaging double digits: Doogan (16.8 ppg), Ullstrom (16.5 ppg), and Budnik (10.5 ppg). Doogan also contributes 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, while Ullstrom adds 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting an impressive 57.1% from the field and 45.7% from three-point range. Budnik rounds out the trio with 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 50.6% from the floor.

Rhode Island Remains - It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening five minutes as the Rams jumped out to a 9-5 advantage before junior Andjela Matic trim the deficit with a long ball. The two teams would go on a three-minute scoring drought before freshman Nadia Moore gave the Dukes an 11-9 lead, with 2:48 remaining in the opening stanza. Rhode Island would knot the score at 14-all before Matic connected on her second triple of the quarter as Duquesne held a 17-16 advantage after one. As a team, the Dukes shot an impressive 5-of-8 (.625) from behind the arc in the quarter. In the second stanza, Rhode Island took a 23-21 lead before sophomore Reina Green buried a foul-line jumper to knot the score at 23 with 5:17 left in the half. Later in the quarter, senior Megan McConnell connected on a triple to give the Dukes a brief 27-26 advantage, but the Rams closed the half on a 7-2 run, heading into the break with a 32-28 lead.

Building A Legacy – Senior guard Megan McConnell continues to be the driving force for the Dukes this season, and her standout performances have not gone unnoticed. She has been steadily building an impressive resume, earning recognition on multiple prestigious watch lists. Most recently, McConnell was named to the 2025 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List—one of just 15 players selected and the only mid-major representative across both the men's and women's lists. She has also secured spots on the midseason watch lists for the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and the 2025 Women's College All-Star Game. Her accolades continued this week, as she was named to the midseason watch list for the 2024-25 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, as announced Tuesday by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

Freshman Phenom - For the second time this season, freshman guard Mackenzie Blackford has earned Atlantic 10 Under Armour Rookie of the Week honors, as announced by the league office on Monday. Blackford delivered an impressive week, averaging 14.5 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game while shooting an efficient 50% (9-of-18) from the field and 46.7% (7-of-15) from three-point range. In Duquesne's matchup against VCU, she led the team with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting (62.5%), including 3-of-5 (60%) from beyond the arc. She also contributed three rebounds and three assists in the victory. Blackford was particularly dominant in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including two three-pointers. She closed out the week with another strong performance against the Bonnies, finishing as one of three Dukes in double figures. Blackford tallied 14 points, sinking a team-high four three-pointers while adding an assist, a block, and a steal.

400 - The Dukes enter Sunday's contest vs. Richmond having hit at least one three-pointers in 415 consecutive games, a span of 14 years. The last time Duquesne failed to connect on a three-point field goal in a game came December 21, 2011, when the Dukes finished 0-of-19 from long range at Florida during the championship game of the Gator Holiday Classic. Recently, the NCAA Division I women's record for consecutive games with a made three-pointer was broken. Iowa State previously held the record with an astounding 945-game streak, dating back to February 19, 1995, when the program competed in the Big Eight conference. Now, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga holds the longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball, with 797 consecutive games featuring a made three-pointer.

Climbing The Record Book – Senior Megan McConnell continues to be a model of consistency for the Dukes, and the numbers speak for themselves. The Pittsburgh native is on the verge of making history, aiming to become just the second player in program history to reach both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. Entering Sunday's game, she sits just nine rebounds shy of the milestone (991) and would join Beth Friday (2000-03) as the only other Duke to accomplish the feat. Friday remains Duquesne's all-time rebounding leader with 1,160 boards and over 1,400 career points. McConnell also continues to climb the program's record books in other categories. With five steals at Rhode Island, she moved into third place in career takeaways (324), surpassing Darcie Vincent (1995-98, 323). She now sets her sights on passing Korie Hlede (1995-98, 334) for second all-time. Additionally, she is just one assist away from reaching 600 for her career, a mark only one other Duke has achieved—Shiri Sharon (2001-04), who holds the program record with 659 assists.

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