Cleveland, Ohio – The Duquesne women's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Friday night with a hard-fought 55-52 loss to Cleveland State in the Super 16 of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at the Wolstein Center. The Dukes conclude the 2024-25 season with a 21-13 record, tying for the sixth-most wins in program history.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne entered the final quarter with a 42-37 lead, but Cleveland State quickly closed the gap to 42-41 with 7:52 remaining. Junior Jerni Kiaku responded with a foul-line jumper to extend the Dukes' lead to three. After a brief scoring drought from both teams, the Vikings strung together five straight points to take a 46-44 lead with 5:30 left. On the very next possession, senior Kiandra Browne drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired, putting Duquesne back in front, 47-46. Cleveland State's Destiny Leo and Sara Guerreiro each went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line before Guerreiro sank a step-back jumper, giving the Vikings a 50-47 edge with 2:45 to play. Browne managed to hit one of three free-throws on the ensuing possession, and a layup from Kiaku tied the game at 50. Jordana Reisma put the Vikings ahead once again with 56 seconds left, but Kiaku answered off a pass from freshman Faith Walker to even the score at 52 with just 43 seconds remaining. On the next possession, Filippa Goula buried a three-pointer from the left-wing, pushing Cleveland State ahead. Duquesne called a timeout and had two chances to knot the score, but both attempts unfortunately rimmed out.

QUOTABLE
"We played a very good basketball team that's very well coached, that plays differently with their matchup zone," head coach Dan Burt said. "They averaged 77 points a game and from an offensive standpoint, we were able to shut them down. Solving their matchup zone is a very difficult thing, and it took us some time, and I feel like if we would play them on a regular basis, obviously, I think we could have some more success, because we don't see anyone play a matchup zone like this, and they're really, really good at it. Their coach has almost 600 wins, and that's for a reason. He's a really good basketball mind, and I'm incredibly proud of our team and where we've come. In the postseason, we've played with one post player, and six of our 11 have been freshmen, and their growth overall, not just our freshmen, but the entire team, has been simply outstanding, and I love them. They're great women, and this a loss like this doesn't define who we are. It's been a great year."

BACK-AND-FORTH
The game opened as a back-and-forth battle, with Duquesne holding a narrow 10-9 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the break, the Dukes seized momentum with an 8-0 run to close the quarter, taking an 18-9 advantage. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford ignited the surge with a transition layup, followed by two free throws from senior Megan McConnell. After a scoreless Vikings possession, Blackford added another layup, and sophomore Raymi Coueta capped the run with an offensive rebound and putback. The second quarter proved to be a shooting struggle for both teams, as they combined to go just 8-of-29 from the field. Duquesne's defense stifled Cleveland State, limiting them to just 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from beyond the arc in the first half and holding them to a season-low 18 points through the first 20 minutes. The Dukes closed the half on a 6-2 run, with all six points coming from Kiaku, including a buzzer-beating layup to give Duquesne a 29-18 lead at the break.

LEAVING A LEGACY
Senior guard Megan McConnell has had one of the most decorated careers in Duquesne history, and she added another milestone to her résumé in tonight's game. Entering the contest just two assists shy of becoming the program's all-time leader, she wasted no time etching her name in the record books. With her second assist of the night—setting up Blackford in the second quarter—McConnell surpassed Shiri Sharon (2001-04 | 659) to claim the top spot (660). The Pittsburgh native was one of three Dukes to finish in double figures, recording 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals. She leaves Duquesne as the program's all-time leader in steals (370) and ranks second in career rebounds (1,079). McConnell also amassed 1,795 career points, placing her second on the Dukes' all-time scoring list, while her 626 points this season rank as the fourth-highest single-season total in program history.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Junior Jerni Kiaku led Duquesne with 15 points, shooting 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the field, while adding nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a three-pointer. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford provided a spark off the bench with 12 points, knocking down two triples and grabbing three rebounds. Fellow freshman Faith Walker contributed six points, four assists, and two rebounds, while senior Kiandra Browne pulled down five boards. Duquesne held a slight edge in points in the paint (24-22), but Cleveland State capitalized on turnovers, outscoring the Dukes 17-14 in that category. The Vikings had three players reach double figures, with Mickayla Perdue, Destiny Leo, and Sara Guerreiro each scoring 12 points. Leo also collected nine rebounds, while Guerreiro added seven.

QUOTABLE
"I loved this year, I loved this team, we had no issues off the floor, we had no selfishness. We just had kids that came to work and enjoyed being there every day," Burt continued. "I had to kick them off the floor today after an hour shoot around, because they were just enjoying one another. It's just been a magical year. Your season is going to end at some point. Would I have liked to have won the WNIT championship, absolutely. Would I'd like to have won the A-10 tournament, absolutely. But to go from losing 6,000 points and having all of those seniors graduate off a 21-win team, where we won 13 games in the league last year, to where we are this year, with such a young group and installing a new offense and a new defense, I'm incredibly happy with them. And again, we won 21 games. We had kids that were incredible representatives of our university, and they had a great experience. It'll be hard on Sunday for us not to get back and start practice again. It'll be hard for every one of us, and it's going to hit us like a brick wall, but that's part of what college basketball is. I just couldn't be prouder of our team this season."