Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team fell to St. Bonaventure, 46-38, on Wednesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Atlantic 10 action. With the loss, the Dukes dropped to 7-8 (.467) overall and 0-4 in conference play.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
After a slow start for both teams, Duquesne seized control early, carrying an 11-3 lead into the first media timeout behind five quick points from freshman guard
Alexis Bordas. The Dukes forced five St. Bonaventure turnovers in the opening five minutes and held the Bonnies scoreless for more than three-and-a-half minutes. Olivia DiFranco briefly halted the drought by converting a pair of free throws with 3:19 remaining in the quarter, but neither team scored over the final three minutes. St. Bonaventure opened the second quarter with a 7-3 stint to trim the deficit to 14-12 with 6:57 left, before a pull-up jumper from Mackenzie Pettinelli tied the game at 14-all just over five minutes into the period. Duquesne answered emphatically, scoring eight of the next nine points to reclaim momentum and build a 22-15 advantage. Sophomore guard
Mackenzie Blackford ignited the spurt with a pair of free throws, followed by a three-point play from sophomore forward
Harriet Ford and a deep three from Bordas. Once again, both teams went cold down the stretch, as the Dukes maintained a 22-15 lead heading into halftime.
QUOTABLE
"I'm rarely ever at a loss for words at any time in my life, whether it's wins, losses or in my personal life and I'm really kind of a loss for words right now," head coach
Dan Burt said. "I think that St. Bonaventure played to what they do and we knew how they were going to play. What coach Crowley does is what he does, and it is special because he's had tremendous success with it for many, many years, but he's not going to come into the game and have four new sets and changes defense around or anything like that. He stays true to his philosophy, and he stayed true to that even when it was 11-5, and they were able to come out with the win. I have great respect for Coach Crowley and I think he has done a great job with that program at St. Bonaventure."
SECOND HALF SURGE
A jumper from junior guard
Reina Green extended Duquesne's lead to 24-15, but St. Bonaventure (11–5, 2–2 A-10) responded with an 11-5 run to pull within 29-26, shooting 5-of-8 from the field during the stretch. Bordas briefly halted the momentum with a pull-up jumper to restore a six-point cushion with 2:12 remaining in the quarter. Brillana Boyd answered with a three-pointer, and after both teams were held scoreless over the final two minutes, Laycee Drake drilled a buzzer-beating triple to tie the game at 32-all heading into the final 10 minutes. The teams traded baskets to open the fourth quarter before Aaliya Parker went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to give the Bonnies a one-point edge. A two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought followed, before Pettinelli knocked down a right-wing three to push St. Bonaventure's lead to four. Parker then converted a pair at the line to extend the advantage to 40-34 with 2:18 remaining. Duquesne attempted to mount a late push with baskets from Moore and Ford, but St. Bonaventure sealed the game by going 4-of-4 at the chalk over the final 51 seconds."
QUOTABLE
"We shot 23 percent from the field and 14 percent from the three-point line and a game that was incredibly physical again and very well officiated," Burt continued. You can't be fixated on the shooting percentages as much as you need to talk about putting your people in the right spot to get shots, and having your people know where they need to be and to be able to read defenses. When you have four assists and 21 turnovers, you're not going to beat very many teams."
INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Alexis Bordas was the lone Duke to finish in double figures, ending with 11 points while connecting on three tripes. She collected three rebounds and totaled a pair of steals.
Mackenzie Blackford ended with eight points and three rebounds while
Reina Green and
Nadia Moore each chipped in six points. Green also posted a career-high nine rebounds while
Harriet Ford corralled a team-leading 12 boards and a career-high four steals.
NOTES
St. Bonaventure featured one player in double figures in Aaliyah Parker who ended with 15 points and five rebounds … The Bonnies shot 28.3 percent from the floor while the Dukes shot 23.6 … Duquesne won the rebounding battle 45-39, with 14 offensive rebounds … St. Bonaventure held a 15-11 in points off turnovers … Duquesne held an 11-4 edge in second chance points … Each team collected 10 steals
UP NEXT
Duquesne travels to Richmond, Va., on Sunday, Jan. 11, when it battles VCU in an Atlantic 10 matchup, beginning at 2:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
