Pittsburgh, Pa. – In front of more than 3,000 students, the Duquesne women's basketball team snapped its 11-game skid with a 67-55 victory over Loyola Chicago on Wednesday morning inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse as part of Education Day. With the win, the Dukes improved to 8-16 (.333) overall and secured their first Atlantic 10 victory of the season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a slow start for both teams before sophomore Harriet Ford gave Duquesne a 6-5 edge heading into the first media timeout. After the Ramblers scored out of the break, the Dukes closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 15-9 lead into the second. Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford sparked the surge with a triple and following a bucket from Alexa Kinas, freshman Alexis Bordas answered with a layup, and redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley capped the period with a three-point play. The second quarter featured red-hot shooting from both sides, with each team connecting on better than 50 percent from the field. Midway through the frame, the teams traded four consecutive baskets before sophomore Maja Rohkohl pushed the Dukes' advantage to 29-20 with 4:17 left in the half. Duquesne maintained its momentum, closing the quarter on a 13-4 run fueled by Grantham-Medley. She ignited the stretch with a four-point play, and after a Ramblers response, junior Reina Green added a turnaround jumper while Bordas knocked down two free throws. Grantham-Medley then hit a pair at the chalk before burying a top-of-the-key three-pointer as time expired to send the Dukes into halftime with a commanding 42-24 lead.

QUOTABLE
"We've been through an awful lot over the course of the last 30-40, days and the biggest thing is, there's a couple MVPs to our success today," head coach Dan Burt said. "The one is the team. The team through this struggle, through this adversity, has never, in any way, not shown up to practice with a positive attitude and optimism and working hard. We're far from complete and one victory is not going to make a complete success, but we're happy to get that one win. And we keep talking about small wins and how small wins can lead to big wins, and today is definitely a small win that led to a big win. The second person that is the MVP is really our marketing person in our marketing department, Leah Adams, Megan Jahrling and their staff. They do an incredible job as we had over 3,000 screaming kids today. Leah and our whole athletic department volunteering their time to make this event happen and have great success with it. They need to be noticed and they need to be appreciated and we thank them."

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
Loyola Chicago (12-12|8-5 A-10) came out aggressive to start the second half, opening on a 10-3 run. The Ramblers hit five of their first eight shots and forced five Duquesne turnovers in the opening four minutes to cut the deficit to 45-34. Bordas helped steady the Dukes with a three-pointer that ignited a seven-point spurt, extending the lead to 52-36 heading into the final quarter. Duquesne pushed its advantage to its largest of the afternoon when Grantham-Medley converted a driving layup to make it 63-41. Loyola continued to battle, however, putting together an 11-2 run in the final minute of play. The Dukes were stifling defensively in the second half, forcing nine of Loyola's 17 turnovers over the final 20 minutes. Duquesne held the Ramblers to 36.7 percent (11-of-30) shooting from the field and 0-of-9 from three-point range after halftime. The Dukes also controlled the glass, winning the rebounding battle 36-26, while adding five steals and four blocks on the afternoon.

QUOTABLE
"Every single day coming into practice, we were practicing just as hard, and we knew that we would get a win eventually, and we did everything until we stayed together," Bordas explained. "We've said all along that everyone makes it to the tournament, so anything can happen. And obviously, I'm sure teams are doubting us and are taking us a little lightly, but we know how talented we are and that we can beat anybody, so I think this proves that against any competition, top of the conference, we can still win."

THE QUARTET
For the fifth time this season, four Dukes scored in double figures, led by Alexis Bordas. She poured in 19 points on 53.8 percent (7-of-13) shooting, connecting on three three-pointers and grabbing three rebounds. The performance marked her 20th game in double figures this season and the 12th time she has led the team in scoring. Mackenzie Blackford followed with 17 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-10 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc. It was her ninth double-figure effort of the season and the third time she has knocked down five or more triples. Gabby Grantham-Medley added 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, hitting a pair of triples and going a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She also dished out a career-high six assists and recorded two steals. The outing marked her eighth game in double figures this season and the seventh time she has led the team in assists. Reina Green rounded out the quartet with her first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 13 rebounds. She went 5-of-6 from the line, and her 13 boards are tied for the fourth-most by a Duquesne player in a game this season. As a group, the four combined to shoot 20-of-41 (48.7 percent) from the field and an efficient 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) from the free-throw line.

NOTES
Duquesne extends its winning streak to five straight against Loyola Chicago in the all-time series … The Ramblers had three finish in double figures led by Alex-Anne Bessette, with 14 points, three blocks, and three steals. Alexus Mobley ended with 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals while Alexa Kinas recorded 11 points seven rebounds, and three steals … Loyola netted 25 points off 27 Duquesne turnovers … The Ramblers won the battle of points in the paint, 34-22 … Duquesne has hit double figure triples for the third consecutive game (10) and for the seventh time this season … There was four lead changes and two ties

UP NEXT
Duquesne hits the road when it travels to Bronx, N.Y. to battle Fordham on Saturday, Feb. 14, with the opening tip scheduled for 2:00 p.m.