Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne women's basketball team bounced back on Saturday afternoon, capturing a 72-61 victory over VCU inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during Atlantic 10 action. The Dukes improved to 10-17 overall (.370) with the win and 3-13 (.188) in conference action while splitting the season series with the Rams.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
VCU came out firing to start the contest, knocking down five of its first seven shots to build an 11-6 advantage heading into the first media timeout. After stretching the lead to 13-6, Duquesne answered with an 8-4 run to trim the deficit to 17-14 by the end of the first quarter. Freshman Alexis Bordas sparked the surge with a triple, followed by a layup from sophomore Maja Rohkohl. After the Rams converted two free throws, Bordas drained another shot from beyond the arc. The Dukes carried that momentum into the second quarter, opening the frame with a 9-4 burst to claim a 23-21 lead with 6:15 remaining in the half. Junior Reina Green led the charge with four points during the stretch, while Bordas added yet another triple. Later in the quarter, Ann Zachariah knocked down a three-pointer to cut Duquesne's lead to one before the Dukes closed the half on a 7-2 run. Freshman Raevin Washington ignited the spurt with a jumper, and sophomore Fatou Sane followed with two free throws. After a VCU basket, Bordas capped the half with her fourth three-pointer, sending the Dukes into the break with a 35–29 advantage.

QUOTABLE
"Overall, happy with our win today," head coach Dan Burt said. "I'm not happy with our first three to four minutes of the game, but after the first three or four minutes, we really dictated the tempo, the pace of the game, and felt like we were always in control. Beyond the first three minutes, we are playing with good pace and on the offensive end. When you move the ball from side to side, and you hit cutters and you're sharing the ball, a lot of good things happen. Our turnover rate is down, and our turnover rate is down against good athletic talent that we're playing against, and so that shows a sign of maturity and I'm pleased with that. Obviously, pleased with Alexis Bordas being Alexis Bordas but very pleased with Reina Green, Fatou Sane, and Gabby Grantham-Medley late with the defense that they played. How they rebounded and how they defended, I thought that Reina in particular, giving up probably six inches to the #34 from VCU who she was guarding really locked her up. We wanted to make sure that whether it was going for a rebound on the offensive or defensive end, or we were going in transition, that we had a second and a third effort. And I'm probably more pleased about that today than anything."

SHARING THE ROCK
Despite a sluggish start to the second half, Duquesne continued to move the ball effectively, finishing with 16 assists on 26 made baskets. Both teams combined to shoot just 3-of-14 to open the third quarter before the Dukes responded with 12 straight points to build their largest lead of the afternoon, 51-34, with 2:05 remaining in the period. Bordas ignited the run with a three-pointer, followed by a layup from Washington. Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford added a triple and a layup of her own, and junior Reina Green capped the spurt with a jumper as Duquesne went a perfect 5-of-5 during the stretch. The Rams closed the quarter by scoring eight of the final 10 points, trimming the margin to 53–42 heading into the fourth. In the final frame, Duquesne maintained control, using an 8-0 burst to extend its lead to 64-48. Blackford opened the run with a layup before Bordas buried back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Dukes comfortably in front.

THE TRIO
Three Dukes reached double figures Saturday afternoon, led by Alexis Bordas. She recorded her eighth 20-point performance of the season, pouring in a game-high 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting (61.5%) from the field and an impressive 7-of-9 clip (77.8%) from beyond the arc. Bordas was also perfect at the free-throw line (4-of-4), while adding four rebounds and four assists in the victory. It marked the 13th time this season she has led the Dukes in scoring and her 22nd game finishing in double figures. Reina Green narrowly missed a double-double, totaling 13 points and nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, to go along with two steals. It was her ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season and the fourth time she has led Duquesne in scoring. Mackenzie Blackford rounded out the trio with 10 points, a team-high five assists, and four rebounds. She scored all 10 of her points in the second half, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and knocking down a pair of three-pointers.

NOTES
Gabby Grantham-Medley ended the day with eight points, three rebounds, two steals, and two assists while Raevin Washington totaled six points and two rebounds … Fatou Sane chipped in six points and five rebounds … VCU has three players in double figures, led by Cyriah Griffin with 14 points on 50.0 percent shooting and two rebounds … Katarina Knezevic ended with 12 points, nine rebounds, and three steals while Makennah White rounded out the three with 10 points and two rebounds

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to the road for its final away game of the regular season, traveling to Saint Louis on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.