Henrico, Va. – Erasing a 16-point deficit, the No. 12 seed Duquesne women's basketball team stormed back behind a dominant third-quarter run to defeat No. 13 seed VCU in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Wednesday at the Henrico Sports & Events Center. With the victory, the Dukes improved to 12-18 (.400) overall this season and advanced to the second round of the tournament.

THE RUN
The Rams pushed their lead to 35-19 with 5:48 left in the third quarter, but Duquesne answered with a surge. The Dukes scored 17 straight points as part of a 21-4 run over the final five minutes of the period to seize a 40-39 advantage. Sophomore Mackenzie Blackford ignited the rally with a pair of free throws, followed by a layup from freshman Raevin Washington. Blackford then buried a three-pointer to trim the deficit to 35-26. Redshirt sophomore Gabby Grantham-Medley added two points to keep the momentum rolling before freshman Alexis Bordas knocked down a triple. Washington converted another layup, and Blackford capped the run with her second triple of the stretch to give Duquesne its first lead since early in the contest. The teams split the final four points of the quarter, sending the Dukes into the fourth with a 40-39 edge. With the score tied at 43-43 in the fourth, Blackford sparked another decisive run. Duquesne rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to build a 53-45 cushion with just under five minutes to play. Blackford scored six during the spurt, and the Dukes were a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. VCU responded with seven straight points to pull within 53-52 at the 2:33 mark, but Bordas steadied Duquesne with five consecutive points to halt the rally. Sophomore Fatou Sane later split a pair at the line to seal the victory for the Dukes.

QUOTABLE
"We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the first and second quarter," head coach Dan Burt said. "We shot it poorly from the three-point line and really playing into maybe what VCU's game plan was, which was to take threes. A fair amount of them were good looking shots, but it wasn't falling for us.  When you look at the second half, we outscored them 41-22 and we were 6-for-9 from the three-point line, and we only had seven turnovers in the second half. And for us, that's a really good thing, because we've struggled with turnovers all year. I think RJ Bell, our offensive coordinator, did a great job by us really abandoning our offense and going five out. I think that caused a lot of problems for them, and then our kids executing it by playing with some freedom and flow and I'm really happy for them. They're great young women. They have brought optimism and determination and great resilience the entire season. They're a great group of young women and I'm excited that we're finding our groove right now what our future holds tomorrow."

BUILT TO WITHSTAND
Duquesne delivered a resilient defensive performance Wednesday, limiting VCU (8–23) to just 30.5 percent shooting (18-of-59) for the game. The Dukes took control in the third quarter, holding the Rams to nine points on 3-of-12 (25.0 percent) shooting from the field. Duquesne forced seven of VCU's 16 turnovers in the period and collected three steals during its decisive 21-4 run, while the Rams managed just 1-of-5 shooting amid the surge. After scoring only 19 points in the first half, the Dukes erupted for 41 in the final 20 minutes, outscoring VCU 41-22 after the break. Duquesne shot an efficient 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the floor in the second half, including a blistering 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Dukes also controlled the glass, winning the rebounding battle 46-41, and capitalized on VCU's miscues with 16 points off 16 turnovers, 11 of those coming off nine second-half giveaways.

THE SPLASH SISTERS
Duquesne placed two players in double figures, led by Alexis Bordas and Mackenzie Blackford. Bordas recorded her ninth 20-point performance of the season, pouring in a team-high 24 points on 50.0 percent shooting (8-of-16), including three three-pointers, while converting 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The freshman was especially sharp after the break, going 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in the second half. The outing marked her 14th game leading the Dukes in scoring and her 24th performance in double figures this season. Bordas enters Thursday's contest just three three-pointers shy of Duquesne's single-season record. Her 90 triples are currently tied for second-most in program history. Blackford added 17 points, knocking down four three-pointers while contributing four rebounds and two assists. She scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and an impressive 4-of-5 from long range. The performance marked her 14th game in double figures this season and her 10th outing with at least three triples. With 75 three-pointers on the year, Blackford now ranks sixth on Duquesne's single-season list. Together, the duo accounted for 41 of Duquesne's 60 points and connected on all seven of the team's three-pointers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Raevin Washington finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting while collecting a team-best nine rebounds and two blocks. Reina Green ended with seven rebounds, five points, two steals, and two assists while Fatou Sane chipped in six rebounds three steals, and three points during the win.

UP NEXT
Duquesne advances to the second round of the championships, facing the No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's on Thursday, March 5, with the opening tip scheduled for 1:30 p.m.