Washington, D.C – Powered by four players scoring in double figures, the Duquesne women's basketball team cruised to a commanding 97-55 victory over George Washington on Saturday afternoon at the Charles E. Smith Center in Atlantic 10 action. The win elevated the Dukes to an 11-5 overall record and 2-3 in conference play.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne set the tone early with a red-hot start, hitting its first five shots to seize an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes. Freshman Nadia Moore spearheaded the surge with five points during the early burst. Despite a Revolutionary timeout, the Dukes maintained their momentum, unleashing a 16-5 run to extend their lead to 27-7. Freshman Mackenzie Blackford ignited the stretch with back-to-back three-pointers, followed by a layup from junior Jerni Kiaku. Moore added a three-pointer, while classmates Fatou Sane and Kiaku chipped in with buckets to complete the run. By the end of the first quarter, Duquesne had built a commanding 30-9 advantage. The Dukes kept up the pressure in the second quarter, stifling George Washington's offense and holding them to just 3-of-13 shooting (23.1 percent) from the field. Junior Andjela Matic fueled an 11-5 run to open the period, with Blackford and senior Megan McConnell each knocking down triples to push the lead to 41-12. After a brief scoreless stretch from both teams, Duquesne closed the half with a 44-16 lead.

QUOTABLE
"When we laid out the vision of how we wanted to play in June, this is the perfect example of it," head coach Dan Burt said. "We didn't play a perfect game, but, but our effort was perfect. The way we sprinted from behind and got tips, our pressure that led to 44 deflections and only 26 turnovers. But with 44 deflections and the 26 turnovers and the tips from behind, it just creates a very uncomfortable environment for the opponent and then, we want to take a lot of threes and today the basketball hoop was like a hula hoop."

CLAMPED DOWN
For the 10th time this season, Duquesne's defense forced 20 or more turnovers, disrupting George Washington's offense throughout the game. The Dukes caused 26 turnovers and recorded 13 steals in the dominant victory. In the first half, Duquesne stifled the Revolutionaries, holding them to just 6-of-22 shooting (22.2 percent), including a mere 21.4 percent (3-of-14) in the opening quarter. The Dukes forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter alone and 18 by halftime, securing their largest halftime lead of the season at 44-16. Senior Megan McConnell reached a significant milestone in the win, surpassing 300 career steals. With five steals on Saturday, she became just the fourth player in Duquesne history to achieve this feat, now boasting 302 career takeaways. Junior Jerni Kiaku and freshman Fatou Sane also contributed defensively, each collecting two steals to round out the Dukes' impressive performance.

FOUR IS MORE
For the second straight game the Dukes had four players finish in double figures, led by freshman Mackenzie Blackford. She posted a season-best 20 points on six three-pointers which is also a season-high. Blackford finished 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) from behind the arc while shooting 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) form the floor. Kiandra Browne netted a career-high 17 points with three triples while totaling four rebounds and four assists. Browne carded 14 of her 17 points in the second half, going 4-of-6 from the field, with two treys. Jerni Kiaku and Nadia Moore each finished with 13 points while Kiaku totaled three boards, two assists, and two steals. Moore knocked down three three-pointers in the win.

QUOTABLE
With Mac, she shot it today the way we feel like she can shoot it, with deep range and with little space, and she can extend and stretch the floor, Burt continued. "She didn't hesitate, and she was firing away in all cylinders, and that's the expectation for her. And the other thing is, she played really good defense, too. Every time Kiandra shoots the ball, I think it's going in. Today, not only did she shoot the ball well from three, but she had three beautiful up and under moves to get buckets in the paint, and gave us really good minutes, along with four rebounds and a couple charges."

NOTES
Fatou Sane ended with a season-best eight points while graduate student Gabby Hutcherson and sophomore Raymi Coueta each tallied seven points. Megan McConnell recorded a team-best six assists, five rebounds, five steals, and five points … Duquesne scored 36 points of turnovers while getting 47 points from its bench … The Dukes ties the best rebounding team in the conference 40-40 … As a team, the Dukes hit a season-best 19 triples on a program record 42 attempts … The 97 points tied for the ninth most points scored in program history.

UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to Pittsburgh when it welcomes Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for an Atlantic 10 matchup inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, beginning at 6:00 p.m.