Spencer Thomas | editor-in-chief

It was a down-and-up week for Duquesne women’s basketball, who may have saved their season with an upset win over Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night. After a devastating loss to Fordham on Sunday dropped the Dukes to 0-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play, they were staring down the barrel of an insurmountable deficit in the league, but the squad reversed their fortune with a complete performance on Hawk Hill.

Sunday’s matinee contest at Cooper Fieldhouse came down to the final shot. With the game tied at 62, Fordham’s Irene Murua caught an inbound pass, turned and muscled up a shot from 6 feet away. She fell to her back, and by the time she looked up, the ball was through the hoop, and she was at the bottom of a victorious dogpile. It was Duquense’s third loss in a row.

The contest forced guard Megan McConnell to put the Dukes on her back like never before. In the second half, every Duke looked to her as soon as they got their hands on the ball. From the top of the key, she drove past Rams into the lane to finish a circus layup. Then she did it again. Then again, and again, every time either drawing a foul, or watching the ball loop around the rim before falling through. She played all 40 minutes and finished with 26 points and eight rebounds. It was another herculean effort for the senior, who is 10th in the country in minutes played. But, it was all for naught.

With 10 seconds left in a tie game, McConnell drove to the rim one more time. Everybody in the arena knew what was coming, including the Rams. This time, McConnell was met by a double-team that swallowed her whole. They took the ball back for a jump ball. As Fordham players jumped and hugged Murua after her winner on one side of the court, McConnell exited the other side wiping tears from her eyes.

After the game, ever-candid Head Coach Dan Burt was not shy about placing blame for the defeat.

“We are not getting contributions from our starters, and that reflects in our three-game losing streak. We have to find ways for some of our players besides Megan to score the ball and rebound the ball and defend.”

Mackenzie Blackford’s 10 points made her the only other Duke to score double figures. Jerni Kiaku was stifled defensively, only putting up six shots, to finish with 4 points. Meanwhile, Fordham had four different players score at least 11 points.

The Dukes entered Wednesday night’s road contest staring up in the standings at a 12-2 Saint Joseph’s team that was undefeated in league play. Burt’s words in the locker room clearly resonated, and the Dukes roster put together a much more complete performance. While McConnell led with a game-high 19 points and played the entire time, she was joined in double figures by Kiaku, Kiandra Browne and Blackford, who finished second among all scorers with 13, and shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

“[Blackford] is coming along and playing better and better, and certainly shooting the ball better,” Burt said.

Duquesne staved off the Hawks’ brief runs in the second half. Despite a threatening moment late where Joe’s trailed by just 4, an offensive miscommunication sent the ball into the backcourt, sealing Duquesne’s first conference victory.

The Dukes hit the road again on Saturday, when they travel to George Washington.