Tristan Huyett | staff writer

After downing Fordham in the second round on Thursday, Duquesne women’s basketball saw their hopes of an Atlantic 10 Conference championship come to an end at the hands of top-seeded Richmond in the quarterfinals on Friday, 63-58. It’s the second straight year Duquesne has had its A-10 dreams crushed by the Spiders.

The Dukes beat Fordham 79-63 in a game in which the Dukes never trailed. Powered by 21 points from junior guard Jerni Kiaku, 17 points from senior guard Megan McConnell, and 15 points from junior guard Andjela Matic, the Dukes dominated the Rams.

Matic notched a season-high in 3-pointers, making five of her eight attempts. McConnell stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, seven assists and four steals, though she failed to convert any of her seven three-point attempts.

Graduate guard Gabby Hutcherson added three 3-pointers of her own to go with six rebounds. Hutcherson was one of three Dukes to knock down multiple threes, joined by Matic and senior forward Kiandra Browne.

The Dukes led by as many as 29 points, and controlled the defensive glass, securing 30 defensive rebounds to the Rams 22. Duquesne shot 48% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
 The matchup against Richmond, however, proved to be more tightly contested than the battering of the Rams.
 In a game that featured seven lead changes, the Dukes battled throughout. Though they only led for just over 2 minutes total in the contest, they managed to keep the deficit to single digits for most of the game.

The Dukes rode the hot hand of Browne throughout the game, as she registered a career-high 18 points. Browne also added seven rebounds and shot 60% from the field.

When the Spiders extended their lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter, Duquesne stormed back into the game, as it answered with a 15-5 run to go up by a point with 3 and a half minutes to play.

When an Alyssa Jimenez 3-pointer and Rachel Ullstrom layup put Richmond back up by 3 points, Browne responded with a jumper to bring the Dukes within 1 with a minute left to play.

A Richmond layup extended their lead to 3, and after a Browne 3-pointer failed to find the bottom of the net, a Richmond free throw solidified the win for the Spiders.

Duquesne Head Coach Dan Burt expressed his disappointment in a controversial late no-call on Browne’s late 3-point attempt and the result of the game as a whole but voiced his pride in the way his squad performed against a Richmond team that only lost one conference game all season.

“I’m incredibly disappointed that the game ended in that fashion,” Burt said. “We had kids that played their absolute heart out, and Richmond is a great basketball team. They’re an elite level basketball team, and today we matched them.”

The Dukes shot 39% from the field compared to the Spiders’ 44%. The Dukes also struggled from the 3-point line, as they shot just 26% from deep, down from their 32% mark on the season.

Duquesne only saw two players reach double figures, Browne and freshman guard Mackenzie Blackford, who finished with 14 points and four 3-pointers.

The contributions from both an upperclassman and freshmen alike is something that Burt emphasized postgame.

“We brought a roster in that had six of our 12 players being freshmen, and the leadership that Hutcherson, Browne and Megan McConnell exhibited will profoundly affect our program, not just for this season and hopefully what postseason has to offer, but for years to come.”

The potential postseason play that Burt alluded to is not guaranteed. The WNIT selection is on March 20th, and until then all the Dukes can do is wait.

If Friday’s matchup is indeed the Dukes’ last game of the season, it will mark the end of the illustrious NCAA career of McConnell. McConnell finished the game against Richmond with just 5 points on 1-7 shooting, though she added six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Last week, McConnell was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the honors of All-Conference first team, All-Conference Defensive Team, and All-Academic Team.

She finished the season averaging nearly four steals per game and recorded 123 total, both good for second in the country. McConnell was also named one of five finalists for the Becky Hammon mid-major player of the year. She led the A-10 in scoring, assists per game, and total assists. Burt called her a “WNBA draft pick” in November.

As the Dukes await their postseason fate, their record sits at 19-12 and 9-9 in A-10 play.