Tristan Huyett | staff writer

After suffering a narrow loss to conference rival Dayton last week, Duquesne women’s basketball rebounded with a pair of wins versus Atlantic 10 Conference foes Rhode Island and La Salle. The victories brought the Dukes’ record to 13-6, and 4-4 in A-10 play.

The contest against Rhode Island on Sunday at Cooper Fieldhouse saw four Dukes finish in double figures, with do-it-all guard Megan McConnell leading the way with 19 points. McConnell also led the Dukes with nine rebounds and five assists. Other Dukes to reach double digits were Jerni Kiaku with 18, Gabby Hutcherson with 12 and Andjela Matic with 10.

For Hutcherson, it was the type of performance that Duquesne Head Coach Dan Burt and the rest of the coaching staff envisioned when the former five-star recruit announced her transfer to the Bluff in the offseason. In addition to her 12 points, Hutcherson finished with eight rebounds, three blocks and shot 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

“It’s really important for [Hutcherson] to be where her feet are,” Burt said. “Today her feet were in the paint blocking shots…and she knocked down some big shots with a lot of confidence.”

Also on display on Sunday was the continued breakout of junior guard Kiaku. After appearing in 34 contests off the bench last season, Kiaku has started 18 games for the Dukes this season and is the team’s second leading scorer, averaging over 14 points per game.

Burt noted Kiaku’s growth as a defender, notably off the ball, as an example of her continued improvement.

“Jerni played exceptionally well,” Burt said. “She’s a scorer, we all know that. But today we saw her shoot the passing lane, didn’t come up with the steal, but was able to rotate back and pick up a man without hurting us defensively.”

As a team, the Dukes shot 45% from the field as well as 44% from 3-point land. After Rhode Island took an 8-7 lead in the first quarter, Duquesne trailed for all of 26 seconds before taking the lead again, which they held for the remainder of the contest as they walked away with a 77-64 win.

“We know every game in-conference is going to be a dog fight,” McConnell said. “We have to prepare for each game like it’s the championship.”

Looking to keep building upon their mounting momentum, the Dukes hit the road east toward Philly to square off against La Salle, where they picked up a 67-57 win on the backs of 5 double-digit scorers.

McConnell recorded game-highs of 20 points, three steals and a tie for a game-high four assists. Entering the game, McConnell’s 74 steals and 4.1 steals-per-game both ranked second in the country.

Other Dukes to reach double figures were Mackenzie Blackford with 12, Kiaku with 11, Hutcherson with 10, and Faith Walker with 10. In total, the five double-digit scorers netted 63 of Duquesne’s 67 points.

Wednesday’s contest marked the continuation of an expanded role for freshmen Walker and Blackford. For Walker, it marked her sixth game recording double digit minutes in her last seven played, after recording only two such games in her first 10. Walker’s 10 points marked a career-high, while she also tallied five rebounds and sank both of her 3-point attempts.

Blackford, for her part, marked her sixth game scoring at least 10 points, including four times in her last six games. Walker shot 4 of 11 from three-point range, with her 11 attempts marking a season high. Her four makes from downtown are her best mark since a 6-of-10 barrage against George Washington.

In total, the Dukes were not as efficient shooting the ball as they were against Rhode Island, finishing 8-for-38 from behind the arc and shooting 33% from the field overall. They entered the contest attempting 31.2 threes-per-game, third-most in the country.

Duquesne was able to overcome their shooting woes by stifling La Salle’s offense, as the Dukes forced 26 Explorer turnovers while only coughing up nine of their own. They led by as many as 20 points and did not give up the lead after taking it just before halftime. The Duquesne bench also outscored La Salle’s 32-11.

The Dukes will look to rest up in the next seven days before taking on three conference opponents in seven days starting with VCU at home on Jan. 30. After the Rams, Duquesne will hit the road to play St. Bonaventure on Feb. 2 and rematch Rhode Island on Feb. 5.