Duquesne Women's Basketball
WATCH: Duquesne WBB Surprises Walk-on With Scholarship
Getting an Division I athletic scholarship is a lifelong dream for many athletes. This week, Duquesne women’s basketball guard Kiersten Elliott got to realize that dream.
Elliott, a Glenshaw native, led Vincentian Academy to four straight WPIAL championships, but came to Duquesne as a walk-on and redshirted as a true freshman before finding her footing last season.
The 5-foot-11 guard played in 18 games for the Dukes in 2017-18 and also made the Duquesne Director of Athletics Honor Roll as a biology major.
On Thursday, the team released a video of head coach Dan Burt and the rest of the team surprising Elliott with the news that she’d received an athletic scholarship.
After the team’s 6:30 a.m. practice session, Burt handed out letters to each of the team members that said “Kiersten is getting a scholarship in a few seconds … SHHH!!!”
They then waited for Elliott to open her letter, which revealed that her hard work had paid off.
The Dukes finished the 2017-18 season with a 25-5 record, finished in second place in the Atlantic-10 conference and made it to the third round of the WNIT. Burt is entering his sixth season with the program and has a 114-54 overall record.
Duquesne only lost two regulars from last seasons’ team, forwards Judith Sole, who graduated, and Helmi Tulonen, who elected to turn pro.
