Duquesne’s Kalin Beats Buzzer; Saint Francis, 69-67

PITTSBURGH — It was a situation that Amanda Kalin had likely imagined several times growing up, the basketball was in her hands and if it fell through the net, a victory and an entire Duquesne bench ready to chase her down.

Indeed Kalin had that scenario and missed her first chance but instinctively put the ball up which beat the buzzer. Predictably, the Duquesne bench, led by assistant coach Cherie Lea, charged the Gibsonia native and with what little adrenaline she had left after playing 39 minutes, Kalin jumped up and down, a dream fulfilled.

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Kalin’s basket gave Duquesne a 69-67 road victory over Saint Francis and evened its record to 1-1 on the season.

“We’re happy to get any win that we can whether it’s pretty or ugly, we will take a victory,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt. “Obviously I am very happy with the performances of Amanda Kalin, Precious Johnson and Tess Myers. We obviously are a team that is having growth and that growth is going to not go away any time soon. We have a lot to go in terms of knowing sets, how hard to play and finding the right combinations, which we have not done yet.”

AMANDA KALIN CALLS GAME.

DUKES WIN ‼️‼️‼️#SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk | #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/PuYBo9Zj7j

— Duquesne Women's Basketball (@DuqWBB) December 2, 2020

In the win, Kalin achieved a career high scoring 25 points and her 11 made field goals tied a career high set Mar. 3 against Rhode Island. Those field goals came in all three ways, showed improved versatility. Freshman guard Tess Myers scored a career high with 11 points and sophomore center Precious Johnson added 10 points.

Saint Francis (0-3) was led by Karson Swogger’s 15 points.

It was an uneven game for Duquesne which led by 13 points early on in the fourth quarter but allowed Saint Francis to tie the game. Burt went with the players that gave Duquesne the advantage, but they went cold and his substitutions of Diamond Bragg and Laia Sole did not cure an offensive dry spell.

Sole was double, and at times, triple teamed on each catch as she was held to five points, three of which came at the free-throw line.

Burt watched film from last year’s game, but was unsure of how Saint Francis would guard his graduate student center, but it allowed for Precious Johnson to have one of her most complete games in a Duquesne uniform.

“They went and doubled hard and then later did that with Precious also,” said Burt. “Precious did a good job in the third quarter to recognize the double team and pass out for wide open shots. We feel good about what Precious did.”

Still it is clear that this team is a work in progress as Burt is trying to find combinations that work and players who will positively contribute on the court. With no disrespect towards Ohio State, Burt stated Sunday’s 82-47 setback felt more like an exhibition as he was trying to find those players who would consistently raising the competition level on the court.

Burt stated that individuals on his team are finding out if there is no production, defense or energy then that player will sit on the bench. He also admitted that not having Libby Bazelak at the moment affects the team, her timetable is still unknown as no update was provided.

“It’s like sausage,” Burt stated. “It tastes good, but you don’t like watching how it’s made. Right now we’re kind of like sausage, we’re not going to be pretty for a while, we need people to stick with us and I know our players will.”

TWO POINTS

. Already Duquesne’s freshmen are paying dividends, yes the same newcomers that Burt would have sat had there not been a free year of eligibility to all winter-sport student-athletes.

Along with Johnson, Myers and Megan McConnell were big driving forces in the third quarter which turned a one-point deficit into an 11-point advantage.

“Two freshmen helped us win a basketball game,” Burt said. “They are doing the right things.”

Megan McConnell from DEEP.

The Dukes extend their lead to double digits.

📺: https://t.co/hCk70h3YLJ
📊: https://t.co/lZTe6bHswP

@megg_mcconnell | #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/ihcpJHPHGV

— Duquesne Women's Basketball (@DuqWBB) December 2, 2020

Burt credited McConnell for her abilities as a floor general who has the ability to pitch the ball ahead and defend on the ball. He also praised Myers as possibly the team’s best perimeter shooter and “deadly” with corner threes.

“We scored 24 points in the third quarter and we did that with spacing the floor,” said Burt. “It was the first time we’ve done that and we got post production.”

Burt also praised redshirt freshman Snezhana Serafimoska and freshman Lindsey Linard for providing good first-half minutes when Johnson and Sole picked up foul trouble. Burt admitted that he thought Linard would be more of a project since she has not played to this level of competition, but now believes she will be very effective as she grows.

We see you Lindsey 👀

📺: https://t.co/hCk70h3YLJ
📊: https://t.co/lZTe6bHswP@lindseylinard | #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/APxZAg0ccy

— Duquesne Women's Basketball (@DuqWBB) December 2, 2020

. It appears as though Duquesne is conceding that it will not have another non-conference game before Dec. 11’s scheduled home tilt versus St. Bonaventure. A lot of teams in proximity cannot take on another game and Duquesne, though disappointed by the lack of game reps are not necessarily disappointed with having seven hard days of practice to get the newcomers to better understand plays and for everyone to have better conditioning.

HE SAID IT

“This wore me out tonight a little mentally. It’s going to be that kind of year but I really like my team. I’m trying to give every one of them the opportunity to earn playing time and the people that are producing are the people who are going to stay on the court.” – Burt

POSTGAME VIDEO