Davidson defeats Duquesne, 73-67

Junior guard Suzi Rose-Deegan led Davidson to a 73-67 win over Duquesne on Saturday afternoon at the John M. Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C.

Rose-Deegan made a clutch three-pointer down the stretch to pretty much ice the game for the Wildcats (11-3, 2-0). It was one of five triples by Rose-Deegan on the afternoon. The Dukes are now 6-10 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.

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Rose-Deegan had a game-high 24 points and shot 9-of-13 from the field. Tess Myers led the Dukes with 23 points and was 6-of-11 from behind the arc. Duquesne got a combined 24 points off the bench from Precious Johnson and Fatou Pouye. Johnson had 13 points, while Pouye scored 11.

Duquesne shot 27-of-58 (46.6%) from the field and converted on 8-of-27 (29.6%) three-point attempts. Davidson was 24-of-60 (40.0%) and 9-of-23 (39.1%) from behind the arc

Duquesne led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. Davidson shot just 17.5 percent from the field, but three triples by Rose-Deegan made up for the poor shooting from the rest of the Wildcats. Myers led the Dukes with six points at the end of the first quarter, as she drained two three-pointers.

It continued to be a back-and-forth game in the second quarter, and the Dukes went into halftime with a 37-35 lead. Myers led Duquesne with a whopping 18 points and was 6-of-8 from behind the arc. Rose-Deegan was Davidson’s leading scorer with 13 points.

In the first half, the Dukes shot 15-of-28 (53.6%) from the field and were 7-of-16 (43.8%) from behind the arc. The Wildcats were 11-of-34 (32.4%) and made 5-of-15 (33.3%) three-point attempts.

Duquesne led 42-36 with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. The six-point lead matched the Dukes largest lead of the game. Davidson didn’t score their first basket of the second half until the six-minute mark in the third quarter, but the Wildcats turned it on and went on a 12-2 run to take a 48-46 lead with 2:28 left in the third quarter. Sallie Schultz nailed a three-pointer for Davidson to take a 51-48 lead with 1:14 remaining and the Wildcats ended up going into the fourth quarter with a 55-50 lead.

Davidson outscored Duquesne, 20-13, in the third quarter. Through three quarters of play, the Wildcats were 8-of-19 (42.1%) from behind the arc.

A jumper by Cole Welch put Davidson up 61-54 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. The seven-point lead was Davidson’s largest of the game. Cassidy Gould added to Davidson’s lead on the next possession with a layup and converted free throw after being fouled to put the Wildcats up 64-54.

Duquesne went on an 8-0 run to cut Davidson’s lead to 66-64 with 2:20 remaining. After two made foul shots by Gould for Davidson, Megan McConnell nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-point game. Davidson answered right back, however, as Rose-Deegan drained a three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 71-67 lead with 2.21 left. Rose-Deegan’s triple pretty much sealed the game, and Davidson pulled away with a 73-67 win.

Duquesne’s next game is on Wednesday, Jan. 19, against Rhode Island at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.