Duquesne Women's Basketball
Buy Stock Now in This Pittsburgh Hooper’s Game

One of the best players in the Pittsburgh college basketball scene is a player that you may have never heard of just yet.
Mackenzie Blackford is a freshman guard at Duquesne. She comes off the bench for the Dukes, and only averages 17.8 minutes per game. However, she has shown flashes of brilliance this year for the Dukes, especially as the season has gone on.
Blackford is averaging eight points per game. She is shooting 43% from the field, and 39% from three-point range. Blackford has made 56 shots this season overall, and 44 of them have been three pointers (second on the team). That’s 79% of her makes that have been threes.
After scoring double-digit points twice in the team’s first 13 games, she has turned in such performances in six of Duquesne’s last eight games, including a 20-point outburst against George Washington, and a 14-point outing in the most recent win over Saint Bonaventure.
She won A10 player of the Week a few weeks back for her stellar recent performance.
Here are some stats via Synergy regarding Blackford: She is scoring 1.194 points per possession on spot-up shots, which ranks in the 95th percentile in D1 hoops. She is also a weapon in transition, which fits Dan Burt’s play style perfectly. Blackford is 16 for 40 on transition threes (40%), per Synergy.
Check out her highlights from the win over St. Bonaventure below.
Star guard Megan McConnell praised Blackford, as well as Duquesne’s other freshmen contributors, after a recent win.
“I could not be happier for our freshmen right now,” McConnell said. “They add so much value to our team, and we would not have the record we have without them. Mack it’s like she’s a knockdown shooter and if you don’t have a hand up, it’s going to go in. You better get to know her name, because she’s going to be a great player in the A-10 in the future. Speaking of the other freshmen they bring it every single night, each one of them. I know when they step out on the floor, they’re going to give it everything they’ve got. That’s something I admire, and I love playing with people like that.”
