Duquesne Women's Basketball
Inside the Dukes: Hugs And Court Kisses
As Saturday afternoon’s senior day approached, Duquesne Women’s Basketball senior guard Megan McConnell knew she had one phone call to make.
On Mar. 7, 2015, T.J. McConnell played his final home game for Arizona and kissed the court when he departed for the final time.
With that in mind, McConnell called her brother to ask to do the same, something she did, as cousin Kellie McConnell replaced her with 25 seconds to play.
True to form, Megan went to half court, kissing the Duquesne logo, hands raised before smiling and jogging to the bench.
“My brother (T.J.) when he was at Arizona his senior day, he kissed the floor and everyone always asked him why he did that, and he just said he wanted to show his appreciation to how much Arizona meant to him,” she beamed. “So, I actually asked him if I could do the same because Duquesne has meant the world to me. I just wanted to show everyone how much Duquesne meant to me, so that’s why I did it.”
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It is an inevitability that at some point in time Megan McConnell’s number four will be retired, the first Duquesne player to have that honor since April Robinson and as she reflected on her “best five years” following an 84-72 victory over Saint Louis at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, her fellow senior Gabby Hutcherson stared attentively during the press conference, hanging on every word.
From the moment Hutcherson became a Duke, her relationship with McConnell grew into a friendship. Instantly Hutcherson was welcomed as a leader on a team with which she experienced the most joy she has experienced on a basketball court.
“I think it means so much to Meg that sometimes I have to remind her,” revealed Hutcherson. “I promised her a few weeks ago that she was going to enjoy every single last practice, shootaround and game. She can’t get too high or low, so that’s kind of where we’re at and it’s really helped. There’s so much joy. You get to February and March and a lot of these teams are sick of each other. They want to knock each other’s heads off to be honest. I’ve been on teams like that before. It’s not like that. You go to practice every day, and everyone is happy to see each other, and I think that’s been the biggest thing for us. Obviously, we need a reminder from time to time that it’s just a game, especially for our seniors.”
As for Hutcherson, she saved the best game in her collegiate career for senior day, as evidenced by her first-ever double-double consisting of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
After having previous stops at Ohio State and Pitt, Hutcherson has truly found her voice and joy at Duquesne. Even during the summer when no one was watching, Hutcherson was in the back gym working on post moves. The spring in her step was back and she was enjoying the process.
Efforts such as Saturday showcase the fruits of that labor.
“My career has been filled with a lot of highs and lows and I’m so happy I chose Duquesne to finish out my last year,” she explained. “This has seriously become my family and my favorite year thus far. I haven’t been happier and happier playing basketball, and it’s just been great.”
Kiandra Browne also was recognized and as per Dan Burt’s custom, had the opportunity to start. Her biggest contribution might have come early in the game. Saint Louis was unable to drive much to the basket and on one occasion when it did, Browne, known as the “charge queen” was ready and got the whistle.
This offseason, Browne dedicated herself and put in the work to improve both her game and fitness levels. The payoff has been 18.3 minutes per game, six points, 3.4 rebounds and 24 starts, all very much career highs.
Kaitlyn Ammons was the fourth Duquesne player to get recognized. Though she is out for the season, Ammons had the opportunity to start the Carnegie Mellon game Dec. 8 and after the game, the Dukes do a customary winning dance at halfcourt. It was Ammons’s turn after that game, one final chance to do so in uniform, an emotional moment for the roster.
Ammons had her career high with 10 points against Longwood Dec. 14, 2023, a contest held at La Roche University.
Five student managers were also recognized in Alex Krause, Trevor Myers, Harley Cheatham, Andrew Ammerman and Joe Dipaolo, a fitting end to Manager Appreciation Week.
As Burt reflected on every senior, he saved the longest praise for McConnell and understandably so. Every word had meaning.
“She’s done more for our basketball program than just about anybody we’ve had in our program,” weighed in Burt. “Those first couple of years, when I was an assistant and when I was a head coach there were some special kids who really helped elevate our program, but when things got rough and tough, and we didn’t have a gym for 730 days, when we had COVID, when we had a rash of injuries like nothing I’ve ever seen, we had to dig ourselves out of a big hole. She’s a big part of why we dug ourselves out of that hole. I can’t thank her enough for her belief in me personally, our staff and university.
“For those who don’t know, Meg has had many offers to leave Duquesne and go into the transfer portal and make a lot of money. That’s not what drives Meg. Loyalty matters, her alma mater, Duquesne matters, her teammates, her basketball program, and it is her program. That’s what matter to her. She stayed loyal, she stayed local, she stayed for all the right reasons. I know that everyone in that locker room wants to win, but everyone in that locker room has extra incentive to win for Meg McConnell.”
I JUST WANT A GOALIE GOALIE GOALIE
Duquesne appeared to go with a zone defense early on, but in all reality, it was a defense referred to as goalie.
Saint Louis did not have a chance to initiate its athleticism, contained to midrange and three-point shots.
“We went goalie which we’ve been doing, and it’s been working really well,” McConnell explained. “We made a few adjustments, and I think we’re not as big, but it clogs up the paint against a really athletic team like Saint Louis. I think we did a really good job just sticking to the game plan.”
Burt further impressed that the defense is designed to force an opponent to make shots it is not used to making or taking.
While it finished with more three-point makes than its average, the lack of comfort the Billikens had was worth the tradeoff.
“With them having more size and being more athletic keeping that goalie in there mucks things up,” offered Burt. “You have to prepare for it and its hard on a one or two-day prep if you haven’t seen it all season. That’s something that’s good for us with our press all year. We sat in gaps more and the way we defended today to have 19 turnovers and 31 deflections I feel very good about.”
On the other end, Duquesne missed 16 layups against Fordham, any of which could have changed the complexion of the game. When that was coupled with a lack of success both with free throws and three-point shots and it was the recipe for a disappointing loss.
Hutcherson impressed that there were some optimistic signs, namely the ball movement on and off the ball.
That continued Saturday as Duquesne had 20 assists and asserted itself throughout the contest.
“I think we came together and just dug deep,” McConnell emphasized. “We know it’s a really long season, but we lost every single game except Richmond and UMass by one possession, so we know we’re still in this thing. So as long as we’re playing our best basketball going into the tournament, we’re going to be just fine. We looked like a championship team today.”
Two games separate Duquesne from the Atlantic 10 championship with Wednesday’s 11 a.m. contest against St. Bonaventure representing the last home game.
Despite this, Burt is quite optimistic that come March, Duquesne will be poised for a long run.
“(We) still have a lot of basketball to play and we believe that,” concluded Burt.
