Duquesne WBB Ends Regular Season With Loss; Seeded Ninth In A-10 Championships

The Duquesne Women’s Basketball Team never led Saturday afternoon in an 86-63 loss at EagleBank Arena to George Mason.

Duquesne (18-11/9-9 Atlantic 10) was led by Megan McConnell’s 22 points, which moved her into third place on the program’s all-time scoring list. McConnell completed regular season play with 116 steals, averaging four per game, both of which rank second in NCAA Division I.

Jerni Kiaku compiled 16 points and Mackenzie Blackford 11 off the bench.

George Mason (24-5/14-4 A-10) had many steady performances, but Nalani Kaysia’s double-double was the story of the afternoon. Kaysia recorded 10 points and 21 rebounds, the latter of which was one off a career high.

A total of five Patriots wound up in double figures with Zahirah Walton (16), Kennedy Harris (14), Ta’Viyanna Habib (12) and Paula Suarez (10) all joining Kaysia.

It was clear George Mason had revenge on the mind as Duquesne bested them in last season’s Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinal contest in somewhat controversial fashion as the conference had to issue a correction to a call that officiating crew made, with unspecified discipline affecting that trio.

The Patriots won the rebounding battle by a decisive 47-29 mark, earned a 35-16 victory in bench points and had 23 points off 16 Duquesne miscues, all while shooting 46.7% from the field.

It took all of 11 seconds for George Mason to get on the board and it used its fast-paced offense to score the game’s first seven points, a run compiled over 3:28.

This set the tone for a 28-15 first quarter in which the Patriots shot the ball at a 55.6% clip overall and an even 50% from three-point range.

George Mason greeted the second quarter with an 11-1 run as Duquesne did not convert from the field until 4:44 in.

Duquesne which shot 31.6% from the field in the opening period, were contained to three baskets in the second quarter, good for a 21.4% mark. George Mason had six three-point baskets in the second quarter, while the Dukes posted three in the first half.

At halftime, it was a 52-28 George Mason lead.

Duquesne came out of the locker room an energized side winning the third quarter by 10 points, shooting 57.1% from the field compared to its opponent’s 23.1% mark.

An 8-0 run brought the deficit down to 19 points and a 9-0 run to close the quarter brought the score to 65-51 in George Mason’s favor.

George Mason scored the final quarter’s first five points, and the closest Duquesne got from there was 16 points.

This loss places the Dukes in the ninth seed for the Atlantic 10 Championship, having the same conference record as Fordham, but losing the tiebreaker by virtue of an 0-2 head-to-head record. These teams will face off in a second-round tilt Thursday at 11 a.m. on ESPN+ with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals to take on top-seeded Richmond. Fordham represents Richmond’s lone conference loss this season.