Duquesne Dukes Pass Road Test
Jose-Ann Johnson and the Duquesne Dukes won at Fordham 56-46 Saturday to complete a 2-0 road trip. Photo courtesy Stephen Pope.
Duquesne Dukes women’s basketball coach Dan Burt stressed the importance of winning both road games against St. Bonaventure and Fordham. The Dukes beat the Bonnies 76-63 earlier in the week to get its first win of the trip and then earned a clean sweep with a 56-46 victory at Fordham Saturday.
Duquesne was 4-6 on the road coming into the trip making both of the wins a necessity in Burt’s eyes.
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“It means a heck of a lot because if you split, you’re 5-4 in the league and you’re right in the middle of the pack,” Burt said. “To win both and in convincing fashion by leading around 73 of the 80 minutes makes me feel really good about how we’ve played. We played with a lot of toughness, focus and determination.”
Duquesne (14-8, 6-3 Atlantic 10) remains in fourth in the conference, while Fordham which started out 6-0 in A-10 play has last two of its past three games falling to third place.
The Dukes were led in scoring by junior guard April Robinson who had a game high 18 points. Robinson also made four three point baskets which allowed her to pass Darcie Vincent for fifth all-time in program history for three pointers made with 153.
Also among the contributors for Duquesne were sophomore forward Amadea Szamosi (15 points), senior center Jose-Ann Johnson (nine points/eight rebounds) and senior guard Belma Nurkic (a career high nine rebounds). The Dukes also were a +10 in rebounds.
“Today was a quality win against a quality opponent,” said Burt. “Even though we did not shoot the basketball well, we defended and rebounded the ball at a championship level. I am very happy with the prep work my coaching staff did along with the tenacity and toughness our players showed today. It was very clear that it was a team victory.”
Fordham which is the reigning conference champion, was led by guard Hannah Missry‘s 12 points. Forward Emily Tapio 11 points and guard Tiffany Ruffin had a game high 10 rebounds.
Duquesne opened the game with a 13-7 lead with 12:44 to play in the first half, however the Rams would respond with a 10-2 run which allowed them to take a 17-15 lead.
The Dukes went into the half on a 9-2 run which allowed them to carry a 24-19 advantage into the locker room. This continued in the second half when Johnson connected on a jump shot, Nurkic nailed a three point basket and Robinson buried another three which extended the lead to 32-19.
“That was the game,” Burt said. “When we came out in the second half and went on that run, I think that really did it. We hit threes, attacked inside and stopped them. For all intents and purposes, the game was really over at that point. Fordham tried to make a game of it, but that really made the difference right there.”
Duquesne gained its biggest advantage, 17 points, when Deva’Nyar Workman drained a three point shot with 6:12 to play making the score 50-33. Fordham cut the deficit to 10 points several times but could not get any closer than that as the Rams were held to 30.6 percent shooting from the field.
The Dukes held a Fordham team that averages 60.5 points per game to 46 and just two trips to the free throw line for the entire contest.
Duquesne now has a week off before it will play a home contest against VCU. VCU is 14-8 overall and 5-4 in the Atlantic 10. The game will tip off at 2 pm.
Burt always tells the media that he will enjoy each win until midnight, however given the importance of the win, the opponent and the time off he will relax just a little longer.
“Considering we don’t play until next Saturday and have the next two days off, I will be enjoying this one until at least 2 am, you can count on that,” said Burt.