David Borne | Staff Writer
11/8/2018
The Duquesne women’s basketball squad came out of the gate slowly in its 2018-19 opener Tuesday, and never really managed to find their groove.
Taking on TCU down in Fort Worth, Texas, the Dukes opened up the contest missing their first nine shots. The Horned Frogs took an early 11-0 lead, and Coach Dan Burt’s team struggled to battle back from there.
Duquesne eventually dropped the season opener by a score of 61-48.
The usual shooting barrage from Duquesne was nowhere to be found in the opener, and the Dukes finished shooting just over 30 percent from the field. Duquesne’s four seniors — Chassidy Omogrosso, Connor Richardson, Julijana Vojinovic and Kadri-Ann Lass — finished a combined 4-29 from the field on the afternoon.
TCU center Jordan Moore bullied Duquesne all day long in the post. The senior finished with 22 points, knocking down 11 of her 12 shots. Amy Okonkwo, another post presence, added 16 points of her own.
While the result was not ideal, positives did come out of the loss to the Horned Frogs.
Redshirt sophomore guard Nina Aho looked sharp in her first game back from injury. Aho managed to find holes in TCU’s zone defense, and scored 10 points despite coming off the bench.
Sophomore guard Amanda Kalin impressed as well, contributing on both sides of the floor. Kalin finished with five points, four rebounds and three assists. Additionally, she added two steals to her statline.
The second half of Duquesne’s road trip to Texas won’t be any easier, as they take on the No. 8 ranked Texas Longhorns on Nov. 8. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. EST.
If Duquesne can put together a more consistent shooting effort, they should be able to give a loaded Texas team a run for its money.
