David Borne | Sports Editor
Dec. 5, 2019
Just over a minute into Wednesday afternoon’s game against Akron, Duquesne guard Nina Aho buried a three-point jumper to get the Dukes on the board.
The deep-ball from Aho was the first of many for her squad. The Dukes would go on to knock down a program-record tying 14 3-pointers en route to a 88-63 victory over the Zips.
The record was set on Feb. 25, 2009 in Philadelphia against La Salle. Wednesday’s 14 3-points marked the most in a non-conference game in program history.
With the win, the Dukes improved their record to 6-2 on the year. Duquesne’s five road mark is tied with Loyola Chicago for the most in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
Duquesne’s high octane offense was on display right from the start of Wednesday’s contest.
The Red and Blue held and commanding 24-15 lead after the first period of play and Akron was never able to overcome the early deficit it faced.
By halftime, the Dukes led by 21 and never took their foot off the gas.
Redshirt senior Paige Cannon posted a team-leading and career high 21 points in the win. Cannon spearheaded Duquesne’s 3-pointer barrage, netting five of her six attempts from beyond the arc.
The guard trio of Kiersten Elliott, Libby Bazelak and Nina Aho each added a pair of threes as well. In total, the group combined for 33 points and shot just over 56% from the floor.
Duquesne was able to strike gold below the basket against Akron as well. Redshirt junior forward Laia Sole finished the day with 14 points and six rebounds. The Dukes dominated the boards, pulling down 44 rebounds compared to Akron’s 31.
Effort on the offensive glass paid off for the Dukes, as they were rewarded with 12 second chance points.
A phenomenal showing on the offensive end of the floor was backed up with a great defensive performance.
The Dukes forced 12 Akron turnovers and limited the opposition to just a 41.5% shooting day from the floor.
Additionally, Duquesne locked down the three-point arc and Akron finished the day shooting a measly 27.8% from downtown.
Coach Burt and his squad will have a few days to rest before getting back into action. Duquesne will host Toledo at La Roche University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
This weekend’s game will be the first of nine that the women’s basketball team plays at La Roche this season.
Saturday will mark the third time in as many seasons that Duquesne will face Toledo. The Dukes grabbed a win in 2017-18, but dropped a 65-52 result in Ohio last year.
So far this season, Toledo has a 2-4 record. The Rockets are coming off of a 53-48 overtime win against Belmont on Tuesday.
Toledo has limited opponents to just 59 points per game this year, so Duquesne’s offense will need to stay hot in order to find similar success against the Rockets.
