Duquesne Dukes defeat the Lady Lions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by a strong second half, the Duquesne Dukes were able to overcome a first half deficit to defeat the Lady Lions, 64-58.
After the first quarter, the Lady Lions (5-4) led 15-14, but neither team seemed to be in a rhythm as both teams registered five turnovers in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lady Lions attempted to extend their lead as they looked to be the more dominant team early in the quarter, going up 23-17. But, the Dukes (4-3) proved early in the game that they would not go away easily after a 6-0 run tied the game at 23 with 5:24 to go in the half.
The story of the first half for the Lady Lions was that they could not pull away from Duquesne, and at the half, they found themselves only ahead by one. They were led by senior guard Teniya Page, who led her team in points (10), assists (4) and rebounds (4) heading into the second half.
The Dukes kept the game close by making the Lady Lions turn it over eight times in the first half, and were led by sophomore guard Amanda Kalin who scored a 11 points in the half and made two 3-pointers.
In the second half the teams’ roles reversed, as the Dukes scored a layup at the 9:47 mark in the third quarter to take the lead 30-29 and they wouldn’t trail for the remainder of the game.
“We have to bring [intensity] in order to sustain the same level of play,” sophomore guard Kamaria McDaniel said. “That’s what the difference was. We didn’t have the same level of intensity as the first half.”
In the third quarter senior guard Julijana Vojinovic pushed the Dukes to keep the Lady Lions at bay, as she scored eight of her 13 second half points in the quarter.
For the Lady Lions, they came out looking flat on both ends, as they allowed the Dukes to shoot 44 percent from the field in the third while their shooting percentage dropped from 50 percent in the second quarter to 33 percent in the third.
During this quarter, the Lady Lions’ 3-point shooting woes began, as they shot 1 of 7, adding to the offensive problems the Lady lions suffered from.
The poor 3-point shooting was a welcoming sight for the Dukes, who came into the game allowing opponents to shoot 37 percent from distance.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions shooting deficiencies continued, as they shot 30 percent from the field and went 0 of 6 from beyond the arc.
The team went on a scoring drought for just under two and a half minutes that included three turnovers, which proved to be costly for the Lions come back bid.
“We struggled to find a rhythm offensively and that proved to be problematic,” Penn State head coach Coquese Washington said. “We didn’t shoot the ball from the 3-point line as well as we had the last couple of games. That was also problematic.”
Teniya Page cooled down and was 0 of 8 from the field in the second half until the 27.6 second mark of the fourth quarter.
“I think when you’re a senior and you put as much into your preparation and you put as much into the game as she does, when you’re highly invested, these things are disappointing,” Washington said about Page who was visibly upset after the game.
For the Dukes, they picked up their third straight victory and their first ever over the Lady Lions in 17 tries and will look to extend their winning streak to four against the University of Central Florida on Wednesday.
The Lady Lions will look to bounce back against St. Bonaventure on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center during the third game of their five-game homestand.
Jerome Taylor is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jerometaylor91697@gmail.com.
