SPORTS
Duquesne Pulls Away from Davidson
Wildcat freshman Kelly Fitzgerald drives through a crowd of Duquense players for a layup. The Cats fought back to within 3 points against the Dukes, but were outscored in the 4th and lost the game 74-59.
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Duquesne shot 56.1 percent for the game and used an early fourth-quarter run to pull away from Davidson in a 79-54 setback for the Wildcats Thursday evening at home in Atlantic 10 women’s basketball play inside John M. Belk Arena.
The Dukes used an 18-2 run to start the fourth to open up a 19-point lead (69-50) and the Wildcats never recovered. The ‘Cats were outscored 26-6 in the fourth, as Duquesne hit five of their nine three-pointers for the game in the quarter.
Davidson junior Justine Lyon at the line shooting free throws in the game against Duquesne.
Twice in the third quarter Davidson was within three points. A pair of Justine Lyon free throws made it 48-45 with over four minutes to go. Then with under a minute, Sarah Donovan hit a layup to make it 51-48 before the quarter ended at 53-48.
For the fifth straight game, Davidson put three players in double figures. Mackenzie Latt scored 14 points to go with a game-high tying eight rebounds and a season-high five steals.
Lyon netted 12 points, hitting 6-of-7 free throws, and Kianna Speight matched her season-high with 11, getting nine from behind the arc.
Duquesne also put three in double figures, led by Paige Cannon’s 19 points. Kadri-Ann Lass scored 18 points, had eight rebounds and seven blocks, while Chassidy Omogrosso finished with 15 points.
The first quarter saw nine lead changes before the horn ended with the ‘Cats down just 16-13.
Davidson remained close in the second quarter thanks to Speight, who drilled home all three of her shots from downtown in the quarter. Trailing 21-16, a Speight triple and a Latt layup tied things up at 21-all. Later, another three-ball by Speight got the Wildcats within one, 27-26, before Duquesne used a 10-2 run to go 37-28 with just over two minutes left.
Davidson junior Kianna Speight takes one in for a layup in the game against Duquesne. After fighting back to within 3 in the third quarter, the Cats dropped the game vs. the Dukes 74-59.
Jumpers by Saadia Timpton and Kelly Fitzgerald along with a Latt layup to close the quarter got the ‘Cats within 39-34 at the break.
Davidson turned 25 Duquesne turnovers into 21 points, but the Dukes had a 46-28 advantage in rebounds and scored 40 points in the paint.
The Wildcats close out the week with a 2 p.m. Sunday game against Rhode Island, Jan. 7.
GAME NOTES: This was the seventh meeting all-time between both teams … Duquesne leads 6-1 in the series and has won five straight … Justine Lyon has scored in double figures in 35 of her the last 38 games overall dating back to last season… it was her team-leading 14th double-digit scoring game tonight … Latt has nine double-digit scoring games this year and 73 for her career … Davidson tied its season high with 13 steals … the Wildcats dished out 14 assists, giving them 90 combined in the last six games.