WILMINGTON, Del. – Precious Johnson put together a key bench performance for No. 10 overall Duquesne during the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship first round, as her 14-point, 13-board double-double – good for her fourth of the season – proved instrumental in topping No. 15 Loyola Chicago via a 58-57 mark.
Led by All-Academic team member Sitori Tanin as well as Maya Chandler, who combined for 38 points, the Ramblers challenged Duquesne late in the second half, pulling within one at the 21-second point before rookie Kira Chivers missed a potential game-winner short at the buzzer.
“It’s March Madness, that’s the only way you can describe it,” Duquesne head coach Dan Burt said. “We certainly are happy to move on and to continue our season. The best words that you can hear in March are ‘see you tomorrow’, so we’ll see you all tomorrow.
Both Amaya Hamilton and Tess Myers each netted 12 points for the Dukes as well while A-10 All-Conference second teamer Megan McConnell contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.
Duquesne won the rebounding battle by a 42-30 count and the Dukes finished with 10 blocks, primarily headlined by Johnson and Ayanna Townsend with the duo swatting three shots apiece.
“It was a battle out there and really a tale of two halves,” Loyola Chicago coach Allison Guth said. “I was incredibly proud of our fight in the second half. We struggled to defend in our scout in the first half. [I] needed another timeout in [my] pocket and for that, I have an apology to my team and they already heard it.”
Duquesne executed on its opening possession as Amaya Hamilton connected from three-point range, setting up a 15-4 run for the Dukes that culminated in McConnell adjusting to a deflection and sinking an open attempt from deep.
Tess Myers beat the first-quarter buzzer with a high-arcing three-point shot, puncuating a first quarter in which the Dukes shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the field and assisted on six of eight baskets en route to a 20-7 advantage.
Duquesne continued its deep-ball success in the second period, finishing the half 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. The Ramblers would strike for a couple baskets as both teams experienced multiple offensive lulls down the stretch, but the Dukes entered the midway break ahead 35-21.
Loyola Chicago kept the pace quick as the Ramblers' hot start resulted in a 15-1 run over 5:48 of game action.
“We really didn’t try to change anything, because everything was going for us, and when we came out, we came out super flat,” said McConnell. “There was no energy and they were playing hard.”
Defensively, the Ramblers locked down on the Dukes during the early going of the third period, holding them to their lowest points in a quarter since conference play began in January.
Loyola Chicago shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half, closing the gap quickly on a struggling Duquesne.
In the fourth quarter, Johnson had two plays which allowed the Dukes to find some separation, first winning an iso battle against a Ramblers' defender before later making an unguarded layup after a missed three-point shot.
Loyola responded with an 8-0 run as Duquesne failed to connect from three-point range on both of its shots during that stretch.
Down three, the Ramblers went on the prowl and Chandler’s and-one play tied the contest at the 2:44 mark.
Duquesne broke ahead as Myers and Johnson each hit from the field, but a Chandler jumper plus a Chivers free throw kept the game at a one-point margin.,
After the Ramblers used its foul to give, Duquesne found Hamilton open in the post, but a mistimed attempt allowed Loyola a final shot for the victory.
After a Hamilton block in the paint kept the Dukes on top, Chivers managed an attempt in traffic for the win, lofting the ball short from just inside the three-point line.
“We didn’t execute," Burt said. "We actually made the play we missed the layup on, we executed it perfectly but we didn’t finish the shot. We’ll wash it off as soon as we walk outside of the locker room.”
Though Loyola Chicago never led in this game, the Ramblers held Duquesne without a three-point basket in the second half after seven Duke triples in the opening 20 minutes.
This setback ends the Ramblers first season as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference while 10th-seeded Duquesne has advances to play No. 7 George Washington on Thursday at 5 p.m in Atlantic 10 Championship second round.