Jan. 27, 2006

Final Stats

Pittsburgh, Pa. - Duquesne Edges Billikens 67-66 Dukes hit game winner with 10 seconds left.

Duquesne junior forward Loui Hall sank a jumper with 10 seconds left as the Duquesne Dukes slipped past the Saint Louis Billikens 67-66 in an Atlantic 10 women's basketball game in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Billikens came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to take a 66-63 with 2:08 left in the game, but the Dukes scored the final four points of the game to rally for the win.

"I'm extremly proud to be the coach of this team," Billiken head coach Shimmy Gray said. "To come back from a 14-point deficit in the second half and put us in a position to win the game says a lot about their energy and desire. I'm proud of Marquita McFarland. They put the team on their backs and showed great leadership."

The Dukes scored the first five points of the game, and the Billikens did not score until Heather King sank a short jumper in the lane. The Dukes extended their advantage to 9-2 five minutes into the game. Marquita McFarland hit one free throw, but Duquesne built its first double-digit lead of the game at 13-3. The Dukes extended the lead to 21-7, but the Billikens went on an 11-2 run to get right back into the game. Rachel Diener drilled a 3-pointer, and McFarland had a three-point play. After a Duquesne hoop, McFarland scored again, and Diener drained another trey to make it 23-18 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. However, the Billikens went cold from the field and did not make another field goal the rest of the first period. Duquesne out-scored the Billikens 13-4 to close the half for a 36-22 lead at intermission. The Dukes sank 16-of-27 shots in the first half, for a 59.3 percent shooting effort. The Billikens stayed close by hitting eight of nine free throws.

The Billikens started the second half by hitting their first three shots, capped by Tyler McIlwraith's trey to cut the margin to 41-29 with 16:29 to play. The Billikens then rattled off a stiring 18-5 run to jump back into the contest. Diener sank her third trey of the game to trim the margin to single digits at 43-34. Duquesne hit a 3-point on its next possession, but Diener drained another from beyond the arc to pull SLU to 46-37 with 14:51 to go. Two McFarland free throws brought the Bills to 48-41 with 13 minutes to play in the game. Diener struck again from behind the arc, her fifth of the game, to draw SLU to 48-44 with 12:35 left as the Dukes were forced to call a timeout. Duquesne pushed out to an eight-point lead, but a McIlwraith 3-point play brought the Billikens to 52-47 with nine minutes to play. However, the Dukes went on a 9-2 run to rebuild a double-digit lead. The Billikens came right back with 16 straight points to charge into the lead. McIlwraith began the run with a 3-pointer and a bucket. McFarland hit two free throws, and Diener sank consecutive treys for the Billikens' first lead of the game, 63-61 with 3:25 left. The Dukes hit two free throws, but Cara Young drove the lane to put the Billikens back up 65-63. Diener made one free throw to put SLU up 66-63 with 2:08 to play. Nicole Sinclair scored for Duquesne to cut the led to 66-65 with 1:37 to play. Neither team scored on their next possession, but the Billikens missed a one and one with 25.6 seconds left. Duquesne's Loui Hall sank a jumper from the left side with 10 seconds left to put the Dukes up 67-66. On the Billikens' subsequent possession, SLU was called for a charging foul. The Dukes had a one and one to seal the game, but missed. The Billikens pushed the ball up the rightside but Leake's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer was just long.

Marquita McFarland registered a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. For the Dukes, Loui Hall scored a career-high 27 points, including the game winner, and Nicole Sinclair scored 16 points.

The Billikens fall to 4-14 overall, 1-6 in the A-10. The Dukes improve to 8-11 overall, 3-5 in the A-10.

The Bills close out the two-game road swing with a contest at St Bonaventure on Sun., Jan. 29. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. (CT)