Women’s Basketball Travels to the Steel City to Face Duquesne

Wednesday, February 21

Pittsburgh, PA

11:00 a.m.

George Washington University

Duquesne

Mayowa Taiwo Action Shot vs. La Salle (2/14/24)

Women’s Basketball Travels to the Steel City to Face Duquesne

2/20/2024 12:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

WASHINGTON – Graduate student Mayowa Taiwo inches closer to history as the George Washington women's basketball team travels to Pittsburgh, Pa., to face Duquesne on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m., with live coverage available on ESPN+.

TAIWO NEARS PROGRAM RECORD
Taiwo enters Wednesday's game tied for the program lead in games played with 130. Also atop the list are Tajama Abraham '97, Lisa Cermignano '97 and Sarah-Jo Lawrence '08, who each played 130 total games in their respective careers. Along with her climb to the top of the career games played list, Taiwo continues to rise on the program's all-time rebounding charts. Entering last Saturday's game at George Mason, Taiwo needed just 10 rebounds to tie GW Athletics Hall of Famer and 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones for fourth-most in program history. Taiwo proceeded to grab 15 rebounds against the Patriots, tying her season high, and jumped into sole possession of fourth. She now sits just four away from tying, and five away from passing, Abraham who collected 970 caroms in her career.

LAST TIME OUT
The Buff & Blue dropped a narrow contest to area-rival George Mason last Saturday, falling 60-57 inside EagleBank Arena. In a game when GW fell behind early, the Revolutionaries wouldn't go away without a fight. After chipping the deficit down to seven at the halftime break, GW used a 13-5 run in the third quarter to draw within one of the Patriots. GDUB took multiple small leads throughout the second half, but neither team could pull away from the other. After leading by one entering the fourth quarter, GW was ultimately outscored 15-11 in the frame. Down three in the closing seconds, GW was unable to connect on a long distance 3-pointer to knot the score. Neither team led by more than three points in the final frame.

Taiwo led the way for the Revolutionaries, putting together a monster double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. GW's duo of Nyas also got into double figures, with Lok tallying 10 points and six rebounds and Robertson notching 11 with nine coming via the long ball. Asjah Inniss registered eight points and three rebounds for the GW Revs, while Essence Brown added six points and eight rebounds off the bench. First-year guard Kamari Sims provided valuable minutes off GW's bench, contributing six points on the afternoon.

SCOUNTING THE DUKES
Duquesne enters Wednesday's matchup red-hot, winning nine of its last 10 games. The Dukes boast a record of 17-9 overall and 12-3 in the A-10 and have been victorious in their last five games. The team's most recent loss came on Jan. 31 at VCU. The Rams, who still boast the nation's second-best scoring defense, defeated the Dukes, 64-51. Duquesne is led by head coach Dan Burt who's in his 11^th season at the helm of the program. Burt and Duquesne got the best of GW earlier this season, defeating the Revolutionaries inside the Smith Center on Jan. 10, 71-54. Burt holds a 205-128 mark as head coach at Duquesne, but has struggled in past meetings with GDUB, only amassing five wins in 17 total meetings.

On the court, Duquesne is led by all-conference guard Megan McConnell. McConnell leads the team in every major statistical category, including points (12.6 ppg), rebounds (8.8 rpg), assists (4.7 apg) and steals (2.1 spg), while also ranking third on the team in field-goal percentage at 43.6%. McConnell ranks third in the A-10 in rebounds, assists and steals, while also picking up the conference's Player of the Week honors on Jan. 29. Along with McConnell, Duquesne has seen production from Naelle Bernard who averages 10.0 ppg and 2.1 apg. Amaya Hamilton registers 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per night, while Tess Myers puts in 8.8 points and grabs 3.9 rebounds per game.