Duquesne rallies in 4th quarter, but loses quarterfinal round game to Richmond in Atlantic 10 Tournament

The Duquesne women bowed out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Friday, losing a 63-58 decision to No. 1 seed Richmond in a quarterfinal game in Glen Allen, Va.

But the No. 9 Dukes (19-12) put a scare into the Spiders.

Richmond (27-5) took a 49-41 lead into the fourth quarter, but 3-point shots from Duquesne’s Mackenzie Blackford, Andjela Matic and Faith Walker trimmed the deficit to two points, 54-52. Continuing to rally, Kiandre Browne and Matic hit 2-point baskets to shove the Dukes into a 56-54 lead with 3 minutes, 23 seconds to play.

But Richmond’s Alyssa Jimenez hit a 3-pointer 16 seconds later — one of her three in the game — to give the lead back to the Spiders, who went on to win their 17th game in a row and advance into the tournament’s semifinal round Saturday.

Browne led the Dukes with 18 points and Blackford added 14 off the bench.

National Mid-Major Player of the Year candidate Megan McConnell (Chartiers Valley) was held to five points, 13 short of her average. McConnell only attempted seven shots and made one while contributing six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

“I’m incredibly disappointed that the game ended in that fashion,” coach Dan Burt said. “We had kids that played their absolute heart out and Richmond is a great basketball team. They’re an elite level basketball team and today we matched them.”