Lower Burrell native Tess Myers regains shooting touch, sets Duquesne women’s record for 3s
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Last December, Duquesne guard Tess Myers had a particularly good game against Cornell. The Lower Burrell native made eight of her 11 field-goal attempts on her way to 23 points.
Seven of her made field goals were from 3-point range, and, after the game, it was mentioned that she had come just two made 3s short of tying the program record. Myers laughed it off and thought little about it afterward.
Fast forward to two-and-a-half weeks ago, almost a year to the day from Myers’ near-historic performance.
Playing against Longwood in La Roche’s gym, Myers again had the hot hand. Three-pointers were going up and, more importantly, going in with frequency.
With the outcome all but decided late in the game, coach Dan Burt wasn’t going to let Myers miss out on a chance at the record.
“Once she got to about five or six there in the first half, I knew we were on our way to what was going to be a record,” said Burt, in his 10th season as the Duquesne women’s coach. “I knew she had a shot because everything she was putting up was hitting nothing but net. There was no touching the rim.”
Myers’ teammates made a concerted effort to get her the ball, and when the final buzzer sounded, she had made 11 3-pointers (in 16 attempts, 68.8%). That eclipsed the previous mark of nine set by Raegan Moore in 2013 and also is more 3s in a game than any Duquesne men’s player has made.
Further, it set the single-game mark for the Atlantic 10. Myers finished with a personal-best 35 points, which ranks as the No. 12 single-game performance in Duquesne women’s history.
Myers said she hadn’t considered breaking the record during the game and even wondered — silently — during a timeout why she even was still in the game.
“Dan said, ‘Tess needs one or two more (3s for the record), so let’s make this happen for her,’ ” said Myers, a 5-foot-9 junior guard. “I think it’s amazing. I’m really happy, but, honestly, my teammates were just finding the hot hand, so I am really thankful for them.
“They were finding me in transition and making that one more pass. … It’s something really special.”
Myers’ record-setting performance came at just the right time. Shooting from long-range always has been her forte — through Dec. 21, her 243 career made 3-pointers ranked third in program history — but those shots had not been falling this season.
Over Duquesne’s first eight games, Myers shot only 31.1% (23 of 74) from behind the arc, well below the 38.7% mark she built over her first three seasons. But as any shooter knows, there is only one way to overcome a slump: keep shooting.
“I genuinely didn’t feel like I was in a funk. Shots just weren’t falling,” said Myers, who has (and will use) a final year of eligibility next season. “I don’t know. My shot (was) feeling good. … I saw the first one go in (against Longwood), and things were just flowing.
“I think once you see that first one go in and things start rolling, like (assistant) coach Vanessa (Abel) says, we got our swagger back. I needed that one game, and it kind of brought it back.”
Indeed it did. Starting with Longwood, Myers made 22 of 43 3-pointers (51.2%) over the next four games.
Certainly Burt is happy to have Myers regain her shooting touch, but the coach is more pleased with how she has learned to affect the game in other ways.
“We talked to her about, they (opponents) are going to run you off the 3-point line and force you to shoot twos,” Burt said, “so you’re going to have to become more of a facilitator, more of a driver. And she did that.”
Myers’ willingness to diversify her offense, Burt said, has gone hand-in-hand with her becoming a more complete player overall. What has stood out most, Burt said, is Myers working to make herself a more efficient defender.
With less than half of the season completed, Myers is on her way to setting personal bests in steals — she had 12 through 12 games, and her best was 23 last season — and blocks. She already is only four blocks away from establishing a personal best.
“Coach (Rick) Bell has really kind of worked with me,” Myers said about her defensive improvement. “I’m not the quickest, so I have to play people differently. So just knowing my abilities and … just keying in on little principles and things like that. I’ve just really had to dig deep and focus.”
Added Burt: “Last year I would have described her as an adequate defender, and this year I would call her a good defender. And she has become a much better rebounder this year, and she has been helping us in other ways.”
Myers is averaging 4.4 rebounds per game, which would eclipse last season’s average of 4.0 if she can maintain it through the final two-thirds of the season.
But her calling card always will be offense, and, now that the shots have started to fall again, Myers provides the Dukes (6-6, 1-0 Atlantic 10) with a valuable weapon in their quest for an elusive conference title.
With the likes of guards Megan McConnell, Jerni Kiaku and swing player Amaya Hamilton joining Myers to form a deep backcourt and post presence provided by Kiandra Browne, Precious Johnson and Ayanna Townsend, the Dukes appear to have all the pieces. They also have experience, with McConnell, Myers, Johnson, Hamilton and Browne having played at least three years in college.
“I’ve loved all the teams I have been on (at Duquesne), but definitely this team this year, we have the most genuine relationships off the court,” Myers said. “… We really want to just go out and play for each other, so whoever has the hot hand, we’re just going to ride it, and everybody is going to be happy.”
Right now, the hot hand belongs to Myers and just in time for A-10 play. So perhaps 12 3s in a game is in her future.
Myers laughed at the notion.
“I guess maybe that’s the goal if it flows.”