Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Duquesne used a 24-9 run to close out the first half and put the game out of reach as La Salle fell 82-52 at the Palumbo Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Jordan Mosley was the lone Explorer in double figures with 10 points. Brittany Wilson added nine and Jada Payne chipped in eight for the Explorers (12-15, 6-6 Atlantic 10). Ruvanna Campbell pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and Nikki Ortiz, who saw a season-high 14 minutes of action, grabbed a career-high seven boards with six of those on the offensive glass. Michele McCaughern, who played a career-high 25 minutes, grabbed a season-high four rebounds and added an assist and steal.
 
Four Dukes (19-8, 7-5 Atlantic 10) hit double figures, led by Orsi Szecsi's 25 points and Carly Vendemia's double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Gensler, who scored Duquesne's first nine points, finished with 11, and Wumi Agunbiande chipped in 10.
 
Duquesne jumped out to a 14-5 lead just shy of six minutes into the contest fueled by Gensler's nine points. La Salle responded with a 9-0 run thanks to back-to-back Wilson treys and capped by a Payne three-point play at 12:28 to knot the game at 14-all.
 
Duquesne's Ahjah Hall hit a layup to spark a Dukes 12-0 run to put the home squad up 26-14. An Alexis Scott triple sparked a 7-2 Explorer spurt to bring the Blue & Gold within 28-21 with 3:50 until the half, but a Belma Nurkic jumper and triple put the Dukes back up by double digits which they held throughout the remainder of the game.
 
Duquesne held La Salle without a field goal until 12:44 in the second half while extending its lead to as many as 34 on two separate occasions.
 
The Dukes shot 41.7 percent for the game while the Explorers were limited to 29.8 percent. The home squad hit 8-of-18 from beyond the arc and the Explorers hit 6-of-22.
 
La Salle returns to action at George Washington on Wednesday (2/22) at 7 p.m.