Women’s basketball lights up the scoreboard

With an undersized Wumi Agunbiade winning the game-opening tip and pushing the ball down the court for a Jocelyn Floyd layup, the Dukes welcomed the Davidson Wildcats (2-4) to Pittsburgh and then showed them the door in a dominating 84-53 win. 

The Dukes had five players score in double figures, led by Vanessa Abel's season-high 22 and Alex Gensler's 21 points. Gensler lit it up from the 3-point range, going 5-for-5 and sits 33 3-pointers away from breaking Duquesne's school record. Orsi Szecsi pulled down eight rebounds and added three steals.

Abel put her best efforts into the game, never shying away from contact, even though she was heavily fouled. And she made it pay off by going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.

"It's what I expected from the start. I was playing relaxed. I stopped putting so much pressure on myself, and I let the game come to me," Abel said.

McConnell-Serio noticed her senior guard's high-energy pace.

"She leads the team and sets the tempo," McConnell-Serio said. "She sets up screens and finishes with contact … she takes [the opponent] out of their comfort zone."

McConnell-Serio supported her point guard's leadership.

"I told her we will go as she goes," McConnell-Serio said. "She is our point guard and our leader."

The win Sunday afternoon was really a tale of two halves, as the Wildcats tested the Dukes by shooting 56.5 percent from the field in the first half. Davidson even made it as close as 39-33 at the half, going on an 11-2 run starting with five minutes to go in the first half, led by junior forward Sophia Aleksandravicius and sophomore guard Shneeka Center. 

But their efforts were thwarted by the Dukes in the final 20 minutes, when the Dukes picked up their defensive intensity. The red and blue finished the game with 21 steals and 22 second-half rebounds.

Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio was satisfied with the overall performance of her team, who improved to 4-1 this season.

"I thought our players' commitment to defense was the difference … forcing them into 32 turnovers, and our players did a good job executing on defense … We only went eight [players] deep until late into the game," McConnell-Serio said.

McConnell-Serio said the team re-focused and changed defense in the second half.

Six-foot-1 junior Carly Vendemia played a big part in the Dukes turnaround with a career-high 11 points, three rebounds and a steal.

McConnell-Serio said Vendemia brings energy to the Dukes.

"She is the first to the loose ball … you can't teach that," McConnell-Serio said. 

Vendemia's effort was clear in the 22 minutes she logged on the floor.

"I'm an energy player. I do what I have to do … I do the simple things [like] bring a lot of energy and be vocal on the court," Vendemia said.

Agunbiade scored 10 points in the win and was honored Monday afternoon as A10 Co-Player of the Week after averaging 21 points and shooting 61.5 percent in the Davidson win and another win over North Dakota State earlier in the week. 

As McConnell-Serio expected at the beginning of the season, her team did best with multiple players in double figures. At 4-1, the Dukes sit in second behind Richmond in the Atlantic 10 standings. They will take on Ohio University at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Palumbo Center.