Hawks End Season in Heartbreaking Fashion
Hunter Peters
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (March 25, 2024) – Lauren Wasylson tallied her 11 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Amaya Hamilton scored the go-ahead layup with 21 seconds remaining in the extra frame to lift Duquesne over Monmouth 69-65 on Monday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the second round of the WNIT.
The Dukes (21-12) advance to the Super 16 of the WNIT, where they will face the winner of Purdue and Butler. Monmouth finishes the year 22-10 after the setback. The Hawks, who earned their first postseason win since 1983, were one win shy of matching a program record, winning their most games since 2010-11.
Ariana Vanderhoop had a game-high 18 points, and Jania Hall added 16 points off the bench, but it wasn’t enough for the Hawks on Monday night. Vanderhoop added five rebounds and four assists, while Belle Kranbuhl led the effort on the glass with 10 boards and tallied two blocks.
Four Dukes reached double figures in the contest, including three off the bench. Megan McConnell led the way with a double-double, recording team highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Wasylson, Precious Johnson (15) and Jerni Kiaku (12) combined for 38 of Duquesne’s 40 bench points.
A back-and-forth affair the entire night featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes, with no team leading by more than eight points. The Hawks took a 59-51 lead with 1:03 remaining in regulation after a Vanderhoop pull jump jumper. On the ensuing possession, Wasylson knocked down a trifecta – her only made field goal of the game – pulling the Dukes within five. She was fouled on a three-pointer eight seconds later, making it 59-57 with 38 seconds remaining. After a Hall free throw, Duquesne advanced the ball with a 30-second timeout before Wasylson was fouled again in the act of shooting a three and sent the game into overtime by making all three.
In overtime, the teams traded blows to 65 before Hamilton scored out of a timeout with 21 seconds remaining in the game. Monmouth had a chance to tie, but an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Dukes, and Wasylson iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Monmouth went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe through the first three quarters but shot just 7-of-14 from the line in the fourth quarter and overtime. Conversely, the Dukes, who went 4-for-8 at the line through three quarters, converted 12-of-16 attempts in the final 15 minutes.
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