RMU WBB Bests Duquesne For First Time In 16 Years

Robert Morris Women’s Basketball senior guard Aislin Malcolm was held in check for much of Tuesday night’s County Game tilt against Duquesne at the UPMC Events Center, but she stuck with a broken play and that second effort with three seconds remaining in regulation proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.

Malcolm’s and-one opportunity off her own miss gave the Colonials a 64-62 victory, its first following six consecutive setbacks to the Dukes in a skid that dated back to the 2009-10 season.

In a contest that had its fair share of twists and turns, RMU’s physicality and determination won the night. The Colonials are now off to their first 4-0 start to the season since the 2022-23 season.

“These kids are very resilient, they really wanted to win this game, and you could tell all week in practice they were really locked in,” head coach Chandler McCabe explained. “We had a couple of big keys but at the end it was just play harder. If we play harder than them, we think we can win. They were incredible teammates, an incredible team, just really happy with the result.”

Noa Givon led RMU with her 21 points coming off the bench, this after starting the first three games of the season.

McCabe wanted to use some size to counter Duquesne opting instead to go with Myriam Traore who achieved double figures for a third consecutive game, this time netting 13 points.

“If I can say something about Noa, she’s the ultimate teammate,” observed McCabe. “We thought matchup wise let’s start a little bit bigger and brought her off the bench and she bought into the role. She was by far our best player tonight. All the kid cares about is winning and I’m really proud of her for that.”

While Jada Lee achieved eight points, she recorded one turnover in 27 minutes of trying to counter Duquesne’s press, grabbed four steals of her own and was a +22 on the evening.

Ava Leroux had her breakout game in a RMU uniform achieving nine points and drawing seven fouls across nearly 21 points against Duquesne. Her presence was crucial in being the more physical side.

“Bailey (Kuhns) picked up two fouls and we went with Ava and she was phenomenal so we finished the game with her,” McCabe determined. “For her to stay ready for an opportunity like that, is incredible, she didn’t even play the last game. It wasn’t because she’s not good, her number just wasn’t called. For us to have a three-headed monster in the post, we’re again really excited about the way we recruited.”

Duquesne (4-1) was paced by Mackenzie Blackford’s 16 points, while Harriet Ford earned her second consecutive double-double, this time consisting of 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Gabby Grantham-Medley contributed 12 points of her own.

“Tonight was a great example of our inexperience and our youth playing against a very well-coached team that was outstandingly prepared,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt said. “This is a great learning lesson for us early in the season. It certainly is a bitter loss because we have very high expectations to win every game.”

RMU opened up on a 9-3 run, poised to avenge last season’s loss but went 5:43 of game action without a basket. Grantham-Medley and Blackford combined on a 10-0 run placing Duquesne back on top and activated a Colonials timeout.

Despite this, RMU strung together a pair of baskets trailing 17-14 after one. RMU built upon this momentum and held off Duquesne’s shooting to lead 32-30 at halftime.

It was a spurty third period for both teams with RMU scoring the first five points, but Duquesne countering with four and defensively causing havoc.

The Colonial lead reached 10 points, the largest for either side when Givon used a fastbreak layup off a Eva Levingston pass.

Burt elected not to spend a timeout and that lead was cut in half when Ford broke a double team to beat the buzzer.

Duquesne utilized a 9-2 run to take the lead but this contest would be decided down the stretch, with Malcolm’s three-point play leaving the Dukes without an answer.

For those wondering if this local rivalry will continue, McCabe revealed this game was the second on a four-year contract meaning each will play at the other’s gym at least one more time.

“We should do it every year and Dan says the same thing,” stated McCabe. “It’s something I wanted to make a point of as well, recruiting these local players.”

RMU next plays at Pitt Saturday a contest slated for a 1 p.m. tip on ACCNX. The Colonials have never beaten Pitt in 25 tries. This includes a 64-51 defeat last season.

POSTGAME VIDEOS