Robert Morris Women's Basketball
Robert Morris WBB Adds Marquee Non-Confernce Game to 2026-27 Schedule
MOON TWP, Pa. — Mid-to-late summer is usually the time of the offseason when college basketball program’s start ironing out their non-conference schedules. Robert Morris is no different in that regard, despite the fact that the athletic department is midst of a leadership transition which has made scheduling a nightmare to deal with.
Despite the hurdles that head coach Chandler McCabe and her staff continue to face due to the ongoing leadership transition, one key non-conference game has been confirmed for the 2026-27 season.
Robert Morris is slated to face off against Duquesne for a third-straight season as part of its non-conference schedule after the crosstown rivals went a full decade without squaring off, a source told Robert Morris Sports Now.
Since the rivalry’s renewal, the two programs have split victories against one another. Robert Morris managed to defeat Duquesne at the UPMC Events Center last season by the score of 64-62. The win snapped a six-game skid against the Dukes which dated back to the 2009-10 season.
Despite the series being tied 1-1 since its renewal in 2024, Duquesne has dominated Robert Morris throughout the rivalry’s history as the Colonials have just 14 wins against the Dukes in 43 games.
Prior matchups between the two neighboring programs always have brought added implications, as rivarlies tend to have, but this season’s showdown will have an extra layer of drama as it will be a revenge game of sorts for one Robert Morris player.
Earlier this offseason, McCabe managed to land Duquesne transfer guard Mackenzie Blackford as one of the program’s more highly-regarded additions. Blackford made a total of 145 three-pointers over her two seasons at Duquesne and currently sits in seventh-place in Dukes’ history for made three-pointers (75) in a single season.
The two other known non-conference matchups to this point of the offseason area home contests against Eastern Michigan and Illinois-Chicago, as Robert Morris started a home-and-home series in Chicago and Ypsilanti last season.
