Inside the Dukes: Aligning Journey With Reward

Duquesne Women’s Basketball freshman forward Raevin Washington’s emphatic block with a minute left set a tone, all in the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse felt the exact same thing, except for Reina Green who ran to secure the ball as VCU stopped in place and watched.

At that point any doubt of what the final result would be was gone, although there had been plenty of signs before that.

“We were up 10 with two minutes left and we were saying ‘let’s go, we need to get a good one, it’s not over yet,'” freshman guard Alexis Bordas explained. “We got good shots and stops. Just to be very disciplined towards the end of games, we know anything can happen in March and we are playing great basketball now, so get on a roll and keep playing.”

It was Duquesne’s attention to detail which not only won a 72-61 contest Saturday afternoon, but really the last 36-37 minutes of the game.

VCU, most specifically Katarina Knezevic took the first punch but once Duquesne settled down it was its game to lose.

Offensively, Duquesne swung the ball from side to side, played off each other, with pace, cuts and effort within character, most specifically with an inside-out game.

Defensively, the Dukes forced 21 turnovers, Knezevic was responsible for 11 of them and had a sequence of multiple consecutive plays in which she hit the floor and came up empty.

In the end of the game, Gabby Grantham-Medley was making crucial shots, Green was jumping routes and Washington got back in transition and forced VCU’s hand.

Duquesne will be playing in a first-round contest in the Atlantic 10 Championship in less than two weeks’ time, but the momentum it has gained in recent games clearly has had an effect on this team.

“We had multiple dives from multiple people on the floor for loose balls,” coach Dan Burt stated. “When your best scorer is diving on the floor and your second-best scorer is taking charges and multiple people are taking charges, it bodes well. You want to be mentally and physically fresh in February so that we can play our best basketball in March. We are at that point. We are pretty close to being as physically as fresh as we can be and mentally, we’re in a really good place. I’m really proud of them because it’s them making the conscious decision to be intentional every day about being positive, optimistic and wanting to learn.”

The Dukes have gotten to a point where opponents will be concerned to see their name as the opponent because it has caught fire and improved in every facet of the game.

Duquesne is now 10-17 on the season, and 3-13 in A-10 play, but has managed to remain positive. Burt only needs three fingers to display how many practices he has been unhappy with this season which is quite the positive, considering how young this team is.

Burt’s checklist reads as follows: optimism, sense of determination, resilience.

Through it all, Duquesne’s chemistry might be at its highest point as well. No one on the team has quit and for that among many things, Burt is proud.

“I’m enjoying this team and I think that’s the biggest thing,” proclaimed Burt. “I hate the record, the kids hate the record, but man, they’ve been awesome to coach. Love them to death and it’s been a great year in terms of people, growth maturity. It’s not a zero-sum game at times and the reward is the journey. They are enjoying the rewards from this journey and it is far from over. I like where we’re at and the maturity and growth we’ve had, especially over the last five weeks.”

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Someone had to be ready to attack whether that is sky for a rebound, charge the lane or wall up defensively. The generously listed 5-foot-9 Reina Green raised her hand.

Going against someone who towered five or six inches above her, Green constantly was battling and getting the better of play. She had 13 points, but of her nine rebounds, five were offensively. This, all of it, has become the norm.

“It shows how much of a team player she is just focusing on the little things, and she does everything else too,” Bordas complimented. “She brings so many second-chance points to our team.”

Given Bordas and Mackenzie Blackford have picked it up in recent games, it makes Duquesne harder to stop and now Green has been able to find more open driving lanes.

Green’s vocality has also increased throughout the season. As she put it, she has been getting poured into by teammates and coaches alike and the work across individual workouts, practices and getting shots off on her own has been paying off.

She remained stoic through it all until her jumping was mentioned and only then did she break. It was a point of emphasis and clearly a sense of pride.

“I decided to step up and take on that role,” the junior expressed. “Thank you, God, for the ability to jump that high. It feels great, I love getting offensive rebounds and kicking it out to our shooters. Even on defense I love grabbing them and getting on the go. It brings energy not just to myself but my team and that’s what we need. Coach Bell tells me all of the time that I need to be an energy giver and that’s what I’m focused on.”

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