PITTSBURGH, PA - Guard Aziah Hudson scored a career-high 19 points and Brooklynn Fort-Davis had one of her best games of the season with 17 points, but Howard University could not recover from a slow start and fell, 68-55, to Duquesne University in a non-conference women's game at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. It was the fourth straight setback for the Bison.

"We didn't do a great job getting out on shooters and driving them off the three-point line," explained Howard Head Coach Ty Grace. "We were late to contest and finding shooters in transition. That attributed to the early run they made and dismal first quarter for us." 

The Dukes (10-3) jumped out to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Howard (3-9) settled in and played better in the second quarter, despite trailing by 20 at the half. Hudson, a graduate guard (Old Dominion) and Fort-Davis, a senior forward, tried their best to carry the team but the lack of additional scoring, even from their two leading scorers, was just not enough. Destiny Howell, who leads the team in scoring and has averaged 21 points in her last three outings, played a total of five minutes and tallied three points while Iyanna Warren, the second-leading scorer (12 per game), logged six minutes and failed to score.

"Aziah and Brooklyn did a good job finding ways to score today," noted Coach Grace. "Whether it was getting to the foul line, or Aziah hitting from the outside. We need them to continue those efforts moving forward.  Hopefully, they can build on their performances today."

The Bison's shooting woes continued along with their inability to stop their opponents. Howard missed 21 of its three-point attempts while Duquesne shot 12-of-30 from beyond the arc.

"We settled in and made a few adjustments defensively which led to us getting a few more stops. We found a little rhythm offensively, and got better ball
movement in the second half which led to better shot selection."

It must be noted that Fort-Davis grabbed her 500th career rebound in today's matchup.

The Dukes were led by Tess Morgan, who led all scorers with 21, Precious Johnson who had nine points a career-high 15 rebounds, and Megan McConnell who contributed 10 points.

NEXT UP: Howard has a few days off before they hit the hardwood again at VCU in Richmond, VA, December 28 at 6 pm. The midweek game will air on ESPN+.