Jack Morgan | Staff Writer
Megan McConnell: Junior, Guard, 5’7”
McConnell has stepped into a leading role for the Dukes heading into the 2023-24 season after a breakout season last year. In the 2022-23 season, McConnell averaged 11.2 PPG while dishing out a team-high 5.5 assists per game last year. McConnell was named All-Conference Second Team last season, and is Preseason All-Conference First Team heading into this campaign.
Tess Myers: Junior, Guard, 5’9”
Myers enters her junior year with the Dukes after starting all 31 games last year. Myers was a big part of the team’s success, leading the Dukes with 11.7 points per game. She is a sharpshooter from long range, as she finished second in the A-10 in three pointers (90). She put up 23 points in three separate games last year, and proved to be a stellar free-throw shooter as well, shooting 82.7% from the charity stripe in 22-23 season.
Naelle Bernard: Junior, Guard, 5’5”
Bernard shined in her first season with Duquesne last year. Bernard spent two years at Salt Lake City Community College, where she averaged 9.9 PPG on 40.8% shooting. Bernard put up a career-high 23 points on 50% shooting and made six threes in a 69-38 drubbing of St. Bonaventure on Jan. 11, and continued to elevate her game as the season went on. She will look to keep making strides in her second year on the Bluff.
Amaya Hamilton: Senior, Forward/Guard, 6’2”
33.5 minutes per game in 2022-23 was a pretty big jump from 21.8 in 2021-22 for Amaya Hamilton. However, with this came an increase in production. She averaged four more points per game, almost three more assists per game and 1.5 more rebounds per game in 22-23 compared to the year prior. Hamilton put up a career-high 22 points three separate times. She did more than just score in conference play, putting up two double-doubles against St. Bonaventure and Dayton.
Precious Johnson: Senior, Forward, 6’4”
Johnson enters her senior year with the Dukes having already made an all-time mark with the program. She comes into the year seventh in program history in blocks with 121, and leads all returning players in the conference in that category. She has been the rock of this Duquesne defense for a few years now, but don’t be fooled, she can put the ball in the hoop at an efficient rate, averaging over 10 points a game at a 49.6 percent clip.
Ayanna Townsend: Senior, Center, 6’2”
Townsend brings a certain level of pedigree that you can only get by spending four years at a Big East school like Xavier. She averaged 5.8 points per game and over four boards a game in her tenure. She continued her success at Duquesne last year, scoring over 10 points a game in 19.6 MPG. She also averaged a block a game, showing off that she can be a force in the paint alongside Johnson.
Kiandra Browne: Senior, Guard/Forward, 6’2”
Browne was a big get for the Dukes in the transfer portal this past off-season. Browne was ranked the 75th overall prospect by ESPN coming into her college career. She signed with Indiana, and she spent three years there, playing in 51 games. She started in eight games in 2022-23 for the Hoosiers. Overall, in 2023, she averaged 13 minutes per game, and she put in an efficient shooting season as well. She shot 58.9% from the field in 22-23 and 57.7% in 2021-22. However, she was limited to just seeing action in seven games last year due to injury. But, if she can stay healthy, she will be a great addition to an already talented backcourt.