Duquesne Dukes Caravan Visits South Hills Village

The Duquesne Duke's basketball teams both hope to reach new heights this year, no pun intended.

The women's program is primed and ready to take the next step.

"We are highly motivated and excited to make the NCAA tournament," said senior , of Upper St. Clair.

The team felt snubbed last season reaching only the NIT tournament and have set lofty goals for this year.

"It left a salty taste in our mouth last season, our goal this year is to make the big tournament," said women's head Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio.

The men have reached a postseason tournament for three straight years now. It's the first time that has been done since the 1960s.

"We expect to compete for an Atlantic 10 championship," said men's head Coach Ron Everhart.

Both coaches expect great things and their entire rosters converged in  Saturday afternoon to get the word out.

"It's so important to meet the fans, they are a big part of what we do," said men's senior point guard B.J. Monteiro.

It wasn't mandatory for all the players to show up but they did. They are all excited for this year's basketball season to get underway. Practice begins on Oct. 2.

"It's been fun today, I really like doing this," said women's freshman guard Belma Nurkic, of Baldwin.

She was highly recruited by McConnell-Serio and has enjoyed practicing with the juniors and seniors getting ready for her first season.

"I'm getting used to the up tempo play," said Nurkic.

Saturday's event included a basketball hoop set up for kids and young adults to test their skills, kids games like the bean bag toss, prizes and performances by the Duquesne cheerleaders. 

There were also autograph sessions for the younger kids to meet and take pictures with the players.

Kristi and Dan Bonacci from Bethel Park brough their four-year-old son Cameron out to meet his favorite player, T.J. McConnell.

"I like when T.J. gets the ball and he passes to another player who then shoots the ball," said Cameron.

It made his day to take a picture with his favorite player and get an autograph to take home as well.

"I absolutely love giving autographs to little kids," said McConnell.

"We really didn't know what to expect today, but it's been great reaching out to the fans," said Gensler, who felt right at ease in her hometown of Upper St. Clair.

Fans had an opportunity to purchase single game or season tickets from the players themselves. It was the first stop on the brand new Dukes Caravan and it proved to be a big success.

Both teams have high hopes for success on the court as well.

The women's team returns four of their top five scorers, including Gensler, who led the entire team last year with 12.6 points per game.

The men's team lost two key starters in Bill Clark and Damian Saunders, but expect sophomore T.J. McConnell and senior B.J. McConnell to become the new leaders of the team.

"We are a little deeper and more experienced in the backcourt this year," said Coach Everhart.

This story originally appeared on Upper St. Clair Patch.