The road continues to be filled with potholes and barriers for the Binghamton University women’s basketball team. Their travel to Pittsburgh in search of victory only ended in defeat Tuesday, 75-65, to the Duquesne Dukes.

‘We played real well on the court, especially in the first couple of minutes, and then fell back a bit,’ said BU head coach Rich Conover. ‘There were certain points in the game where I felt we could have played a lot better.’

The Bearcats’ (1-6) pace with the Dukes (5-3) midway through the first half, tying the game 14-14 with 12 minutes remaining. Over the next five minutes Duquesne blew the game open with an 11-0 run, showing the Bearcats no mercy. BU would have managed to bring the gap down to five points had it not been for a Duke lay-up in the paint in the last three seconds. DU clinched the first half 37-30.

Because of poor BU defense, the Dukes were able to dominate the inside during the second half. Duquesne really kicked themselves into gear, pulling 20 ahead of the Bearcats with 8:09 remaining.

Duquesne’s 51.7 percent shooting percentage, in addition to six shots from beyond the arc, made it difficult for the Bearcats to work their way back. Binghamton did manage a 17-7 run, closing the gap to 10 points before the shot-clock ran out.

There were five ties and four lead changes in the game.

Binghamton sophomore guard Erica Carter led the team with 16 points, reaching double digits for the fourth time in five games. Senior center Laine Kurpniece placed in 13 points while junior forward Laura Franceski and senior guard Laura Sario added 11 apiece. While the Bearcats only shot 33.3 percent from the floor, they were 15-for-18 on free throws.

The Dukes played a tough game against the Bearcats, scoring nine of 18 from downtown and going 31 of 63 from inside the arc. Five Duquesne players scored in double digits. Junior guard Kristi Littles had a game-best 18 points while sophomore Amanda Peck scored a career high 16.

Conover and his basketball squad will continue to work on its defense, especially man-to-man and zone formations.

‘We just didn’t cover people,’ Conover said. ‘We had trouble with [defense] and sticking onto our opponents. Seventy-five points is much too much to give up on the road.’

The Bearcats set out to face Liberty at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Flames ‘will take an excellent amount of effort to match up to,’ Conover said.