Duquesne WBB’s Kiaku Finds Happiness, Embraces Role

Of course, North Carolina is known for its basketball, of course as the Tar Heel State, it is Michael Jordan country, where arguably the greatest ever to play the game set up shop, and Garner is where Kiaku calls home.

It was her three brothers which were partially the reason why Kiaku took to the court. She desired to not just show her chops, that she could compete and was better, but naturally beat them as well.

Kiaku desired to compete at the highest level and that started with besting her brothers, something she believes they will deny to this day.

She looked up to Diamond DeShields growing up, someone whose collegiate journey began at North Carolina, Kiaku’s favorite team. Kiaku fondly recalls the Sylvia Hatchell era and how fast DeShields was playing.

As far as her prep career, Kiaku was a four-year captain at Garner Magnet High School and compiled numerous awards including three-time conference player of the year, four-time all-conference first team and was three-time all-district selection.

There, Kiaku was the all-time leading point scorer with 2,240 and in her senior year averaged 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.1 steals and 2.9 rebounds. Additionally, she earned academic all-conference four times and made the Beta Club.

When it came time to determine her college stop, Kiaku cited family legacy with both her mom and brother attending North Carolina Central. Her brother played football and won three MEAC championships, so being the competitor she is, Kiaku determined she wanted to win rings there and say she was the best athlete to come from NC Central.

That season, the Eagles fell to top-seeded Norfolk State 81-59 in the MEAC semifinals. Kiaku averaged 10.7 points and was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year, as the top-scoring freshman. She also made the conference’s third team, while being named rookie of the week on six separate occasions.

The biggest lesson Kiaku explained she learned that year was overcoming adversity.

“It was a rollercoaster that year, and I’m just so thankful for my family and a couple of my teammates and coaching staff that is still there,” reflected Kiaku. “They’re a big part of my journey and so much respect to him and the program now.”

After that freshman season, Kiaku decided it was time to look for a new home, and that was where Duquesne came into play.

What Kiaku said stood out both to herself as well as her dad was how family-oriented coach Dan Burt was, in addition to how much he cared about academics.

“You won’t find another coach in the country that will tell you, ‘you’re going to major in whatever you want, and we’ll work around that,’” Kiaku remembered. “That was huge and showed a lot about his character right out of the gate because no coach in America would say that.”

So, it was determined that Kiaku would be a Duquesne Duke.

The 2023-24 non-conference slate was a challenging one not just for the team, but Kiaku herself, as she had to make the adjustment from being 30 minutes away from home at NC Central, to a now eight-hour trip.

It was definitely a new experience for Kiaku to not have her family consistently present and getting adjusted on the court. Kiaku truly desired the trust of her teammates and coaches, but she had not experienced a breakthrough quite yet.

That moment came during Christmas break of 2023, when Kiaku was able to hit a reset button. She was able to return home, and it was determined that she would give her experience everything she had.

Kiaku could not get on the court and play timid. Admittedly, she was not playing her game in the first half of the year, rather she was scared to make mistakes.

“Playing the way, I do, being scared to make mistakes is something I can’t do,” analyzed Kiaku. “I think just being willing to take it to the hole, not be afraid and play fearless was just that stretch in my mind. It was saying at that point if I was going to fail, I was going to fail playing the way I play and not being timid or scared, I’m going to fail playing fearless.”

The Jan. 24 home game where Duquesne bested a Richmond team which previously was unbeaten in conference play allowed for Kiaku to shine and showcase to Dukes fans just some of what she was capable of.

She posted a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting and also made all eight of her free throws. Kiaku would achieve double figures six more times for the remainder of the season, consistently being one of the first called upon off the bench.

“At first it was just an adjustment just finding trust and once I found that and the rhythm, everything is flowing,” she stated immediately following the Richmond game.

As Duquesne’s play picked up, on the way to a WNIT Super 16 appearance, Kiaku also saw a noticeable increase in minutes, playing 29 or more in each of the last three games.

“I was kind of thankful, relieved, that monkey off your back, I belong, I can play in this conference,” Kiaku said. “Just really thankful that everything was coming together piece by piece.”

The late-season efforts against both George Mason and Monmouth, it set the table for what was to come this season, something which perfectly fit Kiaku’s style.

Kiaku’s effort against Monmouth earned her a place at the postgame press conference where she broke down in tears, something which took her by surprise, but surrounded with both Megan McConnell and Lauren Wasylson to each side of her, it was the latter that caused such a reaction, from the normally stoic guard.

“Honestly a lot of the emotion came from Lauren, just seeing her story and her comeback,” remembered Kiaku. “Our fight, our will and just everybody has a story. What everybody has to overcome to be here is special.”

In the meantime, the summer work was crucial for Burt’s brainchild, a new style of play and Kiaku enlisted the help of assistant coach Aurielle Anderson. Together, they hit the ground running right away, with a clear idea of what to work on, specifically the midrange jump shot.

Now, that is consistently part of Kiaku’s game, which she believes is a testament to Anderson’s player development and investment in her, a sentiment which stands to this date.

“The belief of Coach Dan, Coach V, Coach Bell, Coach Frank, R.J., Auri, everybody, it allows you to play free and be you,” Kiaku beamed. “I’m so thankful for their belief in me because I’m able to just be myself every day and that’s part of being able to perform your best.”

This season, Kiaku is determined, energized and even allowing herself to smile, and for good reason. She has started all 15 games to date, her points per game, stand at 13.7, a significant increase from last season’s 6.6, while shooting 51.9% from the field and 77.9% from the free-throw line, all while averaging eight more minutes a game.

Her effort has been noticed across the conference, even to the point that Burt stated earlier in the season, his belief that she is the second-best player in the city.

Kiaku has reached a double-figure point total in 14 games, including a 24-point effort against Niagara where she was 10-for-12 from the field.

“I get on this court, and I know I’m going to have a good time, every time and that’s because of how we play,” she said. “It’s nothing that’s going to be boring, methodic, you play some games like that because of how people play, but it’s not like us.”

Each time Kiaku steps on the court, she feels there is something to prove. It is imperative for her to show everyone that they overlooked the wrong person, a true sign of her embracing being viewed as an underdog.

As part of this, Kiaku is working on finding her voice, having led by example. She has efforted to pick her spots, all in the name of team success.

“Success is having fun doing what you love and being good at it and winning,” concluded Kiaku. “Lots of winning and when you lose how do you bounce back. That’s success to me. Hopefully I can say I’m an A-10 champ, and we made a deep run into the tournament and put our name on the map.”