Myers transfers to Wisconsin after four years with Duquesne

A whirlwind month might be an understatement for Tess Myers.

Myers, a North Catholic grad and four-year-player for the Duquesne women’s basketball team, will transfer and play for Wisconsin in the upcoming season.

The guard who finished tied for first in career 3-pointers with the Dukes, announced her transfer portal decision late last month on social media, only a little more than two weeks after entering the portal.

“The past four years were amazing,” Myers told the Post-Gazette last month. “It was a very hard decision.”

Myers’ whole world has been pretty much Allegheny County outside of traveling for Atlantic 10 games.

She appeared in 109 games during her four seasons with the Dukes, including 93 starts. Myers started all but two games the past three seasons, including 32 of 33 games this year while helping Duquesne finish 21-13 overall and 13-5 in Atlantic 10 play, the program’s most wins since the 2019-20 season. Duquesne reached the Women’s National Invitational Tournament Super 16 round before falling to Purdue, 71-50.

But Myers decided to enter the transfer portal and take a leap of faith.

“My heart was telling me to go a little bit outside out of comfort zone,” she said. “It was honestly a hard decision. I’m very close with my family. I see them all the time. This is a year of growth for me.”

Myers’ new team also played in the WNIT, reaching the Elite Eight.

“I am thrilled to welcome Tess Myers to Madison and our Badger family,” Wisconsin head coach Marisa Moseley said in a press release. “Tess has a great personality and enjoys having fun while being a true competitor on the court.”

Moseley should be thrilled about what Myers brings to the table in terms of scoring.

Myers was fourth on the Dukes in scoring this past season, averaging 7.9 points a game to go with 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She ended her career at Duquesne with 1,089 points and had 14 games with at least three 3-pointers. She also set a program record for most 3-pointers in a single game (11). She scored a career-high 35 points in the win against Longwood in 2023.

Myers also should give the Badgers some much-needed 3-point shooting. The Badgers ranked last in the Big Ten this season (28.3%) and were the only team in the league to shoot less than 30%.

Myers said she wanted to grow, and although a major conference school wasn’t initially the goal, she’s ready to prove herself. That includes scoring in more ways, outside of the obvious 3-point shooting, and that involves driving more to the hoop, developing more range and putting the ball on the floor.

“I’m going to be challenged and taking it all in,” Myers said.

And although the Badgers haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2010, Myers aims to be a piece of the program that pushes toward that goal.

“I’m glad I did it, and I’m excited for the next year,” she said.

Do you know of a Pittsburgh-area Division I athlete who earned a weekly conference honor, won a conference championship or qualified for a national tournament? Also, any NCAA All-American news can be forwarded to kmurphy@post-gazette.com.