JMU TAKES FIFTH STRAIGHT WITH 66-60 WIN AT DREXEL

Thursday, January 27

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 p.m.

James Madison University

14-6, 7-1

Drexel

12-7, 4-4

James Madison

Drexel

1/28/2011 1:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 27, 2011 - James Madison (14-6, 7-1 CAA) completed the regular-season sweep of Drexel (12-7, 4-4 CAA) with a narrow 66-60 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball win on Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The Dukes remained in a three-way tie for first in the CAA standings. Old Dominion and North Carolina Wilmington also have 7-1 league records after recording wins Thursday night.

JMU won for the fifth straight time, while the Dragons fell at home for the first time in nine games this season.

The Dukes scored their final 14 points at the foul line, where they hit 14 of 18 attempts in the final 5:01. In that span Drexel missed six straight field-goal tries and lost possession twice on steals by JMU.

JMU senior center Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) tallied a game-high 19 points, while senior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) scored 18 points.

Drexel was led in scoring by sophomore forward Taylor Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) with 18 and junior forward Kamile Nacickaite (Siauliai, Lithuania/Regis Jesuit) with 16.

There were eight lead changes over the final 10:19 of the first half and the opening 3:19 of the second half.

Then, with the Dukes holding a 35-34 lead, JMU outscored Drexel 15-6 over a span of seven minutes to build its largest lead of the night, 50-40, with 7:56 to play.

In the run Evans scored seven points and Jimenez added five. Jimenez capped the run by scoring on back-to-back layups off passes from senior guard Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park).

Drexel, however, responded by outscoring the Dukes 16-8 in just over five minutes to get within two, 58-56, with 2:16 remaining. Four players contributed points for the Dragons, led by five points from sophomore guard/forward Hollie Mershon (Malvern, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), whose long three-pointer finished the run.

Hamner then rebounded an Evans miss and was fouled, and her two free throws put the Dukes up 60-56 with 1:55 on the clock.

On Drexel's ensuing possession, sophomore guard/forward Nikki Newman's (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) strong defense of Nacickaite resulted in a missed layup and a rebound by Newman.

After two Jimenez free throws with 1:08 to go gave JMU a 62-56 lead, Evans stole the ball and was fouled. Evans made the second of two free throws for a 63-56 Dukes' advantage, and the Dragons got no closer than six the rest of the way.

NOTES:
* It was only the second win ever for JMU at Drexel, with the only other win coming almost five years ago on Feb. 10, 2006, when the Dukes took a 52-50 victory from Drexel. It marked the first win at Drexel for any of JMU's current team members.