WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOLDS OFF PESKY GEORGIA STATE 62-55

Thursday, February 3

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7:00 p.m.

James Madison University

16-6, 9-1CAA

Georgia State

7-14, 2-8CAA

Georgia State

James Madison

2/4/2011 2:20:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Feb. 3, 2011 - Three players scored in double figures and two tallied double-figure rebounds as James Madison (16-6, 9-1 CAA) defeated Georgia State (7-14, 2-8 CAA) 62-55 in a Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball game on Thursday at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes held a comfortable 50-31 lead with 12:42 remaining in the game before the Panthers went on a 15-2 run over the next 4:47, capped off by a 3-pointer by senior guard Traci Haltiwanger (Summerville, S.C./Summerville) to trim the lead to 52-46 with 7:55 to play.

After JMU called a timeout, senior forward Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) gave the Dukes a 56-46 advantage when she scored the game's next four points on a pair of second-chance opportunities created by her two offensive rebounds in consecutive possessions.

Georgia State never got closer than six points the rest of the way, and senior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) sealed the win by hitting 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch.

"Give Georgia State credit. They played hard, they rebounded well. They caused us problems," JMU Head Coach Kenny Brooks said. "I was disappointed with the way we played. (At times) we were out of sync, out of character. We cannot play like this and be the team we want to be."

Evans tied for a game-high 19 points and became JMU's sole leader of career made field goals (774). She entered the contest tied with former Duke Tamera Young (771). Jimenez and senior Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) each scored 11 points, while sophomore Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) and senior Jalissa Taylor (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) had double-figure rebounds with 12 and 10, respectively.

Georgia State was led by redshirt junior forward Chan Harris (Macon, Ga./Northeast), who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Angelique Burtts (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale) tallied 14 points, while Haltiwanger added 11 points.

JMU opened the contest with an 8-0 run in the first 1:49, but GSU answered with an 11-3 run over the next 5:26 to tie the game at 11 apiece with 12:45 to go.

The Dukes went up five at 19-14 with 10:24 to play before halftime, but the Panthers came to within a point at 19-18 with 8:09 to go. JMU scored the next eight points to hold a 27-18 advantage and took a 35-27 lead into the locker room.

JMU won its seventh straight game overall and eighth at home, while GSU fell for the fifth consecutive game. The Dukes remain tied with Old Dominion and North Carolina Wilmington atop the conference standings at 9-1.