Women's Basketball Pulls Away, Beats Towson 67-57

Sunday, January 15

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James Madison University

12-4, 3-2CAA

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11-5, 2-3CAA

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James Madison

1/15/2012 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 15, 2012 -- James Madison outscored Towson 16-5 in the final 6:39 and the Dukes pulled away for a 67-57 win in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes' record is now 12-4 overall and 3-2 in league play, while Towson is 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the CAA.

JMU junior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) led all players with 21 points, one below her career high, and was one of four Dukes to score in double figures.

Dukes' freshman forward Toia Giggetts (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) contributed career-highs of 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, sophomore guard Kirby Burkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) scored 11, and redshirt junior guard Jasmine Gill (Greensboro, N.C./Page) added 10 points.

Towson senior guard Krystal Parnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum) led the Tigers with 17 points, and sophomore guard Tanisha McTiller (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) scored 14. Redshirt senior guard Sheree Ledbetter (Baltimore, Md./Southside Academy) came off the bench to add 11 points.

Senior guard/forward Deree Fooks (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) and redshirt sophomore forward Nyree Williams (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) each pulled down eight rebounds for the Tigers.

The Tigers, who had trailed by as many as eight in the first half, were down by only one (31-30) at halftime. A 6-1 scoring run, with Ledbetter scoring four of the six points, gave Towson its first lead since the opening minutes, 45-44, with 11:12 remaining.

JMU regained the lead at 47-45 on a three-point play by Giggetts at 10:57. Redshirt senior forward Lauren Whitehurst (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) saved a ball that was going out of bounds on the baseline and flipped the ball in the lane to Giggetts, who hit a layup, was fouled and netted the ensuing free throw.

With JMU leading 51-47, Ledbetter hit a three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire and Parnell scored on a layup after Gill turned the ball over on an offensive foul, giving Towson a 52-51 advantage.

The Dukes, however, responded with six straight points. Whitehurst scored inside off a pass from Hislop, and then Whitehurst rebounded a missed Fooks jumper on the other end of the floor. Hislop hit a layup, and after McTiller missed a layup, Whitehurst again got the rebound. Giggetts completed the run with a layup off a pass from Burkholder to put JMU up 57-52 with 5:29 remaining.

Burkholder nailed a three from the top of the circle with 3:08 to go to give JMU an eight-point (62-54) cushion, and the Dukes held on down the stretch.

Game Notes:

First Half
* Towson scored the game's first five points, then JMU scored the next six and led for the rest of the half.
* JMU's biggest lead was eight, 27-19, at 5:28, after scoring six unanswered points.
* Towson outscored JMU 11-4 in the final 5:10, including a three-pointer by Tanisha McTiller and two jumpers by Deree Fooks.
* Two fouls each were assessed to JMU starters Lauren Whitehurst (2nd at 11:36) and junior forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) (2nd at 4:13) and Towson starter Nyree Williams (2nd at 7:16)

Second Half
* JMU's Newman drew her third foul at 17:35 and Whitehurst got her third foul at 16:40 and her fourth at 5:08. Giggetts fouled out of the game with 2:03 remaining.

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