Dukes Down Longwood 88-30 in 2015-16 Season Opener

Sunday, November 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

1-0

Longwood

0-2

Longwood

JMU

11/15/2015 4:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison women's basketball (1-0) raced out to a 16-0 lead to start the game and never looked back, defeating Longwood (0-2) 88-30 Sunday in the season opener at the JMU Convocation Center.

On the opening possession, senior guard Angela Mickens lofted a pass to redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey, who finished at the rim with a lay-up. Just 20 seconds later, Gwathmey stole the ball from Longwood's Micaela Ellis and drove for another bucket, this time drawing a foul and draining the free throw.

JMU was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor during the opening 16-0 run. After the Lancers got on the board, the Dukes pushed the lead to 24-2 with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Gwathmey led four Dukes in double figures with 22 points, including five within the first 33 seconds of the game. She exceled on both ends of the floor, adding seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals to her stat line. Her 22 points ties a career high.

Freshman center Savannah Felgemacher made her collegiate debut with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. She is the first freshman to record a double-double in a season opening game under head coach Kenny Brooks.

Madison dominated defensively, holding Longwood to 18.2-percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers. The Dukes won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Longwood 61-28.

QUOTING HEAD COACH KENNY BROOKS
"I thought it was a good win. Obviously, this early in the season, there's going to be a lot of things we can work on. All-in-all, I thought we did a lot of good things."
For the full postgame interview, click here.

DOUBLE DIGIT DUKES
Four Dukes scored in double figures, with Mickens and senior guard Ashley Perez adding 13 points each to Gwathmey's 22 and Felgemacher's 17.
Hear from three of the double-digit scorers here in their postgame interview.

FORMIDABLE FRESHMEN
In addition to Felgemacher's double-double, freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams earned a start and tallied eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Freshman guard Logan Reynolds scored six points off the bench and grabbed six boards to go with two steals.

PLAY OF THE GAME

For the full highlights, click here.

CHICKEN NUGGET TIME
Mickens sent the 2,201 fans in attendance home happy with a lay-up midway through the third quarter, putting the Dukes up 79-27. When JMU scores 79 points or more, game tickets are redeemable for an eight-count chicken nuggets at Chick-Fil-A. Sunday also marked the 28^th consecutive JMU home game with at least 2,000 fans in attendance.

PHOTO OF THE GAME
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For the full photo gallery, please click here.

TWEET OF THE GAME

@JMUWBasketball is back today! Come watch as the Dukes have their home opener at 2 in Convo #GoDukes #gameday
— Duke Dog (@TheJMUDukeDog) November 15, 2015

UP NEXT:
JMU is back at the Convo Tuesday night to host Morgan State at 7 p.m. The Bears finished 2014-15 with an 11-19 record and were picked to finish ninth in the preseason Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference poll.