Dukes Reign with Third Straight CAA Title after 60-46 Victory Over Drexel

Saturday, March 12

Show Place Arena, Upper Marlboro, Md.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

27-5

Drexel

19-13

#2 Drexel

#1 James Madison

Dukes Reign with Third Straight CAA Title after 60-46 Victory Over Drexel

3/12/2016 5:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Top-seeded James Madison led wire-to-wire in a 60-46 victory over the second-seeded Drexel Dragons to win its third consecutive Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball championship Saturday at the Show Place Arena.

The Dukes (27-5) earn an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history and fifth time under Head Coach Kenny Brooks, all of which have come in the last seven seasons. The Dukes had four players reach double-digit scoring on the day, including senior guards Jazmon Gwathmey (19), Angela Mickens (14) and Ashley Perez (10) as well as junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin (11).

JMU kept Drexel off the scoreboard for the first 6:56 of the game and allowed just two Drexel field goals the entire period, the second of which came with just five seconds remaining in the frame. The last bucket sparked a 6-2 spurt from the Dragons that brought them back within seven twice before five straight points from the Dukes pushed it out to a 12-point lead (5:23, 2Q, 20-8).

The run was part of a larger 10-2 stretch that gave JMU a 15-point advantage (25-10) with 2:46 left in the second quarter. Drexel would never get closer than 10 points again.

Aided by a career-high three 3-pointers, Griffin notched her fourth double-double of the season, adding 16 rebounds to push her season total to 303 and move into a tie for the ninth-highest single-season total with former teammate Kirby Burkholder. As a team, the Dukes out-rebounded the Dragons 45-35. Both Mickens and freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams contributed eight boards each to help the JMU cause.

Cooper-Williams emphasized her defensive prowess with a game-high four blocks, making her the JMU single-season leader in blocked shots at 69. Gwathmey and Griffin each added two blocks for the Dukes as well.

Despite trailing by 15, Drexel kept fighting and held JMU without a bucket for over two minutes in the second quarter as the Dragons pulled back within 10 points (25-15). A 3-pointer from Griffin stopped the stretch at five points. The Dragons used a jumper to pull it back to an 11-point JMU lead, but Mickens streaked down the court and used a 3-point shot at the buzzer to send the Dukes into halftime with a 31-17 lead.

JMU pushed out to an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter on the heels of two 3-pointers from Griffin, but three consecutive jumpers from Drexel made it a 12-point game (39-27) with 3:29 on the third-frame clock. Gwathmey stopped the run with back-to-back jumpers and returned JMU to a 16-point lead 43-27 as she went on a personal 8-3 run against the Dragons to put the Dukes on top 47-30 heading into the final quarter.

Gwathmey continued her run into the fourth stanza with a made jumper 37 seconds in. A pair of Pearson free throws got the Dragons back in the socring column, but a fastbreak three from Perez pushed the JMU lead to 20 points for the first time today (52-32, 8:50). The Dukes held the Dragons without a field goal until the 5:47 mark of the final frame.

The basket sparked a 9-2 Drexel run that closed the gap to 14 with under 3 and a half to play. Mickens stopped the stretch at the 1:53 mark with a lay-in and converted the and-one opportunity. The Dukes held the Dragons to only one more made basket before the final buzzer sounded as they secured the win.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Angela Mickens - James Madison
Ashley Perez - James Madison
Sarah Curran - Drexel
Nicole Enabosi - Delaware
Samantha DeFreese - Northeastern
Most Outstanding Player - Jazmon Gwathmey - James Madison

PLAY OF THE GAME

For full highlights visit here.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Great gesture by @CoachBrooksJMU letting the commish cut down the last net! pic.twitter.com/T4tPc07iyP
— CAASports (@CAASports) March 12, 2016

NO PARTY LIKE A COOPER-WILLIAMS BLOCK PARTY

With two blocks in the fourth minute of the game, freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams became the single-season blocks leader for JMU (67), surpassing Lauren Whitehurst's record from the 2011-12 season.

CORNER POCKET

Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin notched her fourth career double -double with 16 rebounds and 11 points, including a career-high three made 3-pointers.

DISH AND SWISH

Senior point guard Angela Mickens finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, as well as five assists to push her season assists total to 222 and career assists total to 664, now just six shy of the all-time record.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

JMU held Drexel to 17 points in the first half, the eighth time this season the Dukes limited an opponent to less than 20 points over the first 20 minutes.
The Dukes have not trailed since the 1:08 mark in the fourth quarter of the CAA quarterfinals against the eighth-seeded College of Charleston after going wire-to-wire against #5 Delaware in the semifinals and #2 Drexel in the championship.
The win is JMU's 20th straight victory, a streak which began with an 83-61 win over College of Charleston on Friday, January 8.
Madison held a healthy 45-35 advantage in rebounds, marking the fifth-straight game they have outrebounded their opponent.

NCAA TOURNAMENT SELECTION SHOW
Fans are invited to join the Dukes when they discover their first opponent in the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30. The selection show, presented by Excel Heating and Cooling, will be shown at the JMU Convocation Center with all fans welcome. Seating will be available in sections 104-108 with the spirit squad and pep band there to cheer on the Dukes.