No. 11 JMU Falls to No. 6 DePaul, 97-67, in NCAA First Round

Friday, March 18

Louisville, Ky.

Noon

James Madison University

27-6

DePaul

26-8

JAMES MADISON

DePAUL

No. 11 JMU Falls to No. 6 DePaul, 97-67, in NCAA First Round

3/18/2016 2:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 11th-seeded James Madison women basketball battled hard in a fast-paced, high-energy contest with the sixth-seeded DePaul Blue Demons but ultimately dropped a 97-67 decision in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday afternoon.

The Dukes end the season with a 27-6 record overall, highlighted by a 20-game winning streak and a 17-1 record in Colonial Athletic Association action. DePaul (26-8) advances to the round-of-32 where it will take on the winner of No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Central Arkansas on Sunday.

JMU senior guard Ashley Perez led all scorers with 20 points, and redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey was close behind at 19. Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double after battling in the post all game to cap her stellar freshman season. Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin joined her with 10 rebounds to finish with 313 this season, the eighth-highest single-season total in program history.

Senior guard Angela Mickens rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts with 10 points of her own as well as five assists, pushing her season total to 227 dishes to finish in possession of both first and second place on the JMU single-season assists chart. She also added a steal to finish with 190 for her career, tied for seventh all-time on the JMU steals chart with former teammate Kirby Burkholder.

Gwathmey had a game-high three blocked shots, giving her 173 for her career and passing former teammate Nikki Newman for second on JMU's career chart. Cooper-Williams blocked two shots to tighten her hold on JMU's single-season blocks record at 71.

The Blue Demons shot 53.6 percent (37-69) from the floor on the day, including a 52.4 percent (11-21) clip from beyond the arc, to place six scorers in double-digit scoring figures. The Dukes shot 30.6 percent (22-72) from the floor.

Trading baskets to start the game, JMU took a 6-5 lead off a pair of Mickens free throws, but DePaul followed with a 10-0 run for a 15-6 lead heading into the first media timeout (1Q, 4:48).

The Blue Demons stretched it to a 12-0 run before Gwathmey drained a 3-pointer that pulled the Dukes back within single digits. DePaul, however, quickly used an 8-2 spurt to take a 14-point lead, the largest advantage of the first quarter, and finished the opening frame leading 27-14. The Blue Demons shot 55.6 percent (10-18) over the first 10 minutes, including a 4-for-8 showing from 3-point range, while the Dukes shot 22.2 percent (4-18) with a 2-for-6 mark from long range.

The Dukes closed the gap to 11 twice in the early goings of the second quarter before back-to-back 3-pointers from the Blue Demons pushed their lead out to 17, and JMU never got closer.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Gwathmey of @JMUWBasketball grabs the rebound and takes it all the way down on transition for the layup. Watch: https://t.co/Cy8eFqvnGb
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 18, 2016

HANDLING THE BALL
JMU tied a season low against DePaul in turnovers, giving the ball away just seven times. The Dukes forced the Blue Demons into 12 giveaways.

PHOTO OF THE GAME

CLEANING THE BOARDS
Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin pulled down 10 boards against DePaul to finish the year with 313. Her mark is the eighth-highest single-season total in program history.

NOT IN MY HOUSE

Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams finished the season with 71 blocks, the single-season JMU record. Her mark is also the 15th-highest career total in JMU history.
Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey finished the season with 46 blocks, tied for the 10th-highest single-season total in program history. She already holds the fourth-highest mark (56) from her sophomore campaign.
Gwathmey also closed with 173 career blocks, second all-time in JMU history.

TWEET OF THE GAME

@JMUWBasketball So proud of what you have done this season! Once again a fun ride! Cannot wait for next year! #GoDukes #WeReloadNotRebuild
— Brooke Boyd (@JMUFan4Ever) March 18, 2016

SPLASHING FROM THE FLOOR

Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey finished the year with 251 made field goals, the second-highest single-season total in program history. She sank 581 over her career, the seventh most of any Duke.
Gwathmey closed the season with 63 made 3-pointers, tied for the 10th-highest single-season mark in JMU history. She had 104 over the course of her career, the 12th most in program history.
Senior guard Ashley Perez sank 123 from beyond the arc over the course of her career, the 10th-highest career total.
At the free throw line, Gwathmey sank 117 this year for the 13th most in a single JMU season. She made 288 over her career, tied for the 11th most in JMU history.

WORK HORSES

Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey started 120 games during her time as a Duke, tied with three other Dukes in the fourth-highest slot.
Gwathmey's total included 86 consecutive starts, the 10th-longest streak in program history.
Gwathmey played in 136 total games, the fourth highest number of appearances by a Duke.
Senior guard Angela Mickens played in 113 consecutive games, tied for the 11th-longest streak in program history.