JMU Picked to Win CAA, Three Dukes Earn Preseason Honors

RICHMOND, Va. – James Madison women's basketball was predicted to win the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association title by a vote of the league's coaches, the CAA announced Thursday morning.

Sophomore Kamiah Smalls was tabbed to the Preseason All-CAA First Team and redshirt-sophomore Kayla Cooper-Williams was selected to the Second Team. Junior Aneah Young received honorable mention for preseason honors.

AS A TEAM
JMU received 78 points in the poll with six first-place votes, finishing just ahead of 2017 CAA champion Elon's 74 points and three first-place votes. William & Mary (58), Drexel (51) and Delaware (48) rounded out the top five.

AS INDIVIDUALS
Kamiah Smalls and Kayla Cooper-Williams have been the two most recent CAA Rookies of the Year. This is the second preseason award for Cooper-Williams (honorable mention in 2016-17) and first for both Smalls and Young.

Smalls averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest during her freshman campaign while Young contributed 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Cooper-Williams, who sat out 2016-17 due to injury, returns 5.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest to the lineup as well as 2.2 blocks per game.

LOOKING BACK
JMU is coming off a 26-9 season, O'Regan's first at the helm. The Dukes advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association title game for a fourth straight year before making it to the third round of the WNIT, taking down Radford and Virginia at home.

AND LOOKING AHEAD
The Dukes open the regular season on Nov. 10 against Rutgers (7:30 p.m.) as part of a double dose of JMU hoops (MBB vs. Bridgewater, 5 p.m.). The contest marks one of six non-conference rematches from 2016-17 and will be the Scarlet Knights' first trip to Harrisonburg.

EXHIBITION GAME
Fans can get a first look at the 2017-18 Dukes on Nov. 5 when JMU hosts an exhibition contest against Christopher Newport at the Convo at 2 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket and renewal information is available on JMUTickets.com.

DUKE CLUB
Support the Dukes on the court this season by helping to support the team and their education. Donations to the Duke Club help ensure they get a world-class education and have the best possible experience at JMU, while donors receive some great benefits. To donate or find more information, visit JMUDukeClub.com or call 540-568-6461.

NEW FACILITY PROGRESS
Make sure to keep tabs on the progress of the recently-named Union Bank & Trust Center by checking out UnionBankandTrustCenter.com, where updates on the facility's development, ways to get involved and more are available.

Calendar