Hall, No. 2 Dukes Rally Past Drexel, 76-68, for Berth in CAA Title Game

Friday, March 10

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

24-7

Drexel

21-10

Drexel

James Madison

Hall, No. 2 Dukes Rally Past Drexel, 76-68, for Berth in CAA Title Game

3/10/2017 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score @JMUWBasketball Box Score Press Conference Photo Gallery Highlights

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Redshirt senior guard Precious Hall scored 37 points and second-seeded James Madison shot nearly 57 percent in the second half to rally for a 76-68 victory against No. 3 Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship semifinals on Friday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes improved to 24-7 and advance to Saturday's CAA Championship game against Elon. The game will be televised at 7 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet. It's the fourth consecutive berth in the title game for the Dukes. The Dragons fell to 21-10 with the loss.

Hall finished with the most points ever by a JMU player in a CAA tournament game after shooting 13-of-26 from the floor and knocking down five 3-pointers. Prior to tonight's outing, no JMU player had ever reached 30 points.

She was one of two Dukes to score in double figures, as freshman guard Kamiah Smalls tallied 12 points off 4-of-5 shooting, which included her converting all four free throws. Sophomore guard Aneah Young and freshman guard Lexie Barrier each scored eight points in the win.

JMU shot 57 percent (26-46) for the game, which included an tremendous 82 percent mark (9-11) in the third quarter, in which the Dukes doubled up Drexel 22-11 to take their first lead since the opening stanza. JMU took control in the second half, outscoring the Dragons 48-33 to advance to its fourth straight title game.

JMU out-rebounded Drexel 32-23 and only turned the ball over four times in the second half while outscoring DU 11-0 in points off turnovers over the final 20 minutes. JMU also held a 28-16 advantage in the paint, 18-8 on second-chance opportunities and 8-0 in transition.

The Dragons were paced by Sarah Curran, who scored 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark from beyond the arc. Bailey Greenberg scored 12 points, while Sara Woods added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds off the bench.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

CAA TOURNAMENT NOTES

This is JMU's fourth straight appearance in the CAA title game.
This is JMU's 18^th overall appearance in the CAA title game, which ties the Dukes with Old Dominion for the most appearances in the title game.
This is the third time in the last four years the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed have faced off in the final.
This is the 18^th time overall that the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed have battled. The second seed has won four times – the last time coming in 2010 when JMU defeated ODU at the Convo.

PRIMETIME PRECIOUS
Precious Hall hit double digits before halftime (14pts), stretching her double-figure scoring streak to 31 games. She finished the night with 37 points, pushing her season total to 722 (fourth highest in JMU history) and career total to 2,228. She reached 30 or more points for the seventh time in her career as she set the JMU record for most points in a CAA tournament game.

PROGRAM HISTORY
JMU has reached the 24-win mark for the 12^th consecutive season after Friday night's win over Drexel.

LIGHTS OUT
The Dukes went 9-for-11 from the floor in the third quarter, including a 3-for-4 mark from 3-point land. JMU shot 50.0 percent or better in three of four quarters this season.

PHOTO OF THE GAME - view photo gallery

Lexie Barrier hits a big 3-pointer in the second half, forcing DU to call timeout.

TRAILING AT THE HALF
The Dukes trailed at the half for the eighth time this season and are now 4-4 in those contests. The Dukes have failed to score more than 28 points in a half in six of the last seven frames.

CONVO SEE-SAW
The Dragons led by as many as 12 points on Friday night (2:39, 2Q) while the Dukes led by as many as 11 points (0:30, 4Q).

FOURTH-QUARTER NOTES
Precious Hall drained a fast-break 3-pointer on the Dukes' first possession of the quarter to push the lead to six (53-47). A pair of Drexel free throws stopped the 15-2 JMU run bridging the quarters and the two teams traded baskets on the next few possessions. The Dukes pushed out to a nine-point lead three times before a Drexel 3-pointer cut it back to two possessions (67-61) with 1:31 left in regulation. The Dukes went 11-for-14 from the line over the final two minutes of play to push out to an 11-point advantage (76-65), helped along by two offensive boards by Tasia Butler off the second attempt misses.

Vs. DREXEL NOTES

Before tonight, JMU had not trailed by more than two points at any point to Drexel.
JMU is now 3-0 against Drexel this season and has won 11 straight against the Dragons.
The Dukes are now 4-3 all-time against the Dragons in CAA tournament contests, including a 2-2 mark in the semifinals.

BALL SECURITY
JMU turned the ball over 12 times in the first 20 minutes after having just seven giveaways in Thursday's quarterfinal game. Drexel finished the first half with six turnovers. The Dukes closed the night with 16 turnovers and the Dragons closed the night with 13 turnovers.