JMU Sets Tournament Records in 52-27 Quarterfinal Win over UNCW

Thursday, March 9

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

23-7

UNCW

11-20

UNCW

James Madison

JMU Sets Tournament Records in 52-27 Quarterfinal Win over UNCW

3/9/2017 7:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score @JMUWBasketball Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-seeded James Madison turned in one of the best defensive performances in CAA Women's Basketball Championship history with a 52-27 quarterfinal victory against No. 7 UNCW on Thursday evening at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Dukes improved to 23-7 and advance to Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal against No. 3 Drexel in a televised matchup on Comcast SportsNet. This is the 13th straight season JMU has reached the conference semifinals. The Seahawks ended their season with an 11-20 record.

JMU broke tournament records for fewest points allowed in a game (27), fewest points allowed in a half (11 in 2nd) and opponent shooting percentage (20.9%). JMU produced its 13th CAA tournament win by 20 or more points despite scoring its second-lowest point total in a tournament win.

Defense wins championships.@JMUWBasketball conceded the fewest points in CAA tournament history with a 52-27 victory over UNCW. #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/2rSfllsXyx
— JMUSports (@JMUSports) March 10, 2017

Redshirt senior guard Precious Hall and redshirt junior forward Amber Porter were the only players to score in double figures, leading the game with 10 points each. Freshman guard Lexie Barrier provided eight points, sophomore guard Aneah Young tied game-high honors with eight rebounds while sophomore guard Logan Reynolds had a game-best three steals.

JMU, which turned the ball over a season-low seven times, shot 33 percent (19-58) from the floor while holding UNCW just under 21 percent (9-43). The Dukes won the rebounding battle 42-36, including 13-8 on the offensive glass. JMU outscored UNCW 28-4 in the paint, 10-1 on second-chance opportunities and 26-14 by reserve players. UNCW was paced by Jenny DeGraaf, who scored eight points, while Jasmine Steele added six.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

STORY AT THE STRIPE
JMU sank the first seven attempts at the free-throw line of the game and finished the first half 9-for-10. UNCW opened 1-for-5 before making the last three to finish 4-for-8 during the first 20 minutes. The Seahawks pushed out to 6-10 before a miss in the third quarter. JMU completed the game 12-for-16 at the line while UNCW finished at 9-for-18.

PAINTING THE LANE
Through the first 20 minutes of play, JMU outscored UNCW 16-2 in the paint. The Dukes finished with a 28-4 advantage in points in the paint.

BEYOND THE ARC-TIC
Both JMU and UNCW went a combined 0-for-14 from 3-point range before Lexie Barrier broke the stretch with a deep corner three in front of the JMU bench at the 4:20 mark of the third quarter. This sparked a 2-for-3 spurt from beyond the arc, capped by a top of the arc make by Logan Reynolds. The Dukes have not allowed a 3-pointer by an opponent since the 2:33 mark of the third quarter against Charleston (52:33 stretch).

PHOTO OF THE GAME - view full photo gallery

JMU had a lot to be happy about down the stretch, as they move on to the CAA semifinals.

P2K
Precious Hall reached double figures for the 30^th consecutive game. She has reached double figures 108 times in her JMU career to have 2,191 points. She has 685 this season, which ties her single-season career mark and is tied for the fifth-most in a single JMU season. Hall also made her 125^th start in a contest, which tied her with Tamera Young for the second-highest total in a JMU career.

BACK IN THE GAME
Freshman forward Devon Merritt made her first appearance in a game since Jan. 15 against Northeastern after sitting out with an injury. She scored her first points since Jan. 13 (at Delaware) when she sank a jumper in the final minute of play, the final basket of the night for JMU.

FIRST-QUARTER NOTES
JMU held UNCW without a point for first 3:36 of game and forced both a shot clock violation and an out-of-bounds trap on the sideline in the first four minutes of play. The Dukes limited the Seahawks to just seven first-quarter points, tied for the second-fewest points by a CAA opponent over a single period.

SECOND-QUARTER NOTES
JMU opened on an 8-2 run, including a charge taken by Precious Hall, that pushed the Dukes out to a double-digit lead (20-9, 7:50). Midway through the second frame, both the Dukes and Seahawks went a combined 0-for-13 from the floor before it was broken up by a Porter layup. That stretch went on to 2-for-18 to close out the second quarter. JMU limited UNCW to just nine points in the frame.

THIRD-QUARTER NOTES
The Dukes closed the third frame on a 6-0 run and held UNCW to just one field goal over the final seven attempts. The Seahawks posted nine third-quarter points, marking three straight periods without reaching double figures. This is the first time this season JMU held an opponent to single digits in three periods in a game.

FOURTH-QUARTER NOTES
JMU kept UNCW from making a field goal until the 1:38 mark of the fourth quarter. The Seahawks scored the opening point of the period on a free throw, but the Dukes then posted an 8-0 stretch to push over the 20-point advantage mark.

Tomorrow will be 13 straight #CAAChamps semifinal appearances for @JMUWBasketball pic.twitter.com/yCbNzaZomZ
— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) March 10, 2017

UP NEXT
No. 2 JMU will face No. 3 Drexel in the CAA Semifinals on March 10 at 7 p.m. The Dragons defeated sixth-seeded Northeastern 68-50 in the final quarterfinal game.