James Madison Routs Radford 62-35 in WNIT Second Round

Saturday, March 17

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

23-10

Radford

24-9

Radford

JMU

3/17/2018 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison got 52 points from the sophomore trio of Lexie Barrier, Kamiah Smalls and Kelly Koshuta and led Radford in rebounds by 23 as part of a 62-35 victory on Saturday night in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at the JMU Convocation Center.

JMU improved to 23-10 and advanced to the WNIT round of 16 in its fourth consecutive appearance (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018). RU finished its season at 24-9.

Barrier led all players with 19 points, giving her at least 19 in three of the last four games. Smalls was 6-for-9, including 3-for-4 from the arc, for 17 points. Koshuta added 16 points.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
JMU led Radford in rebounding 49-26 with five different players grabbing at least five rebounds and 10 collecting at least three boards. Redshirt-sophomore Kayla Cooper-Williams led the Dukes with seven while Koshuta and Smalls each had six. The +23 rebounding margin was the highest for JMU since +24 (53-29) in a 67-36 win over Bryant on Dec. 21.

FREE THROW SUCCESS
JMU started the game by making its first seven free throws. A miss with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter snapped a streak of 23 consecutive made free throws dating back to the third quarter against ETSU. JMU is shooting 83 percent (49-59) at the line over the last three games.

HIGHLIGHTS | COMPLETE PHOTO GALLERY

STARTING SUCCESS
In its last six victories, JMU has grabbed a significant early lead. The Dukes led 13-0 and 17-3 to open against the Highlanders. In the previous five victories, James Madison has enjoyed leads of 9-2 and 19-9 vs. ETSU, 9-0 against CofC, 11-0 vs. William and Mary, 15-8 vs. Delaware and 13-2 vs. UNCW.

LEXIE LIGHTING UP
Barrier's 19-point effort follows a career-high 24 in the CAA quarterfinals against College of Charleston and 27 in the WNIT opener against ETSU. The 71 points (17.7/game) in her last four games are her best four-game sequence of the season. She had a personal 8-0 run early in the first quarter and added JMU's first six points of the third quarter.

NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS

JMU held Radford under 10 points in three of the four quarters (five in the first, nine in the third and seven in the fourth)
JMU has now won 20 of its last 23 games following a 3-7 start
The Dukes need one more victory to reach 24 wins in 13 consecutive seasons
James Madison improved to 17-7 all-time in the WNIT and 15-2 at home.
JMU's nine steals matched the most for the team in the last nine contests
It was JMU's largest margin of victory (+27) and best field goal percentage defense (.245) in its last 10 games
In addition to the 49-26 advantage in rebounds, JMU's paint dominance extended to 34-18 in points in the paint

UP NEXT
JMU advanced to the WNIT round of 16 and will meet the winner of Sunday's 2 p.m. game between West Virginia and Saint Joseph's. The Dukes will not know the date or location of their next game until after that contest.