Jefferson's Dominant Fourth Quarter Pushes Dukes Past Towson

Sunday, January 3

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

5-3,1-0CAA

Towson

5-3,0-1CAA

Towson

James Madison

Jefferson's Dominant Fourth Quarter Pushes Dukes Past Towson

1/3/2021 6:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score @JMUWBasketball Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Sophomore Kiki Jefferson scored as many points in the fourth quarter as Towson did as a team to help James Madison secure the comeback to earn an 89-85 win in both team's women's basketball Colonial Athletic Association opener in the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Sunday.

The Dukes (5-3, 1-0 CAA) shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field including a nearly perfect performance from the charity stripe, hitting 90.9 percent (20-of-22) of their attempts to stay within range of the Tigers (5-3, 0-1 CAA).

After Towson dominated the second quarter by outscoring the Dukes 34-20 to take a 53-42 lead at the break, the Tigers continued their scoring tear by opening up a 15-point lead (64-49) with 4:12 remaining in the third. That was all the spark JMU needed as the Dukes ended the quarter on a 14-5 run capped off by two free throws from junior Nikki Oppenheimer to trail by three (69-63) after 30 minutes of action.

Early throughout the fourth quarter both teams were trading buckets then Jefferson knocked down back-to-back shots to give the Dukes a 77-76 lead with 3:43 remaining. Towson continued to fight, keeping the score tight to trail 81-80 (1:56) but that is when Jefferson took off by scoring JMU's last eight points including a perfect 4-of-4 at the line down the stretch to give the Dukes an 89-85 victory.

Jefferson could not be stopped in the fourth as she poured in 16 points on 100 percent shooting (5-of-5 FG, 6-of-6 FT) with four rebounds while Towson as a team put up 16 in the fourth. Jefferson finished the night with her second career double double in a career-high 24 points and a game- and season-high 11 rebounds.

Fellow classmate Rayne Tucker added a double double herself with 16 points, tied her career high and 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high tying two blocks. Freshman Peyton McDaniel posted 11 points, six rebounds, a season-high two blocks, one assist and a steal.

Quick Hits
- The Dukes improved to 5-0 in CAA openers under head coach Sean O'Regan's tenure
- With the win, the Dukes increase their series lead at home against Towson to 22-1
- Freshman Steph Ouderkirk came up clutch from deep, knocking down a game-high three treys on four attempts

Up Next
JMU will rematch Towson on Tuesday at 2 p.m. inside of the SECU Arena on FloSports.

Gallery: (1-3-2021) Dukes Open CAA with Win Against Towson