Jazmon Gwathmey has been the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Player twice.
JMU Picked to Repeat as Women's Basketball Champions
Kelly McCarthy
BALTIMORE, Md. (October 27, 2015) – James Madison, the two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball champion, was picked to win it all again in 2016 according to a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches. The predicted order of finish, along with the Preseason All-CAA Teams, were announced at Tuesday’s CAA Basketball Media Day at The Center Club in Baltimore, Md.
The Dukes were the overall favorite while Drexel was picked second, Hofstra was chosen third, and Elon was selected fourth. Delaware was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll followed by William & Mary in sixth. Rounding out the 10 teams, in order, were: UNCW, Towson, College of Charleston and Northeastern.
James Madison and 2015 CAA Coach of the Year
Kenny Brooks welcome back two starters from last year’s 29-4 squad which captured its second consecutive CAA Championship. The Dukes, who won 20 of their last 22 games, went 17-1 in CAA action and received votes in the national polls at season’s end. JMU was ranked as high as No. 21 last season.
Back to lead JMU is redshirt senior guard
Jazmon Gwathmey, who was named the 2015-16 CAA Preseason Player of the Year. Gwathmey, the two-time CAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, contributed 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season and earned a spot on the All-CAA Third Team. Preseason All-CAA guard
Angela Mickens is back for her senior campaign. Mickens was fourth in the nation in assists, dishing out 7.6 per game en route to All-CAA Second Team honors and was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award recognizing the top point guard in the nation.
Drexel notched its third 20-win season under Head Coach
Denise Dillon last year, went 14-4 in conference play, and made an appearance in the WNIT. The Dragons boasted on of the top defenses, finishing the year ranked 16th in the nation in scoring defense (55.1 ppg). Drexel was the second-best free throw shooting team in the country, connecting 77.8 percent of the time. Junior forward
Sarah Curran is coming off a stellar season in which she was an All-CAA First Team selection after dropping in 12.1 points per game. Guard
Rachel Pearson returns for her senior season after averaging 11.0 points per game and picking up All-CAA Second Team honors.
Hofstra returns four starters from a squad that made a run into the CAA Championship final and secured an at-large bid to the WNIT. Head Coach
Krista Kilburn-Steveskey’s squad was the only league team to defeat JMU during the regular season. The Pride is led by 2015 CAA Rookie of the Year
Ashunae Durant who contributed 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at the forward position. Also back for Hofstra are guards
Kelly Loftus, who averaged 12.5 points per game, and
Darius Faulk, who was second in the CAA in assists per game (5.3) last season.
Elon made a splash in its CAA debut going 19-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play under Head Coach
Charlotte Smith. The Phoenix advanced to the semifinals of the CAA Championship and earned an at-large bid to the WNIT, for their first-ever appearance in the tournament. Elon will be led by sophomores
Shay Burnett, who averaged 10.5 and 5.4 rebounds en route to CAA All-Rookie honors, and
Malaya Johnson, who posted 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Guard
Essence Baucom brings her 4.5 assists and 6.7 points per game to the backcourt.
The Preseason All-CAA First Team was comprised of: JMU’s Gwathmey and Mickens, Drexel’s Curran, Hofstra’s Durant, and College of Charleston’s
Bre Bolden (14.2 ppg/3.0 steals/g).
Voted to the Preseason All-CAA Second Team were: Elon’s Burnett, Delaware’s
Erika Brown (14.2 ppg/3.1 rpg), Northeastern’s
Samantha DeFreese (13.9ppg/7.0ppg), Drexel’s
Rachel Pearson (11.0ppg/3.9rpg), and William & Mary’s
Marlena Tremba (12.5 ppg/3.1 rpg).
Receiving honorable mention were: Delaware’s
Courtni Green (14.2ppg), Towson’s
Dominique Johnson (13.2 ppg), James Madison’s
Ashley Perez (9.2ppg), and UNCW’s
Naqaiyyah Teague (7.1ppg/8.0rpg).
Conference play tips-off on January 3 and concludes on March 2. All 10 teams head to the 2016 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship, March 9-12, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. Tickets for the 2016 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship are currently on sale via
CAAsports.com/tickets.
| 2015-16 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH |
| 1. |
James Madison |
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| 2. |
Drexel |
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| 3. |
Hofstra |
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| 4. |
Elon |
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| 5. |
Delaware |
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| 6. |
William & Mary |
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| 7. |
UNCW |
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| 8. |
Towson |
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| 9. |
College of Charleston |
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| 10. |
Northeastern |
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| 2015-16 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS |
| First Team |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Bre Bolden, CofC%^ |
Jr. |
G |
5-11 |
Edgewater, Md./South River |
| Sarah Curran, Drexel* |
Jr. |
F |
5-11 |
Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll |
| Ashunae Durant, Hofstra&^ |
So. |
F |
5-10 |
Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech |
| Jazmon Gwathmey, James Madison# |
R-Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Bealeton, Va./Liberty |
| Angela Mickens, James Madison^ |
Sr. |
G |
5-7 |
Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee |
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|
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| Second Team |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Erika Brown, Delaware^ |
Jr. |
G |
5-7 |
Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy |
| Shay Burnett, Elon |
So. |
G |
5-9 |
Graham, N.C./Southern Alamance |
| Samantha DeFreese, Northeastern# |
Sr. |
F |
6-0 |
Bergenfield, N.J./Berkshire School |
| Rachel Pearson, Drexel^ |
Sr. |
G |
5-11 |
West Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll |
| Marlena Tremba, William & Mary# |
Jr. |
G |
5-9 |
Vienna, Va./Paul VI |
& 2014-15 CAA Rookie of the Year % 2014-15 CAA Defensive Player of the Year
*1st Team All-CAA in 2014-15 ^ 2nd Team All-CAA in 2014-15 #3rd Team All-CAA in 2014-15
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Honorable Mention: Courtni Green, Sr., G., Delaware; Dominique Johnson, Sr., G; Towson;
Ashley Perez, Sr., G, JMU; Naqaiyyah Teague, Jr., G, UNCW
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| CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Jazmon Gwathmey, James Madison |
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