CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECAP - JAN. 25
James Madison 72, Old Dominion 67
Box Score
NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 25, 2009 -- Led by a Constant Center opponent-record 36 points by sophomore guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast), James Madison beat Old Dominion 72-67 in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball Sunday afternoon.
The victory ended ODU's 37-game home winning streak against CAA teams and was only the third home loss the Monarchs have suffered to a CAA team in 18 seasons of league play (164-3 record).
JMU improved to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the CAA with its fourth consecutive win. ODU's overall record now stands at 11-6 overall and 6-1 in league play. The Monarchs saw a six-game winning streak end.
JMU and ODU are now tied for first place in the CAA standings.
Evans' scoring performance surpassed the arena opponent scoring record held by former national Player of the Year Candace Parker of Tennessee, who scored 32 against the Monarchs. She had her sixth career 30-point game and fifth 30-point game of the year, both team records.
Also scoring in double figures for the Dukes was freshman guard Brittany Crowell (Brandywine, Md./Gwynn Park), who hit three three-pointers for the third consecutive game and finished with 10 points.
JMU redshirt senior forward Nina Uqdah (Lanham, Md./Riverdale Baptist) was the Dukes' top rebounder with eight. Senior forward Kisha Stokes (New York, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum), playing after missing her first career game last week due to an ankle injury, had seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Three ODU players scored in double figures, led by Jessica Canady's 18 points. Mairi Buchan added 15 and Jen Nuzzo scored 14.
The game's leading rebounder was ODU's Tiffany Green with 14.
ODU scored the game's first seven points and jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the 14:04 mark. Canady tallied the Monarchs' first nine points, and Nuzzo capped the run with a three-pointers.
JMU responded with an 8-0 run to cut the margin to 14-10 at 12:27, but another Nuzzo three-pointer pushed the ODU lead back to seven, 17-10, at 12:15.
However, the Dukes scored 11 unanswered points, with Evans netting nine of them, to pull ahead to a 21-17 advantage with 9:41 to play.
JMU never trailed after that point, although ODU tied the game on three occasions, once in the first half and twice in the second period.
ODU got a three-pointer from Buchan and a traditional three-point play from Sierra Little to offset an Uqdah basket and tie the game at 23-23 at 6:47.
But Crowell nailed back three-pointers in a span of 27 seconds, the second one following an ODU turnover, to put JMU back on top 29-23 with 6:04 left.
The Monarchs outscored the Dukes 11-6 down the stretch, with Canady scoring five of those, to close the gap to 35-34 at halftime.
After JMU redshirt junior guard Sarah Williams (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) opened the second half with a three-pointer, ODU scored the game's next four points to again tie score at 38-38 at 18:09.
The game's last tie was 40-40 with 10:02 remaining in the second half.
Then JMU used a 10-3 run to build a seven-point lead, 50-43, with 11:48 left. Evans scored six and sophomore center Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) had four for the Dukes.
ODU then scored six points following two JMU turnovers, first on a traditional three-point play by Canady and then on a three-pointer by Nuzzo, to get within one, 50-49, at 9:10.
Following a JMU timeout, the Dukes outscored ODU 10-5 in a five-minute span, with Evans scoring eight of those, to push the lead to six (60-54 at 2:56).
The Monarchs got no closer than five points the rest of the way. JMU scored its last 12 points at the foul line and was 12-for-14 in the last 2:30. Evans was six-for-six, and Uqdah (2-2), Williams (3-4) and Crowell (1-2) also hit foul shots.
In the second half the Monarchs shot only 18.8 percent (6-32) from the field and 57.6 percent (19-33) from the foul line. JMU, meanwhile, connected on 37 percent (10-27) from the floor and 80 percent (16-20) at the free throw line in the second period.
It was the Dukes' first win on the Monarchs' home court since a 76-61 JMU victory on Jan. 9, 1991 at the ODU Field House.
Delaware 70, George Mason 53
Box Score
NEWARK, Del. -- Sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo exploded for a career-high 25 points and also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds as the University of Delaware snapped a six-game losing streak and won its first Colonial Athletic Association game of the season with an easy 70-53 women's basketball victory over George Mason Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Sophomore guard Tesia Harris added 13 points and seven rebounds, junior guard Corinthia Benison chipped in with 11 points and added five rebounds, four assists, and five steals, and Jocelyn Bailey came off the bench to contribute nine points as the Blue Hens (9-9, 1-6 CAA) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes and cruised to the 17-point victory.
George Mason (2-16, 0-7 CAA), which got 19 points and seven rebounds from Brittany Poindexter, lost its eight straight game and fell to 1-9 on the road this season under first-year head coach Jeri Porter. Rachel Robinson added 12 points and Eugenia Broadus contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Patriots committed 22 turnovers, hit just 38.5 percent of its shots from the field (20 of 52) and missed on all nine of its attempts from beyond the three-point line.
"Today was a very impressive win, and we needed it in a big way," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose team downed the Patriots for the ninth time in the last 10 meeting. "If Vanessa and Corinthia can keep playing the way they are right now and Tesia can catch fire after knocking down some shots today, then I think we're back in business."
The Hens, who scored 22 points off 22 George Mason turnovers and shot 46.7 percent from the field (14 of 30) in the opening half, won for the first time since a 66-60 victory over Loyola-Marymount to capture the LMC Tournament Dec. 29 in Los Angeles. Delaware also snapped a three-game home losing streak and posted its second highest win margin of the season.
Kabongo, a 5-10 guard from Toronto, Canada and the team’s second leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, was impressive from the outset as she scored 16 of her points in the first half to lead the Hens to a 38-25 lead at the break. She knocked down 8 of 13 shots from the field for the game and also hit 9 of 11 free throws and collected three steals in just 28 minutes of action.
Delaware made a statement early as the Hens jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes with Kabongo and Harris combining for nine of those points. George Mason missed its first four shots from the field and turned the ball over three times before a jumper by Robinson at the 16:09 finally put them on the board. The Hens led by at least seven points the rest of the half, going up by as much as 17 points at 27-10 on a free throw by Eva Riddick with 6:23 left and headed into intermission up 38-25.
George Mason pulled to within nine points at 40-31 on a jumper by Robinson 2:16 into the second half, but never seriously threatened again as Bailey followed with a three-point play to push the lead back to double figures where it stayed the remainder of the game. Delaware took its biggest lead of the game at 21 twice in the second half, increasing the lead to 67-46 on a three-pointer by Harris with 2:21 left and to 68-47 on a Harris free throw at the 1:41 mark.
Drexel 60, Towson 41
Box Score
Philadelphia - Drexel used its best shooting game of the season, 58.3 percent from the floor, and a combination of 19 points from Gabriela Marginean and 15 from Jasmina Rosseel to dispatch Towson (11-6, 3-4) 60-41 on Homecoming at the DAC. Shanae Baker-Brice led the Tigers with 14 points and three assists. The Dragons improve to 10-8 on the season and 5-2 in CAA play. The contest was viewed by a regional television audience on The Comcast Network.
After a sloppy start that included six turnovers in the first three minutes of play, Drexel settled itself to make 11-of-19 shots in the first half (57.9 percent) and recover from a seven-point deficit in the early going of the contest. While the Tigers' pressure defense pestered the Dragons into committing 22 turnovers, Drexel's defense in half-court sets provided the lift it needed to pull away for a sizeable win. The Dragons held Towson to just 27.1 percent shooting from the floor and 18.8 percent from deep.
Trailing 9-2 after a rash of early turnovers, Drexel used a steal and a break-away layup by Jasmina Rosseel to swing the momentum. Marginean reeled off three straight buckets to put Drexel on top 10-9 at the 14:32 mark. While the Dragons would struggle through a stretch of more than five an a half minutes without a score, their play on the defensive end of the court kept Towson from pulling ahead. By the time Brooke Cornish splashed in a 19-footer from the wing, momentum had clearly shifted toward the navy blue and gold.
Drexel opened the second half with a 13-4 run to push its lead to a comfortable 17 points before Towson's high-powered offense, led by speedy guard Shanae Baker-Brice, kicked in to gear. The Tigers would use five points from Baker-Brice and a long three by Brandy Black to spark an 8-2 run and trim Drexel's lead to 12 points midway through the period.
But Marginean would answer the call for the Dragons yet again, driving the land for a contested layup and following it with a spin move into the paint to free herself for a pull-up jumper. Marisa Crane came off the bench to energize the team as well. Her steal and sprint-out layup forced a Towson time-out and less than a minute later her hanging mid-range jumper found its mark to put Drexel on top 54-35. Cornish drained another shot from long range to give the Dragons their largest lead of the game, 57-35, with 5:29 left on the clock.
Drexel's victory preserves the Dragons' sterling 4-0 mark in conference home games this season. It is also their sixth straight victory in televised contests. In a rivalry that has been hotly contested in recent years, the 19-point Drexel win was the Dragons' largest victory over the Tigers since the 2001-02 season. Towson had won four of its last five against Drexel, including two of three last year and a season-ending victory over the Dragons in the CAA Tournament.
Hofstra 59, Georgia State 49
Box Score
Atlanta, GA -- Junior center Jess Fuller had 14 points, four rebounds and four blocks, while freshman guard Nicole Capurso added 14 points and four three-pointers to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a 59-49 victory over Georgia State on Sunday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
Hofstra improves to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with its third win in its last four games. Georgia State, which has lost four straight, falls to 9-8 and 2-5 in conference action.
With Georgia State leading 9-8 after a pair of free throws from Crystal Johnson at the 16:08 mark of the first half, a jumper from freshman forward Joelle Connelly with 15:46 left in the opening stanza would start a 7-0 Hofstra run that culminated with a three-pointer from Capurso with 13:48 to play. The Panthers would close the gap to as few as two the rest of the first half, the last time with 3:18 remaining after two Dana Olson free throws. A three-pointer from senior guard Natty Fripp with under a minute to play would push the Pride advantage back up to six, 29-23, but Olson ended the first half scoring with a lay-up with 11 seconds left.
A jumper from Fuller with 14:23 left in the second half would allow Hofstra to take its largest lead of the game up to that point at 41-31 before Georgia State scored four straight and got within 41-35 at the 13:06 mark after two free throws from Shay Rawls. With the possession back in the Panthers' hand, Stacie Young would miss a layup for GSU and the Pride would get a huge three-pointer from the top of the key from senior guard Niki Williams to turn what looked to be just a four-point lead into a nine-point (44-35) advantage with 12:16 left in regulation.
In all it would be an 11-0 run for Hofstra as the Pride managed to take a commanding 52-35 lead after a three-pointer from Capurso with 9:51 to play. The three would be Capurso's fourth of the game and the Staten Island, NY native would tally five of the Pride's points during the run.
Fripp finished with nine points and six rebounds for the Pride, who also got a game-high six assists from Williams. Atlanta, Georgia native Aamira Terry chipped in with eight points in her return home.
Jylisa Williams posted a double-double to lead the way for the Panthers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Shay Rawls added six points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
UNC Wilmington 73, VCU 60
Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Sophomore guard Treasure Johnson poured in 16 points off the bench as UNC Wilmington led from wire-to-wire and toppled VCU, 73-60, in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball action Sunday at Trask Coliseum.
With the win UNCW pushes its record to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in the CAA. VCU, who had a five-game winning streak halted, fell to 15-4 overall and 5-2.
Led by Johnson, the Seahawks had four players in double figures. Sophomore forward Brittany Blackwell scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season while junior guard Greta Luksyte chipped in 13. Sophomore guard Sheronda “Shorty” McLean, who also matched her career-high with eight rebounds, added a career-high 10 points. UNCW, who was without the services of senior forward Sahsha Taylor, shot a season-high 53.1 percent from the field and dominated in the paint, outscoring the Rams by 18, 42-24. Sophomore Martha White, who earned her first career start in place of Taylor, chipped in a season-best eight points and recorded career-highs of seven rebounds and four assists.
The Rams were led by junior forward D’Andra Moss who scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Senior guard Radoslava Bachvarova added 16 points. VCU entered the game outscoring its conference opponents by 20.2 points per game. VCU’s leading scorer, senior Quanitra Hollingsworth, was held to a season-low four points.
UNCW dominated the first half as seven different Seahawks broke into the scoring column with Johnson’s nine leading the team. The Seahawks built a 38-19 halftime advantage on the strength of a 24-10 scoring difference in the paint.
Blackwell gave UNCW its largest lead of the contest, 54-30, with a jumper from the left side with 12:12 remaining in the contest. VCU moved to within 11, 69-58, with 1:20 left on a short jumper by Bachvarova.
Northeastern 59, William & Mary 55
Box Score
Northeastern overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to defeat William & Mary 59-55 Sunday afternoon at Solomon Court. Northeastern¹s Brittany Wilson hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to secure the victory for the Huskies. NU scored 40 of its 59 points in the paint and shot 46.2 percent from the field
Northeastern was lead by Kim Carr who had game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (9), and added four steals and three blocks. Jasmine Crew added 16 points, five assists, five boards and two steals. Wilson contributed with a career-high 14 points and six rebounds
Taysha Pye lead the way for the Tribe, producing 14 points, eight boards, and four assists. Katy Oblinger and Tiffany Benson had 12 points apiece.
With the win Northeastern improves to 7-11 overall and 4-3 in the CAA. William & Mary drops to 10-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
W&M looked for the deep ball throughout the first half going 6-15 from beyond the arc. Katy Oblinger nailed three trifectas in a row to put the Tribe up 17-10 with 10:15 left in the half. Off a William & Mary miss, Jasmine Crew grabbed the board and went coast-to-coast for a fast-break lay-up, which she got fouled, and finished up the three-point play cutting the lead down by two, 17-15.
However the Tribe went on a 9-2 run putting them up by 11, 32-21 going into the half.
William & Mary came out strong in the second half going up by as many as 16 with 16 ticks left on the clock. However the Northeastern bench gave the team some much needed sparks. Freshman Kashaia Cannon hit a jumper to cut the lead down to 14. Then off a Tribe miss, Jamie Conroy pushed the ball down the court feeding Kim Carr for the easy lay-up. In the following possession, Conroy stole the ball then got fouled by Courtney Portell.
Conroy would go on to hit the two free throws bring NU to within 10, 41-31.
The Tribe hit back-to-back buckets to increase their lead, but the Huskies fought back thanks to a Cannon three pointer from Conroy, who had a game-high five dimes, cutting W&M¹s lead to single digits. The following play, Carr stole the ball from Tiffany Benson and laid the ball up bring the score to 47-40 with 9:58 to go.
The Huskies would go on an 8-0 run, capitalized by a Wilson theft and lay-up, tying up the contest at 53 all. The next play Conroy stole the ball which lead to a Jasmine Crew jumper giving the Huskies their first lead, 55-53, since they led 6-5 with 12:36 to go in the first half.
Carr hit a lay-up, with 24 seconds left to put NU up four, 57-53. Following a Northeastern foul, Taysha Pye hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead down by two. The Huskies would make a costly turnover with 14 seconds left.
William & Mary¹s Katy Oblinger went for the desperation three with eight seconds left, but fell just short as NU held the Tribe off for the win.
The Huskies return back to the hardwood when they host Delaware Thursday night at 7 p.m. on Solomon Court.