James Madison Voted to Repeat as CAA Women’s Basketball Champions

10/21/2014 7:45:00 AM

BALTIMORE, Md. (October 21, 2014) – James Madison, the defending Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball champions, was picked to repeat in 2015 according to a vote of the league’s head coaches. The results of the poll were announced at Tuesday’s CAA Basketball Media Day at the Center Club in Baltimore, Md. Follow all of the Media Day happenings by logging on to Media Day Central. Fans can also watch our live Media Day Live Show by visiting CAA.TV on any internet connected device.

The Dukes were followed in the voting by Delaware, Drexel, and Hofstra. Towson was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll followed by league newcomer Elon in sixth. Northeastern was chosen seventh in the poll followed by William & Mary in eighth. College of Charleston and UNCW rounded out the poll.

James Madison and 2014 CAA Coach of the Year Kenny Brooks welcome back three starters from last year’s 29-6 squad which captured the 2014 CAA Championship and knocked off sixth-seeded Gonzaga University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes, who won 20 of their last 22 games, went 15-1 in CAA action and received votes in the national polls at season’s end.
Back to lead JMU is junior guard Precious Hall, who earned All-CAA second team honors last season after averaging 13.5 points per game. Senior forward Toia Giggetts also earned a spot on the All-CAA second team last season by registering 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior guard Jazmon Gwathmey contributed 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and earned CAA Tournament MOP honors.

Delaware posted its fifth-consecutive 20-win season last year and return four starters from a team that advanced to the WNIT. Head Coach Tina Martin and the Blue Hens will rely on junior guard Courtni Green, who averaged 10.1 points per game one year ago and drained 56 three-pointers. In the front court, Delaware will look to senior forward Joy Caracciolo. In her first season as a Blue Hen, Caracciolo averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Hannah Jardine returns to the front court for her sophomore season after contributing a solid 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a rookie, as is classmate Erika Brown, who appeared in all 31 games and averaged 7.3 points and 2.2 assists per game.

Drexel picked up 15 victories last season and the physical Dragons boasted one of the best defenses, finishing the year ranked ninth in the NCAA in scoring defense (55.8 ppg). The Dragons also took care of the ball, finishing the year ranked third nationally in turnovers per game (11.8) and sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.38). Guard play is key once again for Drexel with the return of juniors Meghan Creighton and Rachel Pearson in the back court. Pearson earned third-team All-CAA honors after posting 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while Creighton added 8.2 points per game and dished out a team-best 3.9 assists per game. Forward Sarah Curran is back for her sophomore season after dropping in 8.9 points per game and earning CAA All-Rookie honors one year ago.

Hofstra has a blend of youth and experience as they continue to build off a solid 2013-14 campaign. Three starters return, including sophomores Krystal Luciano and Elo Edeferioka, and junior Asia Jackson. Luciano stepped up at the guard position last season to lead the Pride with 98 assists and 30 steals. Edeferioka, who earned CAA All-Rookie honors, was dominant on the glass for the Pride, pulling down a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game with a team-high 25 blocks. Jackson added 7.6 points per game with 37 thefts.

Hall was selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-CAA First Team by JMU teammate Giggetts. Also earning first-team honors were: Towson’s LaTorri Hines-Allen (14.1 ppg/8.4 rpg), Northeastern’s A’lece Mark (15.0 ppg/4.0 rpg), and UNCW’s Kelva Atkins (15.8 ppg/5.5 rpg).

Voted to the Preseason All-CAA Second Team were: JMU’s Gwathmey, Delaware’s Green, Drexel’s Pearson, College of Charleston’s Mikaela Hopkins (8.6 ppg/2.3 bpg), and William & Mary’s Marlena Tremba (13.2 ppg/2.1 apg)

Tickets for the 2015 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. are currently on sale via CAAsports.com/tickets.

2014-15 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. James Madison
2. Delaware
3. Drexel
4. Hofstra
5. Towson
6. Elon
7. Northeastern
8. William & Mary
9. College of Charleston
10. UNCW

2014-15 CAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team	Cl.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/Previous School
Kelva Atkins, UNCW*	Sr.	G	5-4	Stern, N.C./Granville Central/Columbia St.
Toia Giggetts, James Madison*	Sr.	F	6-0	Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor
Precious Hall, James Madison*	Jr.	G	5-8	Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School
LaTorri Hines-Allen, Towson*	Sr.	F	6-1	Montclair, N.J./Montclair/Virginia Tech
A’lece Mark, Northeastern#	Sr.	G	5-7	Springfield, Mass./Loomis Chaffee Acad.

Second Team	Cl.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/Previous School
Courtni Green, Delaware	Jr.	G	5-7	Winchester, Va./Millbrook
Jazmon Gwathmey, James Madison	Jr.	G	6-2	Bealeton, Va./Liberty
Mikaela Hopkins, Coll. of Charleston	Sr.	F/C	6-5	Augusta, Ga./Thomas Sumter Acad.
Rachel Pearson, Drexel#	Jr.	G	5-11	West Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Marlena Tremba, William & Mary	So.	G	5-9	Vienna, Va./Paul VI

CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Precious Hall, James Madison

Honorable Mention: Joy Caracciolo, Sr., F, Delaware; Elo Edeferioka, So., F, Hofstra; Dominique Johnson, Jr., G, Towson; Brie Mobley, So., G, UNCW

* - 2^nd team All-CAA in 2013-14
# - 3^rd team All-CAA in 2013-14