Rookie Kamiah Smalls averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in her debut.
Women's Basketball Weekly Honors - Nov. 14
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (November 14, 2016) – James Madison University swept the first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball weekly awards as Precious Hall was named the CAA Player of the Week while teammate Kamiah Smalls picked up CAA Rookie of the Week honors.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Precious Hall • James Madison University
Redshirt-Senior | Guard | Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School
Redshirt senior guard Precious Hall made her return to the hardwood in a big way for James Madison, averaging 31.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in two games. Hall a career-high 39 points against No. 13/14 Tennessee, her first game back to action after missing the 2015-16 season due to injury. The mark was the second-highest single-game total in JMU history. She led the Dukes against St. Francis Brooklyn with 24 points, including 13 of the first 17 JMU points in the contest.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Kamiah Smalls • James Madison University
Freshman | Guard| Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti
In her first weekend as a JMU Duke, guard Kamiah Smalls averaged 15.5 points on 63.2 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds in two games. In her collegiate debut against No. 13/14 Tennessee, she notched a double-double posting 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. She followed that up with seven rebounds and 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line against St. Francis Brooklyn.
#CAAHoops – The Week that Was
The CAA went a combined 9-4 to open the 2016-17 season.
College of Charleston (0-1): The Cougars opened the year with a tough loss to Charlotte. Bre Bolden pawed away a career-best eight steals, which vaulted her to the top of the CofC’s career steals list (243). Bolden also added a team-high 16 points as well as eight rebounds. Redshirt junior Tanisha Brown added 10 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the year.
Delaware (1-0): The Blue Hens opened the year with a 67-51 win over George Mason. Four players were in double digits, including Sade Chatman, who had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and sophomore Nicole Enabosi, who had 15 points and seven points. Rookie Bailey Kargo had 10 points in the win.
Drexel (2-0): The Dragons went 2-0 to open the season, picking up an 83-60 win over Penn State and a 69-44 victory over Delaware State. Senior Jessica Pellechio averaged 20 points over the two games. She matched a career high with 30 points, with a program-record eight three-pointers, against Penn State. She added 10 points and a career-high eight against Delaware State. Rookie Bailey Greenberg started both of Drexel’s games to open the season, averaging 10.5 points per game. She’s the first Dragon to reach double-digit scoring in her first two games as a freshman since Gabriela Marginean in 2007-08.
Hofstra (1-0): Junior Ashunae Durant picked up right where she left off last season, posting a game-high 19 points to help the Pride to a 62-42 win over Marist in the season opener. Rookie guard Sandra Karsten got her first taste of collegiate action on Friday, scoring eight points and picking up a rebound in 15 minutes. Sydni Epps got the starting nod as well, grabbing 11 boards.
James Madison (1-1): The Dukes went 1-1 to open the season, falling to No. 13/14 Tennessee at the Convocation Center before defeating St. Francis Brooklyn to give Head Coach Sean O’Regan his first win at the helm. The Dukes also announced that 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year Kayla Cooper-Williams would miss all of 2016-17 with a torn ACL which she sustained in the preseason.
UNCW (1-0): It was a total team effort in the Seahawks’ 64-56 win over Norfolk State, with 10 of the 12 players who saw action scoring at least one point. Junior transfer Jenny DeGraaf had a memorable debut, setting career highs by scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the. Rebekah Banks just missed a double-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and nine points.
Northeastern (2-0): The Huskies are off to a 2-0 start for the seconds-straight season, picking up a 78-59 win over Boston University and an 83-59 road win at Canisius. Sophomore guard Jess Genco averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the win victories. She scored 27 points in the season-opening win over BU, tying the program single-game record with seven three-pointers. Head coach Kelly Cole is 5-0 all-time at Northeastern (three seasons) during the opening weekend of the season.
Towson (1-0): Senior Raven Bankston led the Tigers to their first win in a season opener since the 2012-13 season. She exploded for 31 points, on 11-of-15 shooting, with four steals, three assists and two rebounds. Bankston's performance allowed the Tigers to score their most points in a game since 2003-04 in the 90-56 win over UMass Lowell.
William & Mary (0-1): Three players scored in double-figures, but the William & Mary was clipped by St. John’s. Seniors Marlena Tremba and Alexandra Masaquel led the way with 13 points apiece. Tremba added four assists, and three rebounds, while Masaquel chipped in with a career-high eight steals, picking up four boards, and an assist. Junior Abby Rendle added 10 points, while adding seven rebounds in her first game since January 22, 2016. Dating back to last year it is the eighth straight game in which Rendle has scored in double-figures.