JMU Falls to DePaul in NCAA Tournament

3/18/2016 3:44:04 PM

BOX SCORE

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 18, 2016) – The 11th-seeded James Madison battled hard in a fast-paced, high-energy contest with 6th-seeded DePaul, but ultimately dropped a 97-67 decision in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday afternoon.

The Dukes end the season with a 27-6 record overall, highlighted by a 20-game winning streak and a 17-1 record in CAA action. DePaul (26-8) advances to the round-of-32 where they will take on the winner of No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Central Arkansas on Sunday.

JMU senior guard Ashley Perez led all scorers with 20 points, and redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey was close behind at 19. Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double and three blocks. Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin joined her with 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Angela Mickens rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts with 10 points of her own as well as five assists, pushing her season total to 227 assists, the fifth most in CAA single season history. She brings her career total to 669, which is good for fifth all time in the CAA.

Gwathmey had a game-high three blocked shots, giving her 172 for her career. She also finished with 1,555 career points and 737 career rebounds.

The Blue Demons shot 53.6-percent (37-69) from the floor on the day, including a 52.4-percent (11-21) clip from beyond the arc to place six scorers in double-digit scoring figures. The Dukes shot 30.6 percent (22-72) from the floor.

Trading baskets to start the game, JMU took a 6-5 lead off a pair of Mickens free throws, but DePaul followed with a 10-0 run for a 15-6 lead heading into the first media timeout (1Q, 4:48).

The Blue Demons stretched it to a 12-0 run before Gwathmey drained a three-pointer that pulled the Dukes back within single-digits. DePaul, however, quickly used an 8-2 spurt to take a 14-point lead, the largest advantage of the first quarter, and finished the opening frame leading 27-14. The Blue Demons shot 55.6 percent (10-18) over the first 10 minutes, including a 4-for-8 showing from 3-point range, while the Dukes shot 22.2 percent (4-18) with a 2-for-6 mark from long range.

The Dukes closed the gap to 11 twice in the early goings of the second quarter before back-to-back 3-pointers from the Blue Demons pushed their lead out to 17, and JMU never got closer.