James Madison Locks Down Georgetown, Earns WNIT Semifinal Berth
HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 31, 2019) – A dominant defensive effort led James Madison past visiting Georgetown, 54-44, on Sunday afternoon in the WNIT quarterfinals.
James Madison (29-5) held Georgetown to 27.3-percent shooting in the game and limited the Hoyas to 10 or fewer points in three quarters. The Dukes’ defensive efforts upped their total of holding an opponent to 10 or fewer points in a quarter to 46 times in 136 quarters.
Into the WNIT semifinals for the second time in program history and first since 2012, James Madison will host Northwestern on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 p.m. ET.
After spotting Georgetown the first basket of the second quarter, the Dukes pulled away, going on an 11-0 run over a 6:21 span. Kayla Cooper-Williams had four points in the run and six for the quarter. James Madison’s defense came through once again, holding Georgetown to just three field goals and seven points for the quarter as the Dukes took a 25-17 lead into the half.
The Dukes sealed the WNIT semifinal berth with a second 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, fueled by 3-pointers from Jackie Benitez, Madison Green and Kamiah Smalls, the last of which pushed JMU’s edge to 18, 54-36, with 5:30 remaining in the game.
Benitez led JMU with 14 points, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while Smalls added 13 and Cooper-Williams 12 points to go along with nine rebounds.
The win was JMU’s second over Georgetown this season and was the 16
th overall time this year the Dukes have held an opponent under 50 points.
The victory pushed James Madison’s home-court winning streak to 31 games, the third-longest active streak in the NCAA and second-longest run in program history.