JAMES MADISON USES 22-3 RUN TO TAKE DOWN UNC WILMINGTON, 67-40

JAMES MADISON USES 22-3 RUN TO TAKE DOWN UNC WILMINGTON, 67-40

Bookmark and Share

HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 12, 2010) - Second-seeded James Madison used a 22-3 run to end the first half en route to a 67-40 victory over No. 10 UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women's Basketball Championship.

Freshman Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md.) scored a game-high 15 points and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Three other players scored in double figures for the Dukes, as junior Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J.) chipped in 11, and junior Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn.) and sophomore Kiara Francisco (Lakeland, Fla.) each posted 10.

The Seahawks were led by junior Treasure Johnson (Columbus, Ga.), who tallied a team-high 11 points. Juniors Martha White (Jacksonville, N.C.) and Brittany Blackwell (Raleigh, N.C.) scored eight and seven points, respectively.

The Dukes shot almost 38 percent (20-53) from the floor, while limiting the Seahawks to 31 percent (15-48) shooting. JMU shot very well from the free throw line, converting 23-of-27 attempts. The Dukes held a 39-32 rebounding advantage and forced 23 turnovers.

James Madison (24-6) will play in the second semifinal tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of the #3 VCU/#6 Hofstra matchup. UNC Wilmington ends its season with a 12-19 mark.

The Seahawks jumped out the early 8-0 lead two minutes in, but Jimenez scored seven of the game's next nine points to give the Dukes the 9-8 lead with 14:55 left in the first half. UNCW answered right back with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Johnson jumper, and the Seahawks led 14-9 with 13:23 remaining.

Junior Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va.) drained a pair of three pointers and Francisco scored five-straight points for the Dukes to give them a 20-15 advantage and a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. JMU led 33-17 at the break.

UNC Wilmington closed to within 10 at 43-33 with 13:17 remaining in the game, but that was as close as it would get. The Dukes went on a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes, capped off by a pair of Jimenez free throws to take a 59-38 lead.

Evans, a first team All-CAA selection and the league's second leading scorer (25.5 ppg), was held scoreless for nearly 30 minutes in the contest due to early foul trouble, but made a pair of field goals late in the second and drained all six attempts from the line.