JAMES MADISON FENDS OFF VCU 79-70, FACES ODU IN TITLE GAME
HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 13,
2010) - Second-seeded James Madison nearly saw its 18-point lead diminished,
but the Dukes held off No. 3 VCU, 79-70, in the second semifinal of the 2010
Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women's Basketball Championship.
The Dukes (25-6) will play
in the championship game for the second-straight year, when they take on
top-seeded Old Dominion tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in a televised contest on
Comcast SportsNet. This will be the sixth meeting between the Dukes and Lady
Monarchs (18-12) all-time in the conference championship game, with ODU holding
a perfect 5-0 record.
Junior Dawn Evans
(Clarksville, Tenn.) scored a team-high 21 points, including the game-clinching
free throws in the final minute. Sophomore Kiara Francisco (Lakeland, Fla.) was
perfect from the floor, going 7-for-7, to tally 18 points and tying a
tournament record, while junior Lauren Jimenez chipped in 14, respectively.
VCU senior Kita Waller
(Gainesville, Ga.) led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting,
including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Senior D'Andra Moss (Atlanta, Ga.) scored
18 points, while sophomores Courtney Hurt (Loganville, Ga.) and Jennifer Lane
(Wichita Kan.) each totaled 10 points. The Rams drop to 20-12 with the loss.
With the game knotted at
seven, the Rams went on a 9-2 run, capped off by a Moss three pointer with
12:47 remaining in the first half to take a 16-9 lead.
The Dukes responded with
22-2 run over the next 9:18 to grab a 31-18 advantage with 3:29 before
halftime. Francisco scored 11 during the run, including the last seven to give
the Dukes their first double-digit lead of the contest.
Evans drained a three
pointer with one second to go to send the Dukes into the locker room with a
43-25 lead, their largest of the game.
VCU opened the second
frame nailing its first eight shot attempts in the first 2:35 to cut the JMU
lead to five, 49-44, with a 19-5 run. Teams traded baskets, but Hurt brought
the Rams to within two, at 59-57, after sinking a pair of free throws with 9:18
to go in the game.
The Dukes went back up
six, 63-57, when Francisco converted the old-fashioned three-point play with
7:59 remaining.
The Rams closed to within a
single point with just under five minutes to play on a runner from Ebony
Patterson (Chesterfield, Va.), but they would never be able to tie or take the
lead away from JMU.
The Dukes scored on the following
possessions and free throws in the final minutes to clinch the victory over the
Rams for the second consecutive semifinal.