HARRISONBURG, Va., Feb. 8, 2010 - Junior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) scored 31 points to lead James Madison (8-3, 18-4) to a 73-56 victory over Drexel (8-3, 14-8) in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball Monday evening at the JMU Convocation Center.

The win was JMU's third straight, while it was Drexel's second consecutive loss. With the victory the Dukes were able to move into a tie for third with Drexel in the CAA.  Both teams trail Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion, which are tied for first with 9-2 records.

Evans hit seven three-pointers, tying the Convocation Center record.  That record was already held by Evans, who also hit seven vs. Towson on Feb. 10, 2008.  Also sharing the record is William and Mary's Angie Evans, who had seven threes against the Dukes on Feb. 13, 1988.

Evans' 31 points marked her seventh season and 15th career game with 30-plus points.  She tied her own season record for 30-point games, set last season.

Redshirt senior guard Sarah Williams (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) also scored in double figures for the Dukes, tallying 10 points, seven of which came in the second half. Freshman guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) had eight points and a game-high seven assists. Junior forward/center Jalissa Taylor (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for JMU.

Senior forward Gabriela Marginean (Cluj-Napoca, Romania/Mt. de Chantal Academy) led the way for the Dragons, notching a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  Sophomore forwards Tyler Hale (Baltimore, Md./Towson Catholic) and Kamile Nacickaite (Siauliai, Lithuania/Regis Jesuit) scored 13 and 12, respectively.

After Drexel scored the first basket, the Dukes ran off a 16-4 run over the course of 7:39 in which Evans scored eight points, including two three-pointers.

JMU went into the break with a 33-26 advantage and only allowed the Dragons to shoot 11-for-31 (35.5%) from the field, including 2-for-12 (16.7%) on three-pointers.

In the second half, the Dragons were eventually able to cut the Dukes' lead to two (46-44) on a three-pointer by Nacickaite with 9:49 remaining and again on a Hale jumper (50-48) with 8:11 to play, but never got closer.

An Evans three-pointer keyed a 13-2 JMU run over the next 4:21 to extend the lead to 13 (63-50 at 3:50). Evans had nine points in the run, including the first seven.

The Dukes shot 29-for-59 (49.2%) from the field for the game and 10-for-18 (55.6%) from beyond the arc.