JMU HOLDS OFF DREXEL 77-73 IN OVERTIME THRILLER

Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 13, 2011 - Senior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) scored 27 points to lead James Madison (10-6, 3-1 CAA) to a 77-73 overtime victory over Drexel (10-5, 2-2 CAA) in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball on Thursday at the JMU Convocation Center.

Although the Dukes held a slight lead for almost the entire second half and pulled ahead by as many as six with 2:22 remaining, the Dragons came back to tie the game 67-67 on a long three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Hollie Mershon (Malvern, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) with seven seconds left in the game.  A three-pointer from JMU senior guard Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) rimmed out as time expired.

Evans scored the first points in overtime with three-pointer after 1:47 of play to give the Dukes a 70-67 lead.  After Drexel got a free throw each from sophomore forward Taylor Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford ) and junior forward Kamile Nacickaite (Siauliai, Lithuania/Regis Jesuit), the teams traded baskets to give the Dukes a 72-71 lead with 44 seconds to play.

On the next possession, after an Evans miss, senior forward/center Jalissa Taylor (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) collected the rebound, was fouled on a layup and converted the three-point play to put JMU up 75-71 with 24.3 seconds left.  After two free throws from Nacickaite brought the Dragons within two, Taylor missed two JMU free throws to give Drexel the ball with 11 seconds to play.  On the final possession, sophomore guard/forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) blocked Mershon's first shot and her second attempt glanced off the bottom of the rim.

Sophomore guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) collected the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to achieve the final margin.

Besides Evans, three Dukes scored in double figures on the evening. Hislop had 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, while Taylor and redshirt junior forward Lauren Whitehurst (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) each had double-doubles for JMU. Taylor had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Whitehurst had 10 points to go with a career-high 15 rebounds.

Drexel also had four players score in double figures.  Nacickaite had 27 points along with seven rebounds and four assists to lead the Dragons.  Senior guard Jasmina Rosseel (Ieper, Belgium/Sint-Theresia Instituut ) had 15 points, all on three-pointers, while Mershon and Wootton had 13 and 10, respectively.

The game was tightly contested throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than six at any point.  Although Drexel was 26-for-60 (43.3%) on field goals during regulation, the Dragons were held to just 1-for-8 (12.5%) shooting in the extra period.

The Dukes out-rebounded Drexel 48-32 for the game, despite the absence of senior center Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen), who is still out with an injury.