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HARRISONBURG, Va. – The James Madison Convocation Center is known around the Colonial Athletic Association as one of the toughest places to play for anyone.
Junior D’Andra Moss (Atlanta, Ga.) (right) poured in 20 points off the bench and senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.) tallied yet another double-double with 16 points, all in the second half, and 11 rebounds to lead the potent offensive attack. The VCU defense was the story holding the Dukes to just 8-of-32 shooting in the second half and 29.3% for the game. It also forced 21 JMU turnovers, including seven from one of the league’s best point guards in Dawn Evans. “I really can’t say enough about the effort our kids gave today,” Head Coach Beth Cunningham said. “Everyone knows how tough a place to play this easy and to come in with the intensity and focus we did is outstanding. We’ve been talking about putting together a full 40-minute game, and this is about as close as we can get at this point of the season.” It was a physical first half that featured five lead changes and three ties within the first 15 minutes of play. Back-to-back jumpers from senior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria) and freshman Jennifer Lane (Wichita, Kan.) staked the Black and Gold to an early 8-4 advantage with 14:00 to play in the half. After JMU tied the game at 8-8 on a Kanita Shepherd jumper, four points from emerging freshman Courtney Hurt (Loganville, Ga.) capped off a 10-4 VCU run that gave the Rams a six-point lead at 18-12 with 6:48 showing on the first half clock. The nation’s leading scorer would take over for the Dukes scoring seven straight points to claim a 19-18 in favor of James Madison with 5:11 left before halftime. VCU’s defense locked down for the final 3:28 of the half holding the Dukes without a field goal and five points from Moss sparked an 11-2 run that sent the Rams into the halftime break with a 31-23 advantage. After being held scoreless in the first half, Hollingsworth took over after the break with seven points in the first 3:13 to stake VCU to a 41-27 lead. Back-to-back jumpers from junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) sparked a 12-2 run mid-way through the second half as the Black and Gold held a 53-35 advantage with 12:42 to play. VCU’s lock down defense was outstanding holding James Madison to just two field goals over the final 10 minutes of action to give the Rams their second straight win at the Convocation Center. Moss’s 20 points led all scorers, while Hollingsworth’s double-double was her seventh of the year and 44th of her career. Hurt came off the bench to chip in a career-high 10 points, while junior Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga.) tallied nine points and Bachvarova finished with eight on the afternoon. Evans was held to just 5-of-20 shooting thanks to an outstanding defensive effort by Lane. The nation’s leading scorer entering the game was held to 17 points, over six points below her season average. Kisha Stokes was the only other Duke in double-digits with 11. The Rams are back in action on Thursday evening as they begin a three-game home stand when the Tribe of William & Mary visits the Siegel Center for a 7 p.m. contest.
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The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team made it look easy on Sunday afternoon as it gave a dominating second-half performance to give the Dukes of James Madison their worst loss in the CAA history inside the arena, 81-48. All rights reserved.
