JMU women hold off Hofstra, 68-60

JMU held off a second-half Hofstra surge, and the visiting Dukes posted a 68-60 win in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex.

JMU improved to 17-8 overall and solidified its second place in the league standings with an 11-2 record.  Hofstra dropped to 12-12 overall and 8-5 in CAA play.

Dukes senior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) scored a game-high 24 points, including a career-high four 3-pointers, to lead JMU.

JMU sophomore forward Toia Giggetts (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, and redshirt freshman guard Jazmon Gwathmey (Bealeton, Va./Liberty) added 10 points.  Junior guard Kirby Burkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) was JMU’s top rebounder with 12, and redshirt senior forward Kanita Shepherd (Garner, N.C./Garner Magnet) tied her career high with a season-high 10 rebounds.

Hofstra senior forward Shante Evans (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and sophomore guard Andreana Thomas (West Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) led the Pride in scoring with 16 points apiece, and senior forward/guard Candace Bond (Fort Washington, Md./Riverdale Baptist) scored 11.  Junior forward Anma Onyeuku (Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County) grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, and Evans finished with 14 rebounds.

It was a tale of two halves, as JMU limited the Pride to 23 percent (8-35) shooting in the opening period while the Dukes connected on 44 percent (16-36) of its field-goal tries.  The Dukes took a 39-21 lead into intermission.

However, the Pride outscored JMU 39-29 in the second period, when Hofstra connected on 47 percent (16-34) from the field while the Dukes only converted 24 percent (8-33) from the floor.

With JMU leading 51-35 after a Gwathmey fast-break layup with 13:05 to play, the Dukes went 0-for-12 from the floor while Hofstra outscored JMU 19-1 over a span of 7:13. An Onyeuku layup with 4:54 left gave the Pride its first lead of the game, 53-52.

After Hislop knocked down a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, Oneyku connected on a long jumper to tie the game at 55 with 4:06 to play.

JMU outscored the Pride 13-5 in the final 2:57 to pull away for the win.  The Pride was 2-for-8 from the field in final last four minutes, and after JMU took a 61-57 lead on a Shepherd layup with 1:26 left, Hofstra was forced to foul  The Dukes converted seven of eight free throws in the last 45.1 seconds to clinch the victory.