A 22-point game by Liberty redshirt senior guard/forward Devon Brown (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) helped boost the Flames (5-3) to a 60-48 win at James Madison (3-5) Tuesday evening at the JMU Convocation Center.
The Flames, who had lost four straight to JMU, won for only the second time in nine meetings and for the first time on JMU’s home court.
JMU, which dropped its second home game in three days, has now lost consecutive home games to non-conference opponents for the first time since December 1993.
Brown was 6-for-14 from the field, hit all nine of her free throws and had six rebounds and two assists. She has not missed from the foul line (18-18) this season.
Joining Brown in double figures for Liberty was redshirt sophomore guard Emily Frazier (Magnolia, Texas/Homeschooled) with 10. Junior forward/center Jasmine Gardner (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) led all players in rebounds with nine.
JMU’s top scorers were senior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) with 12 and senior forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) with 10.
Down 13-8 with 11:18 left in the opening half, the Flames nailed three 3-pointers in an 11-4 run to take their first lead, 19-17, on a long trey by Frazier with 5:13 to play. Senior guard LaKendra Washington (Milwaukee, Wis./The Hope School) started the run with a 3, and sophomore guard Reagan Miller (Sanger, Texas/Sanger) also knocked down a 3-pointer during the stretch.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Liberty outscored the Dukes 12-5 to take a 33-24 lead into intermission. The Flames held JMU without a field goal in the last three minutes while Miller and Brown each hit a 3-pointer in the 2:45
In the opening half each team shot 34 percent, but Liberty outrebounded JMU 23-15 and took nine more shots (32-23) than the Dukes. The Flames were 5-for-10 from three-point range while JMU converted only one of seven 3-point tries.
Liberty held a double-digit lead for most of the second half, with JMU getting no closer than eight (44-36 at 13:19).
The Flames, who rank eighth in the NCAA in rebounding margin, held a 42-35 advantage on the boards.
JMU’s 48 points is a season low and the lowest scoring output for the Dukes since losing 60-43 at home to Drexel on Jan. 12, 2012.
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