JMU coach Kenny Brooks became the second coach in James Madison women’s basketball history to reach the 300-win mark when the Dukes picked up a 77-68 win at Hofstra on Friday night at the Mack Sports Complex.
JMU improved to 10-0 in Colonial Athletic Association action and 19-2 overall while Hofstra fell to 6-5 against CAA foes, 13-9 overall. Brooks needs just three wins to become the all-time winningest coach in JMU women’s basketball history with Shelia Moorman currently holding the title with 302 career victories.
The Dukes led by as many as 26 points in the contest, holding a 48-22 lead with 18:40 left in the game. The Pride, however, outscored the Dukes 48-33 in the second half that included an 18-6 Hofstra run to cut the lead to four points (70-66) with 1:44 left to play.
JMU, however, buckled down and scored the final five points of the game to come away with a 77-68 victory. Redshirt-junior guard Jazmon Gwathmey sank the first of two free-throw attempts, but redshirt-senior center Lauren Okafor snagged the offensive board to keep the ball in JMU’s possession. With a new shot clock, junior point guard Angela Mickens found a driving Ashley Perez (junior guard) for the jumper. A pair of free throws by junior guard Precious Hallgave the Dukes a nine-point advantage that withstood the final 40 seconds of the game.
Hall led the Dukes with 23 points, going 8-for-18 from the floor, for her 13th 20+ scoring performance of the season. Mickens added in 11 points alongside a career-high 11 rebounds for the first point-rebound double-double of her career and her second overall double-double. Mickens added a game-high seven assists while Perez dished out a career-high six assists.
Hofstra was led by Kelly Loftus, who dropped 30 points in the game. Of those 30 points, 28 came in the second half as she sunk six 3-pointers and went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line during the second stanza. Darius Faulk added 15 points for the Pride to round out the double digit scorers.
JMU shot 41.7 percent from the floor (25-of-60) with a 51.7 percent clip (15-of-29) in the first half. All nine Dukes to see action in Friday night’s game scored, with eight scoring at least six points each.
Hofstra finished shooting 30.6 percent from the floor (22-of-72), including 42.4 percent (14-of-33) in the second half.
The Pride’s only lead of the game came 3:07 after tip-off, a three-point advantage (7-4) courtesy of a Krystal Luciano 3-pointer. The Dukes followed with a 32-7 run, including a 22-2 stretch that left Hofstra without a field goal for 9:34 of the half and allowed Madison to push the advantage to 22 points (36-14, 4:22).
The Dukes have a quick turnaround as they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for a Sunday matinee game at Drexel. Action between the Dukes and Dragons begins at 2 p.m. with JMU holding the season series 1-0 after a 66-51 win at home on January 18.
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Chris Graham
