JMU women even CAA record

Evans leads Dukes with 26 points

Staff Report
JMU sports: www.jmusports.com

Junior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) scored 26 points to lead three Dukes in double figures as James Madison (1-1, 11-2) took down Georgia State (1-1, 10-3) 68-60 in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Thursday evening at the JMU Convocation Center.

Freshman guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) and junior center Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) both tallied 14 points for the Dukes.

Senior forward Danyiell McKeller (Fayetteville, N./C./Westover) and senior guard Brittany Graham (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) each had 16 points to lead Georgia State.

Senior Sarah Williams (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Dukes, tying her career high. Freshman Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) had four points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the Dukes, including two blocks and a steal over the last 2:40 to help seal the win.

Evans’ 26 points were a game-high, despite the fact that she did not score until making a free throw with 5:51 left in the first half and her only first half field-goal was a three-pointer with 48 seconds on the clock. She moved from eighth to sixth on JMU’s career scoring list with 1,476 points.

The Panthers took a 28-27 lead into halftime, going 13-36 (36%) on field goals and 2-3 from behind the three-point line. JMU was 8-35 (23%) on first-half field goals and 1-6 from long range, although the Dukes were a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.

The game was still tight until midway through the second half, when Jimenez made a layup with 11:16 remaining to start a 17-3 run over the next 5:24. Evans scored seven straight points to put the Dukes up 59-49 before McKeller’s layup with 5:51 left ended the run.

The Panthers never got closer than four for the remainder of the game as Evans (4-4) and junior guard Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) (2-2) went a combined 6-6 on free throws in the final minute to seal the game.

There were 12 lead changes and 10 ties before JMU took the lead for good with 9:44 to go on Evans’ three-pointer.

The victory stretched JMU’s home winning streak to eight games and ended Georgia State’s three-game winning streak.