JMU women get another CAA win

  
Staff Report
JMU sports: www.jmusports.com

Junior forward Jalissa Taylor (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) recorded her first double-double of the season as James Madison (2-1, 12-2) defeated George Mason (0-3, 7-7) 62-50 in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.

Taylor had 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while junior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) had a team-high 16 points and junior center Lauren Jimenez (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) had 12 points.

Junior guard Brittany Poindexter (Kensington, Md./Holy Cross) led the way for the Patriots with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard/forward Amber Easter (Hampton, Va./Bethel) had 12 points in the loss.

George Mason never led as JMU scored the first nine points of the game on its first four possessions and didn’t let the Patriots get within five points for the remainder of the contest.

The Dukes went into halftime up 35-14 after holding the Patriots to 6-for-26 (23.1%) shooting, including 0-for-5 from the three-point line. It was George Mason’s lowest scoring half of the season.

The Dukes dominated the glass throughout the game, out-rebounding the Patriots 59-38, including a 32-16 halftime advantage. George Mason wasn’t able to corral a rebound until the 16:30 mark in the first half.

Freshman guard/forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) pulled down eight rebounds for the Dukes, a new career high, in addition to her four assists. The Dukes’ 59 rebounds were a season-high.

JMU took its largest lead of the game when it went up 47-24 with 14:01 left in the second half, but the Patriots outscored the Dukes 26-15 over the final 14 minutes to make the final 12-point difference.

With the win, JMU extends its home winning streak to nine games, while George Mason’s losing streak now stands at four games.