JMU Advances to CAA Championship Vs. ODU
March 13, 2010 • By Emmie Cleveland,
Print This Post
Email This Post
HARRISONGBURG — A Jay-Z song echoed throughout the locker room as the JMU women’s basketball team celebrated its 79-70 win over VCU in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
“We played that song again — ‘On to the Next One’ — because we got one more,” JMU coach Kenny Brooks said.
Thanks to their victory Saturday afternoon, the Dukes have the opportunity to claim their fifth CAA championship tomorrow against No. 1 seed Old Dominion.
“I told Dawn [Evans] that she needed to control the tempo of the game, and I told the bigs they needed to control the boards,” Brooks said. “And if we did those two things we would win the basketball game.”
Star guard Evans recorded her usual team-high points with 21 and dished out 11 assists, while the team as a whole outrebounded VCU 50-27. And as Brooks predicted, Madison came out on top.
But after heading into the break up 43-25, JMU was given a scare at the beginning of the second half when VCU opened with a 17-6 run to put the score within five points.
Just two minutes in, Evans made her second turnover of the half, and VCU converted from behind the arc. Before JMU made it across half, the Rams gained possession and sank another 3-pointer. On the Dukes’ inbound, junior forward Jalissa Taylor threw the ball away, for the Rams to notch an additional two points.
As soon as JMU touched the ball next, Brooks called a timeout.
“We knew they weren’t going to quit,” he said. “We knew that. They came out and they fought and they fought and they made some shots and they got their energy back up.
“We took all half to build a lead, and they took maybe two or three minutes to make it a game again.”
The Rams’ press gave them a comeback, but JMU was eventually able to break it.
“At first [the press] took us by surprise,” Evans said. “But as a point guard, I had to settle myself down so I could settle my team down.”
The heavy load Evans usually carries was lightened by her relatively unassuming teammate, sophomore Kiara Francisco. Francisco was 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 at the line.
“I thought Kiara did a fantastic job all night long,” Brooks said. “You know, she was just that extra person to give us a wrinkle and a drive in. She was the beneficiary of a lot of Dawn’s passes and she finished them.”
But what VCU coach Beth Cunningham was convinced lost her team the game was its inability to pull down rebounds.
“The entire game we just could not find a way to rebound,” she said. “And really, I think it came down to that.”
JMU will try to prevent ODU from winning its 18th CAA championship in 19 years in the conference final tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.
Contact Emmie Cleveland at breezesports@gmail.com
Comments
Got something to say?
-
Check Out the Latest Updates
-
-
Parking Space Changes
Click on picture -
Are You Smarter than the Duke Dog Game
Click on picture
September 9th, 2010 Issue in Print
