Dukes Head South for Thursday Battle with UNCW

Thursday, February 19

Wilmington, N.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

UNCW

2/18/2015 2:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

2014-15 JMU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME #25

22-2 (13-0 CAA)
Game Notes

No. 23/21 James Madison at UNCW
Trask Coliseum - Wilmington, N.C.
Thursday, February 19, 2015 – 7 p.m.

Live Stats | Live Audio
Live Video | Tickets

Twitter: @JMUWBasketball, #JMUDukes

10-14 (6-7 CAA)

Game Plan

Coming off his 303rd victory, Head Coach Kenny Brooks takes his team to Wilmington, North Carolina, for a 7 p.m. matchup Thursday night with the UNCW Seahawks at Trask Coliseum.
A free, live video broadcast of the game will be provided by UNCW on the Seahawk Digital Network. It can be found by visiting JMUSports.com/MadiZONE, or by clicking here.
Live audio for the contest will be available through the nTelos Wireless Network on WHBG 1360 AM locally in Harrisonburg, Va., as well as online at JMUSports.com/MadiZONE.

Scouting Report

The Dukes will meet UNCW for the second time this season on Thursday night after JMU took a 74-57 win from the Seahawks on Jan. 6 at the JMU Convocation Center for the 1,000th program victory. The matchup is the 65th all-time with the Dukes holding a 55-9 advantage in the previous 64 contests.
Madison jumped into the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls this week after spending the last few weeks receiving votes. In the AP Poll, JMU checked in at No. 23, which marks the first time the Dukes have been in the poll since the 2009-10 season. Coming in at No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, it's the fourth time JMU has been ranked in the poll this season, but it is the highest since checking in at No. 15 on April 1, 1991.
JMU extended its season-long winning streak to 13 games on Sunday afternoon with a 94-64 win over Delaware at the JMU Convocation Center. In the process, Brooks became the winningest coach in JMU women's basketball history, passing Shelia Moorman for first all-time. Four Dukes scored in double figures with junior guard Precious Hall leading the way with 23 points. Redshirt-senior center Lauren Okafor tallied her 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds while junior guard Ashley Perez totalled 13 points. Sophomore forward Da'Lishia Griffin scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 5-of-7 from the free throw line in the win while snagging six rebounds.
Junior guard Angela Mickens was named Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 11.0 points per game on 75.0 percent shooting (6-of-8) from the floor and 71.4 percent shooting (10-14) from the free-throw line. She also contributed 9.5 assists per game with 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per contest. Recently named to the Lieberman Award Watch List, which honors the nation's top point guard in women's college basketball, Mickens ranks fourth in the country with an average of 7.8 assists per game while her assist to turnover ratio stands at 2.78, good for ninth in the country.
Junior guard Precious Hall was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason 30 list last week. The award honors the top player in women's college basketball. She stands 21st in the nation with an average of 20.6 points per game and is third nationally in made three-pointers per contest, knocking down 3.29 shots from range per game. She's also added 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season.
UNCW has won each of its last two games following a three-game losing streak. The Seahawks have topped Northeastern and Elon while averageing 85 points in the two wins.
Sitting sixth in the CAA standings entering play this week, UNCW is led by Kelva Atkins, who is averaging 17.9 points per game. Brie Mobley is the only other double-figure scorer for the Seahawks with an average of 11.5 points.
Joining Mickens as Co-Player of the Week was UNCW's Naqaiyyah Teague. She averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last week and scored a career-high 24 points to start the week in an 86-82 win over Elon.
Thursday's battle will be a matchup of the two leading scorers in the CAA, as JMU's Hall sits at 20.6 points per game and and UNCW's Atkins leads is second overall with 17.9 points per contest.