JMU Stifles Towson, 61-45, for 13th Consecutive Win

Sunday, February 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

20-5, 13-1CAA

Towson

6-20, 3-12CAA

Towson

JMU

2/21/2016 6:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison women's basketball led wire-to-wire for the 61-45 victory over Towson on Sunday afternoon, securing the Dukes' 13th consecutive win.

JMU improved to 20-5 overall and 13-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play, guaranteeing at least the No. 2 seed in next month's league tournament. Towson fell to 6-20 overall and 3-12 in conference play.

Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey notched her fourth double-double of the season off 21 points and 11 rebounds. She has scored 528 points this season, now the 14^th-highest single-season total in program history, and 1,401 career points, which ranks 13th in JMU history.

Senior guards Ashley Perez and Angela Mickens each finished in double digits, posting 13 and 11 points, respectively. Mickens dished out seven assists, pushing her season total to 174 for the sixth-highest single-season total in JMU history, and also blocked a career-high two Towson shots.

Four other Dukes got in on the block party, including a career-high four denials from junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin. Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams had two blocks and moved into fourth place on the single-season blocks chart at 55 total while Gwathmey added a pair and Perez had one.

JMU opened the contest on a 7-0 run and never looked back, pushing the lead to as many as 20 points late in the third quarter. The Dukes shot 31.7 percent and limited themselves to just nine turnovers, their fifth time in single-digit giveaways this season. They also pulled down 56 rebounds, led by a game-high 13 from Cooper-Williams.

For Towson, Dominique Johnson had a team-high 13 points and Raven Bankston added 11. The Tigers were limited to 27.0-percent shooting, including a 1-for-8 mark from beyond the arc, as they scored a combined 23 points over the first three quarters. Their 14 first-half points were the fewest in any half by a CAA opponent against the Dukes this season.

The Dukes next travel to UNCW on Friday, Feb. 26, for a 7 p.m. contest as they play three of their final four games on the road. They wrap up their home slate at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28 against Elon for Senior Day.

QUOTING HEAD COACH KENNY BROOKS
"It was just a grind-it-out type of game. A game where we didn't shoot the ball well, but defense was going to prevail. We've got to learn to win in these types of games... and with that said, we were very fortunate to come away with a victory and very happy to come away with a victory."

STREAKING ON

JMU has won 11 consecutive games against Towson and are 19-0 all-time at home against the Tigers.
JMU has won 15 straight games at the Convo, the fifth longest home winning streak in program history.
JMU has won 13 consecutive games overall.
Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey has scored in double figures 16 straight games.
Senior guard Angela Mickens has played in 105 consecutive games, tied for the 13^th longest streak in program history.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Gwathmey with the block and rebound to set up a lay-in for Griffin.
Full highlights are available here.

CHART CLIMBING

Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams has 55 blocks this season, which ranks fourth most in all-time single-season blocks.
Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey has 38 blocks this season, tied for the 13^th highest single-season total in program history.
Gwathmey has played in 127 career games, tied for eighth most with Tamera Young, and started 112 of those games, tied for eighth most with Nadine Morgan and Paula Schuler.
Senior guard Angela Mickens has 174 assists this season, which is the sixth highest single-season total in program history.

TWEET OF THE DAY

@JMUWBasketball Diaper Derby Champ is back for more Duuuuuuuuuukes pic.twitter.com/cQkc5Dt6gr
— Leland McCray (@lelandgm) February 21, 2016

BLOCK PARTY

Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin had a career-high four blocks.
Senior guard Angela Mickens had a career-high two blocks.
Senior guard Ashley Perez tied a career high with one block.
JMU had 11 blocks as a team, which tied a Convocation Center record set twice in 2013-14.
Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams (55) is just 12 blocks away from setting a single-season blocks record at JMU. The mark is currently 66, held by Lauren Whitehurst from the 2011-12 season.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
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Participants in today's Youth Cheer Clinic showed off their hard work during halftime of the game.
Full photo gallery available here.

CAA LANDSCAPE
With Delaware defeating Hofstra 54-47 and Drexel defeating Elon 54-47, JMU has clinched at least the two seed for the CAA Championship. One more win for the Dukes will clinch at least a share of the 2016 CAA regular-season title for the third straight season.

UP NEXT
JMU heads to Wilmington, N.C., to face UNCW on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. The Dukes already hold a 60-40 win over the Seahawks this season.