JMU Rolls to 76-46 Win at College of Charleston

Saturday, March 5

Charleston, S.C.

Noon

James Madison University

24-5; 17-1

College of Charleston

10-19; 5-13

James Madison

Col. of Charleston

3/5/2016 2:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – James Madison women's basketball rolled to a 76-46 win at College of Charleston to close out the regular season on a 17-game win streak.

The 17-game win streak is the longest stretch under Head Coach Kenny Brooks and the second longest in program history. The Dukes head into the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association with a 24-5 record, marking the 11^th straight year they have reached 24 wins.

Five Dukes hit double figures on Saturday afternoon for the first time since Nov. 17 against Morgan State, led by redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey's 21 points. She now has 606 points this season, the eighth highest single-season total in program history, and 1,479 career points to rank 10^th all-time.

Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams had her second straight double-double as she posted 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Cougars. Junior forward Da'Lishia Griffin added 15 points, just one off her career mark (16), senior guard Ashley Perez had her third straight game in double figures at 13 points and senior forward Destiny Jones was in double figures for the third time in four games with 11.

As a team, JMU shot 39.1 percent (27-69) for the day, including 11 made 3-pointers. The Dukes limited the Cougars to 32.7 percent (18-55) shooting and converted a 12-6 edge in offensive rebounds for a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points.

JMU outrebounded CofC 45-39 overall as 10 Dukes pulled down at least one board. Cooper-Williams led the day (11 rebs) while Griffin (6), Gwathmey (5) and Jones (5) all battled hard for the purple and gold.

Senior guard Angela Mickens made her presence known on the final day of the regular season, dishing out nine assists while matching a season-high six steals and tying a career-high two blocked shots. Cooper-Williams had a game-high three blocks while Griffin had two and Gwathmey added one.

In the early goings, Charleston was able to push out to a five-point lead, but a 10-2 run by the Dukes gave JMU the lead for good (12-9) with 5:32 remaining in the first quarter. The lead hovered in single digits for much of the first half before JMU closed the second quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 37-24 edge into halftime.

The Dukes maintained the lead throughout the second half, outscoring the Cougars 17-6 over the final 10 minutes to keep the margin above 20 the rest of the way.

JMU now heads to the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, presented by Excel Heating and Cooling, on Thursday, March 10, for a noon game. The Dukes will face either No. 8 College of Charleston or No. 9 UNCW in the quarterfinals at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.

TEAM MILE MARKERS

JMU earned its 24^th win of the season at College of Charleston, marking the 11^th consecutive year the Dukes have hit the 24-win mark.
JMU has won at least 15 CAA regular-season games in each of the last four years and succumbed to just one CAA regular-season loss in each of the last three.
JMU has won 17 straight games, which is the longest streak under Head Coach Kenny Brooks and the second-longest streak in program history (21).

MICKENS MAKING MOVES
Senior guard Angela Mickens finished the day with six steals and nine assists. She now sits in ninth for career steals, surpassing Nikki Newman's 183 steals, and in third for single-season assists, passing Jess Cichowicz (194). Mickens now has 642 career assists, 28 off the all-time mark of 670 set by Cichowicz.

GWATHMEY GAINS GROUND
Redshirt senior guard Jazmon Gwathmey had 21 points on Saturday, her 19^th performance of 20 points or more this season and her 26^th overall double-digit performance as a senior. With 606 total points this year, she passed Tarik Hislop (589) for the eighth-highest single-season total in JMU history and is just one off tying Meredith Alexis' mark (607) from 2006-07. She also jumped into the top 10 of JMU career scorers, now with 1,479 points.

FRESHMEN FIEND
Freshman center Kayla Cooper-Williams had her second consecutive, and fourth overall, double-double on Saturday as she scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

OTHER NUMBERS TO KNOW

Five Dukes scored in double figures on Saturday for the first time since a 92-31 win against Morgan State on Nov. 17. 2015.
JMU had 13 steals as a team, the Dukes' highest mark in league play this season and second-highest total of the year (14, vs. American).
Senior forward Destiny Jones has scored in double figures three of the last four games.
The Dukes had eight blocks as a team, the seventh time this season they have reached eight or more.
As a team, the Dukes sank 11 3-pointers, tying a season-high (11, vs. Morgan State). Of those, four came from the hands of Gwathmey to give her 99 for her career (13^th all-time).

UP NEXT
The Dukes begin their postseason run, presented by Excel Heating and Cooling, as they head to Upper Marlboro, Md. for the 2016 CAA Championship. The top seed, JMU opens the tournament on March 10 at noon in the quarterfinals and will face the winner of game one between #8 College of Charleston and #9 UNCW.