Hazell Records Career Day, Dukes Earn 85-79 Victory Over ULM

Saturday, December 30

Monroe, La.

3 p.m. (2 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

9-4,1-0Sun Belt

ULM

8-4,0-1Sun Belt

James Madison

ULM

Hazell Records Career Day, Dukes Earn 85-79 Victory Over ULM

12/30/2023 6:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MONROE, La. – Redshirt junior Jamia Hazell scored a career-high 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to push James Madison past ULM, 85-79, inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 58-57 heading into the fourth, JMU (9-4, 1-0 SBC) exploded in the final frame with 28 points to overpower the Warhawks (8-4, 0-1 SBC).

Hazell shot 10-of-13 (.769) from the field and tied her career-high with three steals. Classmates Kseniia Kozlova and Annalicia Goodman were major factors in the paint with 16 and 11 points, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Peyton McDaniel registered 10 points and went 2-for-2 from three. Redshirt junior Steph Ouderkirk tied her season-high of nine rebounds to pace all players and senior Hevynne Bristow poured in a season-best nine points.

ULM's Jakayla Johnson registered 25 points, knocking down 4-of-6 (.667) from deep. Katlyn Manuel (14), Daisha Bradford (12) and Sania Wells (10) all scored in double figures.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

The Dukes came out firing with triples from redshirt juniors Olivia Mullins and Hazell for an 8-2 lead, forcing an early ULM timeout.
Both teams experienced a scoring drought halfway through the quarter before junior Ashanti Barnes connected on a trey to make it 17-10 at the 2:36 mark.
The Warhawks closed in late, sinking a turnaround jumper with two seconds left to trail 18-16 in the opening frame.

Second Quarter

ULM's Katlyn Manuel hit a pullup jumper to tie the game at 23 with 6:18 on the clock.
James Madison responded by taking advantage of free throw opportunities to lead by as much as eight (34-26) late in the period.
Goodman dropped six points, going 4-for-4 from the line to give the Dukes a 38-31 advantage at the half.

Third Quarter

The Warhawks opened the second half with an 8-2 to run, resulting in a timeout by JMU.
ULM then knocked down a deep three to take its first lead of the game, 42-40, at the 6:37 mark of the quarter.
Barnes provided a spark with her second trey of the day, followed by a layup from Bristow on the following possession for a 53-48 advantage.
However, the Warhawks fought back to take a 58-57 edge heading into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter

Goodman executed a physical layup as the Dukes regained the lead, 66-64.
From then on, Hazell, McDaniel and Kozlova scored the final 19 points for the Dukes.
A stepback jumper from Hazell grew JMU's advantage to six, 81-75, with 0:51 remaining in the contest.
James Madison took care of business the rest of the way for an 85-79 victory.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads ULM in the all-time series, 1-0.
The Dukes had an advantage in total rebounds (41-34), bench points (27-16) and points off turnovers (12-7).
JMU's 85 points are the most against a Division I team since putting up 89 versus Queens (N.C.) on Nov. 13, 2022. Moreover, Head Coach Sean O'Regan's squad is 24-0 when scoring 70 or more since the 2022-23 campaign.
James Madison turned the ball over 11 times, the lowest number of turnovers this year against a Division I opponent.
The Dukes won the rebounding battle for the 12th time this season.
JMU's 28 points in the fourth quarter are the most by the team in any fourth quarter this season.
The Dukes shot 8-of-14 (.571) from behind the arc – their most efficient outing in the 2023-24 season. Additionally, the performance marked the first time this year that the team has recorded back-to-back games with eight or more makes from deep.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will return to the Atlantic Union Bank Center to host Arkansas State on Thursday, Jan. 4. Game time versus the Red Wolves is slated for 7 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.