If you watched the first half, you knew that JMU missed many opportunities. They would throw the ball away, turn the ball over because of steals, rebounds were far and few, and if it wasn't for Kirby Burkholder's hot hand, JMU would have gone into the half down, how much is something to debate. JMU found themselves down 8 points at one time in the first half, but would be able to put together a few stops, a few more rebounds, and some nice shots, especially from Kirby. Kirby who scored 11 of the first 16 points of the game would end up finishing the half with 16 points. It would be noted by Coach Kenny Brooks in the post game that the team was in fact taken back by how quick Hofstra was playing, and they certainly were playing fast and hard. Hoftra looked good, really good in the first half, however, JMU would come back and lead at the half 40-37.
The second half started off about the same as the first half, except this time, JMU went to the zone, pressed a little more, and was able to shut down their star center (Shante Evans) who was shredding JMU's defense in the first half down. From this, JMU began to rebound well, get a few more defensive stops, and build the lead to 23 points before the end of the game. It was a great second half effort by the Lady Dukes who held the Pride to 25 points. It was where Jazmon Gwathmey would shine. The stats won't show it, but she did a great job boxing out players, disrupting passes, and getting rebounds. Kirby Burkholder though, was the star of this game, she played 29 minutes and scored 28 points. She had nice moves that would fake out the defender and she shot the three really well, even with hands in her face. Tarik Hislop also had a strong game and gave the team some much needed shots when things were looking grim. She finished the game with 20 points. Hall also had a good game and finished the game with 16 points.
With this game, JMU improves to 6-1 in the conference and 12-7 overall. Next game is at Towson on Thursday at 7 PM. Towson is a team that has been struggling, especially with injuries. While they have only won one game in conference, JMU cannot sleep on them. Any team can beat another in conference play.
Final 85-62 JMU.
Side Note: Kanita Shepherd deserves some mad props. She was great defensively in this game. Had some wonderful blocks.
Game Notes: http://www.jmusports.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=714338&db_oem_id=14400
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