Dukes Knock Out NC State-2nd Round WNIT

This was a seesaw battle that featured a physical, but big North Carolina State team vs a smaller and skinnier , but a little more athletic team in James Madison. For most of the game, both teams couldn't shake the other off. While Kirby Burkholder didn't have her best shooting night, she still managed to collect 14 points and 9 rebounds. Tarik Hislop had a great game today and made some big shots, especially a 3-pointer late in the game. She finished with 19 points, 4 assist, 4 rebounds. Another big time player was Toia Giggets, she was money today, she worked and frustrated Markeisha Gatling all game long and held her to 12 points. Giggets scored 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Okay so, Crystal Ross. She was great today and I mean great. The stats aren't going to show it and she didn't score any points but her defense is a big reason why JMU was able to get the lead in the second half and hold on at the end. The stats are going to say that she had 5 rebounds and 2 steals, but her presence gave NCST major problems. She disrupted passes, blocked passes and intercepted balls, something that I hardly have ever seen her do. But today, she deserves all the credit in the world. I hope the next game she plays just as good. 

So what was the big moment of the game. This was such a major moment that NCST was never able to recover from it. It was huge. Angela "Muff" Mickens gets fouled, she misses a FT after the time out and somehow rebounds her own shots. She kicks the ball back to Hislop and Hislop buries a 3-pointer. Moments later, Mickens gets a steal and Giggets passes to Burkholder who lays it in. Then Giggets hits 2-pointer, followed by a Mickens missed FT and rebound, where Mickens passes underneath to Burkholder for a put up. That sequence was part of a 18-5 run and it was fun to watch.  By the  end of the run, JMU had taken a 60-47 lead. At the beginning of the run JMU was tied at 42. BTW, Mickens finished with 10 points, 4 assist, and 3 steals. 

The next opponent will be Fordham. This is another really good team. They have a couple of really good shooters and are also a very good defensive team. The game will be at the Convocation Center at 7 PM on Wednesday. We need all of you to be there and cheer on the Dukes. The common opponent is Duquesne. We lost to Duquesne at the beginning of the year and they beat Duquesne. 

Game Notes: http://www.jmusports.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=1116632&db_oem_id=14400