Dukes Hold Off The Huskies

Have to give props to Tarik Hislop for her game winning 3-point shot that left 2.9 seconds on the clock. It was a beautiful shot. A fan commented how it was very Michael Jordanesqe. She had two defenders guarding her and somehow still managed to get the shot off. So a lot of kudos to her for a good looking shot.

The first half was rough, no doubt about it. Shots were not falling, rebounds were few and Northeastern just seemed to have their way with the JMU defense. On many occasions  Jewel Tuntsell would find a way to get open for easy layups. The same thing happened in the second half, but this time the team played with more energy and even with the lopsided foul deferential (12-6 I think in the second half) the team played strong. The ending almost reminded me of the Drexel game, but with a better ending. We were up by 8 points with about 4 minutes to play and would surrender the lead with 26 seconds left when Northeastern tied it up. But with seconds left, Tarik would hit the game winning 3-point shot and JMU would win 68-65.

Some critique and of course some pat on the backs. The critique-really felt there were times when players tried to do too much, such as Precious Hall and Tarik Hislop. Several times they drove to the basket with players being open. But I guess in the heat of the moment sometimes you are not thinking about that. Other critiques are ball handling under the basket. A few times when players went up for a shot, they would would lose possession of the ball or miss the basket completely. Other than those few things, the team did well. For starters, the team played with a greater intensity, the team really rallied around each other, and players became hot at the right moment. Kirby had some timely 3-point shots and scored 20 points and 10 rebounds. Tarik Hislop had 19 points and 4 assist. Precious Hall had 11 points and 5 assist. I would also like to give Kanita Shepherd props. On several possessions, she was the sole reason why JMU got defensive stops. I remember one stop she had when she blocked the pass and then right after the blocked pass disrupted another pass allowing her teammate to grab the loose ball. It was a very good play. She had a total of 4 offensive rebounds.

While this may not have been the prettiest game, it was a game with guts. It was a relief that the game did not end  up like the Drexel game. Congratulations ladies and I hope you continue to play strong.

Notes: http://www.jmusports.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=714150&db_oem_id=14400

Good article by Mathew Stoss on Rivals about today's win http://jamesmadison.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1459611

Congrats to Rookie Precious "P" Hall for being named CAA Rookie of the week for the 2nd time this season! http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=205967867