Women’s hoops stays hot
JMU is tied for first in the conference as CAA play heats up
By Brian Hansen, sports editor
Posted on January 11, 2007

With only one non-conference game left on its schedule, the JMU women’s basketball team has entered into the meat of its Colonial Athletic Association schedule.

During Winter Break the team went 5-1 with all six games being played away from Harrisonburg, including a 57-47 win at Wake Forest.

“We played well,” senior point guard Andrea Benvenuto said. “Wake Forest was a good test for us. It felt great to win there. That win was probably the greatest of my career here.”

The Demon Deacons, while not the power house program that Atlantic Coast schools like Maryland, North Carolina and Duke (ranked first, second and third respectively in the Associated Press Top 25 poll), did prove a good measuring stick for the Dukes in their quest to garner an invite to the NCAA tournament.

“That win gives up confidence and prepares us to play against the CAA,” JMU coach Kenny Brooks said. “Wake Forest is the tallest basketball team in the country, and that’ll get us ready for any teams we’ll face the rest of the way.”

The Dukes’ lone loss over their last six games came in the Miami Holiday Tournament against the Southeastern Conference’s Auburn. The Dukes rebounded in the consolation game by defeating Coppin State 70-64.

JMU now sits at 11-2, including 3-0 in the CAA. As the team head into the conference schedule, the Dukes are tied with Delaware for first.

“I think we’re coming together as a team,” Brooks said. “We were adjusting to not having [senior forward Shirley] McCall in the lineup, and now that she’s back and healthy, I’ve been very pleased with our progress.”

Heading into CAA play, JMU is playing its best basketball of the season, including back-to-back wins in which they scored 84 points in wins over Georgia State and Towson.

“We’re playing well but we still have a lot of room to improve,” senior center Meredith Alexis said. “We don’t really want to peak until tournament time.”

Madison’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed. This week, the Dukes received three top-25 votes. They are now one of three CAA teams to garner votes, with the others being Hofstra and Delaware.

“The conference is definitely deeper then it’s been in the past,” Benvenuto said. “The majority of the All-CAA team has returned and right now there are a lot of teams playing well.”

Perhaps no one is playing better than the Dukes’ Alexis, who leads the conference in both points at 19.7 per game and rebounds with 12.5 per game.

To go with the 6-foot-3 center, JMU also boasts one of the deepest teams in the conference. Key contributions off the bench have come from junior forward Jen Brown, who is giving the Dukes six points and 6.7 rebounds per game, and sophomore forward Kisha Stokes who is averaging 2.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

“I like where we are, we’re starting to peak as a team,” Brooks said. “I think against Towson and Georgia State our depth really wore them down and we were able to get into them in the second half.”

That depth will be crucial as JMU continues to battle against CAA foes. The team’s next test comes tonight in Fairfax against George Mason before they return home to take on William & Mary and Drexel next week. 

The Dukes will look to capitalize on their continued advantage at home, where they have won 18 straight.