Harrisonburg, Va. (Jan. 10) ? Georgia State fell to James Madison, 93-49, in a Colonial Athletic Association game Thursday night at the JMU Convocation Center.
Georgia State (3-10, 0-2) was led by junior guard Brittany Hollins' 13 points and five assists, with freshman guard Traci Haltiwanger adding 10 more points.
James Madison (10-4, 2-0) had five players in double figures, led by preseason player of the year Tamara Young's 18 points, nine rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Madison improved to 32-1 at home over the past three years with a lone loss to No. 4 Maryland in December. Tonight, the Dukes broke open a 44-32 halftime lead with a 15-2 run to start the second half in racing to the win.
“James Madison plays well at home and they showed that energy for their crowd tonight," coach Lea Henry noted post game. "Every player on our roster has to be productive every possession of the game for us to succeed. Tonight, we lost our focus in what we were trying to do when they went on that second half run. Young teams have to learn that every possession in a game matters, especially a CAA game."
After each team enjoyed two leads to start the game, host James Madison went on a 9-0 run from 18:08 to 16:27 to open a quick 12-4 advantage by making four of its first six shots. Georgia State rallied to close to 12-10 and 14-12 with 14 minutes to play. With the margin at 22-18 with 10 minutes in the period, JMU went on a decisive 14-3 run to take control at 36-21 with 4:40 left. The Panthers got it back to single digits at 40-31 with 1:32 left, but the Dukes took a 12-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 44-32. In that first half, visiting State hit just 14-of-40 shots for 35 percent while host Madison shot 55 percent on 17-of-31.
For the game tonight, both teams got 67 shots, but JMU made 34 and State just 21 of its attempts. Madison also held a 54-32 rebound advantage with 23 offensive boards. The Panthers had 19 offensive rebounds with Shay Rawls having five offensive of her six total rebounds.
Georgia State will stay in Virginia and travel east to play Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday afternoon in Richmond at 2 p.m.
