Thursday, January 27, 2011

Three-way tie for first remains in CAA; Patriots upset Delaware

James Madison 66, Drexel 60:
Dukes (14-6, 7-1 CAA) dominated the free-throw line going there 25 times to Drexel's six, with the end result was JMU's fifth straight win. Lauren Jimenez led the way with a game-high 19 points and Dawn Evans added 18. JMU remains atop the league with ODU and UNC Wilmington, both winners on Thursday. The Dragons, who had not lost to the Dukes in Philly in five years, dropped their first game at home this season.


Virginia Commonwealth 67, Georgia State 52
Shooting a season-high 52 percent from the field, the Rams (11-7, 6-2) won for the seventh time in nine games behind none other than Courtney Hurt (19 points) and Andrea Barbour (23 points). Barbour's 23 points was her highest output since joining the VCU lineup on Dec. 23.  She is averaging 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in the Rams' last nine outings. "We talked about trying to turn it up a bit defensively and we really came out with that focus in the final 20 minutes," said VCU coach Beth Cunningham. "Offensively, we shot the ball well percentage-wise but a lot of that was about us making good decisions and taking good shots."

Old Dominion 68, William and Mary 55
What looks like a routine score wasn't quite so easy. ODU (13-6, 7-1 CAA) had to work for its 51st straight win in this series and was unable to shake W&M until the final five minutes of the game. On a night when Jasmine Parker struggled with six points, Tia Lewis posted a double-double 13 points and 15 rebounds and ODU got some help from beyond the arc. The Lady Monarchs nailed seven 3, including three apiece from Jackie Cook and Kquanise Byrd. ODU couldn't stop Taysha Pye, who poured in 29, but W&M (2-16, 1-7) was unable to take advantage of 19 Lady Monarch turnovers, many of them unforced.


George Mason 51, Delaware 48
Elena, we needed you! Delle Donne could play as early as Sunday for the Blue Hens (the sophomore is taking medication for Lyme disease), and that couldn't be soon enough for Delaware, which dipped to 4-5 in the league. Delaware had taken five straight in this series, but a pair of turnovers in the final seconds and two made free throws by Rahneeka Saunders rallied the Patriots (9-10, 3-5) to their first CAA road win.

Georgia Tech 78, Virginia Tech 57
The good news is Alyssa Fenyn set a career best with 17 points and the Hokies only turned it over 13 times against the 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets' formidable defense. But the month is ending and the Hokies (9-11, 0-6) are still searching for their first ACC win. Still, Beth Dunkenberger didn't sound nearly as glum as she did after Tech fell to Virginia. “This was certainly a much better effort tonight against a top 25 opponent,” she said. “I thought we had nice stretches on the defense, where we were able to rattle them and force them into 20 turnovers. As this is life in the ACC, it gets no easier. Next up: No. 15 North Carolina, in Chapel Hill. .

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