JMU women's basketball loses home opener to Hampton....what?

Color me shocked. My favorite team at JMU, the women's basketball team, fell to Hamption University Friday night 69-64 in their home opener. I went back as far as 2005 to see when the last time the Dukes lost a home opener was and I couldn't find it. Clearly, it's been a while. While the media tends to focus on senior point guard Dawn Evans, the real problem is at the center position. Senior Lauren Jimenez has a broken toe and fellow senior Jalissa Taylor has been forced to take over the position. Normally Taylor can be relied on for some defensive pressure, but it was her offense that was suffering. Going 1 for 9 at center is not going to win games. Evans put up 25, but was only 8 for 28. Overall the Dukes shot at about 29%, which is below their average. Matthew Stoss is the Daily News-Record beat writer and he put the loss into perspective.

Pirates Sink JMU Posted November 13, 2010 12:00 AM EST

By Matthew Stoss

HARRISONBURG - Well, at least they don't have to go to South Dakota. Hurt by inconsistent offense in the low post and big nights from Hampton's Quanneisha Perry and Jericka Jenkins, the James Madison women's basketball team lost its season opener to the Pirates 69-64 on Friday, assuring itself of no 1,300-mile trip to face South Dakota State in the second round of the preseason WNIT next week. "The difference was Hampton came out to play, and we didn't," said JMU senior point guard Dawn Evans, who scored 25 points, making six of 18 3-pointers and going 8-of-28 from the floor. "We just didn't do anything we practiced. We didn't execute. They played harder than us. We have to come out and we have to be a better team." JMU, the defending Colonial Athletic Association champion and preseason favorite, will learn its next WNIT opponent Sunday. The 16-team tournament guarantees a minimum of three games. On Friday, Madison - hampered by numerous nagging preseason injuries - shot just 26.9 percent from the floor (21-of-78), while its post players shot only 30.4 percent (7-of-23) in the absence of 6-foot-4 center Lauren Jimenez, who is out with a broken toe. The lack of production inside forced the Dukes to rely on perimeter offense. Hampton (1-0) shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61). "It's frustrating when you can draw things up and then you can get the ball where you want to get it," JMU coach Kenny Brooks said. "And then you miss some golden opportunities to capitalize on, and it kind of deflates you because then it's when you have your guards thinking, ‘OK, well, if I get there again, is it gonna end in a good result?' And then they start taking some ill-advised shots, and that's where we were tonight." For the first half of the second period, the Dukes also didn't have an answer for Perry and Jenkins, who led a rally after Hampton trailed by as many as 11 with 6:14 left in the first half. The two teams traded leads seven times in the second half before the Pirates finally took over for good on a layup by Jenkins with 10:01 left against JMU's zone defense. "We were ready for that," said Hampton coach David Six, Hampton High School's former coach who won the MEAC title last year in his first season. "We were very surprised that they went into a zone but happy at the same time because that's sort of our strength." Playing in front of 2,063 fans at the Convocation Center, JMU cut Hampton's lead to one with 1:29 and 0:59 to go, helped by a technical foul on Six at the 1:38 mark. Evans hit both ensuing free throws, seemingly giving the Dukes momentum. Perry led all scorers with 27 points, making 10 of 20 from the floor. Jenkins added 16 and five assists. When asked if he thought Madison overlooked the Pirates, Brooks said "absolutely not." "This is the type of team that gives us problems," Brooks said. "They spread the floor and they penetrate, and then they kick, and they do some things and they did it well." Sophomore guard Tarik Hislop added 14 points for JMU, while senior forward Jalissa Taylor had 15 rebounds and sophomore forward Nikki Newman had 11 to help the Dukes out-rebound Hampton 57-41 - 29-11 on the offensive glass. Unfortunately for Madison, few of those boards turned into points. HAMPTON Warner 2-8 4-4 9, Perry 10-20 7-9 27, Abercrumbia 2-4 0-0 4, Lewis 1-3 0-0 2, Jenkins 7-16 1-4 16, McMillian 3-7 0-0 9, Avant 0-0 0-0 0, Burnson 1-3 0-0 2, Henry 0-0 0-0 0, Goodman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 12-17 69. JAMES MADISON Whitehurst 3-8 1-2 7, Newman 1-4 0-1 3, Taylor 1-9 2-2 4, Hislop 4-13 4-8 14, Evans 8-28 3-3 25, Hamner 1-7 0-0 3, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Burkholder 0-0 0-0 0, Shepherd 1-2 1-2 3, Francisco 2-6 1-1 5. Totals 21-78, 12-19 64. Halftime-James Madison 32-28. 3-Point Goals-HU 5-16 (Warner 1-4, Lewis 0-1, Jenkins 1-4, McMillian 3-7), JMU 10-34 (Newman 1-3, Hislop 2-6, Evans  6-18, Hamner 1-6, Smith 0-1).  Fouled Out-none. Rebounds-HU 41 (Perry, McMillian 7), JMU 57 (Taylor 15). Assists-HU 10 (Jenkins 5), JMU 14 (Evans 6). Total Fouls-HU 15, JMU 16. A-2,063.