Sloppy first half proves costly against JMU

Krystal Vaughn’s 17 points and six rebounds off the bench and Michele Cosel’s 11 weren’t enough to keep the Rams (12-11, 5-8 CAA) from losing a hard fought game 76-63 to James Madison (22-2, 12-0) Thursday.

Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) and Miranda Smith (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) each added ten points for the Rams.

During the first seven minutes of the game, both teams traded baskets and kept the game pretty tight. There were four lead changes during this time. The largest lead that either team was able to maintain during early minutes by the games was five by the Dukes.

The Score
VCU 63
JMU 76

With 8:50 remaining in the first half, freshman D’Andra Moss (Atlanta, Ga./Norcross) sank a pair of free throws to narrow the margin to 18-15. After having their lead cut to only three, the Dukes were able to use their stifling defense, which led to numerous turnovers by the rams. During the final 8:30 of the half, JMU went on a 23-8 run to close the half and extended the gap to 41-23.

During the second half, VCU was able to cut the score to 53-42 with 11:59 in the game on a pair of made free throws made by Krystal Vaughn (Baltimore, Md/Lake Clifton-Eastern), but that was a close as they would come. The run that the Dukes made to close the first half seemed to be too big of a hole for the Rams to climb out of. VCU outscored JMU in the second half 40-35 but could not come back from the halftime deficit. JMU remains perfect in the CAA at 12-0.