JMU Duke Dog
December 21st, 2005, 08:57 AM
http://www.dnronline.com/sports_details.php?AID=2141&CHID=3
Brooks’ Dukes Win By 55
The JMU women’s basketball team beat Charleston Southern 86-31 Tuesday.
By Joe Lemire
On Kenny Brooks’ 37th birthday, the James Madison University women’s basketball team held its opponent to fewer points than its coach’s age.
Charleston Southern took a 2-0 lead. The next good thing that happened to CSU in the first half was its merciful end. After Pamela Tolbert sank that first bucket, the Dukes quadrupled the Buccaneers’ score for the rest of the half, 44-11, en route to a 86-31 drubbing Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
"When you’re dealing with college basketball, you never know what to expect," Brooks said. "... Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d come out and hold Charleston Southern to 31 points."
The 55-point win is the largest for JMU (8-1) since it beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 95-28 on Dec. 7, 1996 – the widest margin of victory in the program’s history.
For the second consecutive game, sophomore Tamera Young had recorded a double-double by halftime. Madison entered intermission on a 16-0 run, as little went wrong in the first half, unless you count the playing of the "Macarena" during a timeout.
The Dukes capitalized on numerous easy buckets, grabbing 26 offensive rebounds and grabbing 15 steals, many of which led to easy transition buckets.
"The coaches stressed just to stay focused," said junior guard Lesley Dickinson, who scored 16 points. "Everybody was excited about going home, but Coach Brooks told us not to check out before the game. He reminded us of that every time we came to the bench."
Prolific-rebounding Madison outleapt, outpositioned and flat-out outcompeted the Bucs on the glass, winning the category by a palindromic 63-36 margin. At one point in the second half, the Dukes squandered a rebound because three teammates converged on a loose ball at the same time. Leading JMU was sixth man Kisha Stokes, who hauled in a career-high 15 boards.
"They rebounded outstanding again tonight," CSU coach Stephanie Yelton said of the Dukes. "I think they rebound better than any team in the country probably right now."
Erica McCoy and Tolbert each scored 10 to lead a Charleston Southern team that shot just 12-of-59 from the field for 20.3 percent.
"I’m not sure if they were intimidated or if they were a little scared," Yelton said. "I’m not sure what was going through their heads tonight."
In improving their winning streak to seven games, matching the longest of Brooks’ coaching career, the Dukes played so well that they even bested 50 percent shooting from the free-throw line at home for the first time this season, connecting on 17 of 23 shots from the stripe.
Before the game, Dickinson was honored for having scored the 1,000th point of her career Sunday against East Carolina in her 68th game. Only Katherine Johnson has done it faster in school history.
Charleston Southern dropped to 2-6.
Brooks’ Dukes Win By 55
The JMU women’s basketball team beat Charleston Southern 86-31 Tuesday.
By Joe Lemire
On Kenny Brooks’ 37th birthday, the James Madison University women’s basketball team held its opponent to fewer points than its coach’s age.
Charleston Southern took a 2-0 lead. The next good thing that happened to CSU in the first half was its merciful end. After Pamela Tolbert sank that first bucket, the Dukes quadrupled the Buccaneers’ score for the rest of the half, 44-11, en route to a 86-31 drubbing Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
"When you’re dealing with college basketball, you never know what to expect," Brooks said. "... Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d come out and hold Charleston Southern to 31 points."
The 55-point win is the largest for JMU (8-1) since it beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 95-28 on Dec. 7, 1996 – the widest margin of victory in the program’s history.
For the second consecutive game, sophomore Tamera Young had recorded a double-double by halftime. Madison entered intermission on a 16-0 run, as little went wrong in the first half, unless you count the playing of the "Macarena" during a timeout.
The Dukes capitalized on numerous easy buckets, grabbing 26 offensive rebounds and grabbing 15 steals, many of which led to easy transition buckets.
"The coaches stressed just to stay focused," said junior guard Lesley Dickinson, who scored 16 points. "Everybody was excited about going home, but Coach Brooks told us not to check out before the game. He reminded us of that every time we came to the bench."
Prolific-rebounding Madison outleapt, outpositioned and flat-out outcompeted the Bucs on the glass, winning the category by a palindromic 63-36 margin. At one point in the second half, the Dukes squandered a rebound because three teammates converged on a loose ball at the same time. Leading JMU was sixth man Kisha Stokes, who hauled in a career-high 15 boards.
"They rebounded outstanding again tonight," CSU coach Stephanie Yelton said of the Dukes. "I think they rebound better than any team in the country probably right now."
Erica McCoy and Tolbert each scored 10 to lead a Charleston Southern team that shot just 12-of-59 from the field for 20.3 percent.
"I’m not sure if they were intimidated or if they were a little scared," Yelton said. "I’m not sure what was going through their heads tonight."
In improving their winning streak to seven games, matching the longest of Brooks’ coaching career, the Dukes played so well that they even bested 50 percent shooting from the free-throw line at home for the first time this season, connecting on 17 of 23 shots from the stripe.
Before the game, Dickinson was honored for having scored the 1,000th point of her career Sunday against East Carolina in her 68th game. Only Katherine Johnson has done it faster in school history.
Charleston Southern dropped to 2-6.