Dec. 29, 2009
HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Leopards' first game back following a 16-day hiatus was one of their biggest of the year, as they squared off against No. 25 James Madison at the JMU Invitational. The final 86-54 score failed to reflect Lafayette's performance, which was one of the team's best all-around showings this season.
Three Leopards reached double figures in the loss, led by Lauren Jackson's 17 points. Melissa Downey chipped in a career-high 10 points to go along with eight assists, also a personal-best. Lafayette (2-10) finished with a season-high 16 assists. LaKeisha Wright rounded out the scoring for the Leopards with 11 points.
The Dukes (9-1) had the nation's second-leading scorer on their side, however, in Dawn Evans, who finished the night with a double-double (27 points, 12 assists). James Madison was also able to capitalize on 21 Lafayette turnovers, which translated into 26 Duke points.
Back-to-back treys from Downey less than a minute into the action handed the Leopards a 6-4 lead.
Wright's second basket of the night made it a 13-10 Lafayette edge, but Evans swiped the ball on Lafayette's ensuing possession and her subsequent fastbreak layup tied it at 13-all at the 11:47 mark.
Sarah Williams sank a three with 9:20 on the clock to give James Madison an 18-17 edge, its first lead in six minutes. That basket sparked a 13-4 run that made it 28-22 with less than six minutes to play.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Jackson cut it to 29-25, while Sarah McGorry's basket at 4:54 put the Leopards back within two (29-27).
Unfortunately, the Dukes out-scored the Leopards 11-4 over the final 4:26 of the half to take a 40-32 lead at the midway point.
James Madison came out of halftime and scored the period's first six points. The team held a 50-34 lead four minutes into the half and Lafayette fell behind 57-37 after Courtney Hamner's trey at 13:49.
The Dukes stretched their lead from 20 to 30-plus points over the remaining 13 minutes.
Lafayette finishes up the tournament tomorrow evening with a 5 p.m. game against UNC Asheville, which lost 64-53 to Western Michigan in the opening game of the invitational.
Postgame Notes:
- Tomorrow's game against UNC Asheville marks the first meeting between the teams.
- This was the second-consecutive season the Leopards have faced a ranked opponent (they squared off against then-No. 14 Rutgers last December). On Jan. 3, Lafayette travels to Iowa State, a squad that has consistently received votes in the national polls this season.
