HARRISONBURG, VA. – In women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon, the Villanova Wildcats traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia, where they earned an 84-73 victory. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-2 on the year, while James Madison falls to an identical 3-2.
The first quarter went back and forth with neither team able to open-up more than a four-point lead. Trailing 20-16 with 1:15 to play in the opening period, the Wildcats scored the final five points to lead 21-20 after one.
Villanova was 9-of-20 from the field for 45.0 percent in the first quarter, while JMU was 7-of-16 for 43.8 percent.
A run by each team was the story of the second quarter. The Wildcats led 25-23 when Villanova used a 10-2 run to take a 35-25 advantage. Junior
Kelsey Joens highlighted the spurt scoring all 10 points, including two three-point field goals.
James Madison responded to the Villanova burst with a run of its own. The Dukes closed the quarter on a 10-2 run over the final 3:50 to send the teams to halftime with Villanova leading 37-35.
Joens led the Wildcats in the first half with 10 points, while sophomore guard
Jasmine Bascoe had nine points. Bree Robinson paced the Dukes in the opening half with 12 points.
Villanova took control of the game over the first four minutes of the second half, as the Wildcats scored 10 of the first 12 points to take a 47-37 lead. Three-balls by Bascoe and freshman
Kennedy Henry sparked the run.
Senior
Ryanne Allen was outstanding in the third quarter for Villanova. Allen hit three triples in a span of 2:30 to propel the Wildcats to a 58-46 advantage. After the Dukes scored five straight points to make it a 58-51 game, Bascoe drained a three just before the third quarter buzzer to give Villanova a 61-51 lead after three.
After Allen buried another three-ball to give Villanova its largest lead of the game at 66-51, the Dukes ran off seven consecutive points to slice the lead to 66-58 with 5:31 remaining. Following a 1-of-2 effort from the foul line by junior
Brynn McCurry that ended the Wildcats scoreless stretch, James Madison got within seven at 67-60 on a lay-up by Peyton McDaniel.
A driving lay-up by Robinson made it a seven-point game again at 70-63 at the 3:24 mark. Villanova then scored five straight points on a three-pointer by Henry and a lay-up by Bascoe to put the game away.
McCurry led five Wildcats in double figures with a career-high 18 points. She was 4-of-7 from the field and 10-of-11 from the foul line. She also had a career-best seven assists and five rebounds. Bascoe finished with 17 points and Allen had 14 points, including four three-point field goals. Henry finished with 11 points, while Joens had 10 points.
James Madison was led by McDaniel with 23 points to go with 14 rebounds and Robinson who had 22 points.
For the game, Villanova was 28-of-57 from the field (49.1%), 12-of-29 from three-point range (41.4%) and 16-of-20 from the foul line (80.0%), while James Madison shot 40.6 percent from the floor (28-of-69), 4-of-20 from long distance (20.0%) and 13-of-20 from the charity stripe (65.0%). James Madison owned a 39-36 advantage on the backboards.
Villanova is off until Saturday, Nov. 22, when the Temple Owls visit the Finneran Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
