HARRISONBURG — Owner of the most expressive face on James Madison’s women’s basketball team, Lexie Barrier says the most when she’s not even talking.

Whether biting her lip when she doesn’t agree with a foul call, holding back laughter when point guard Logan Reynolds tries to lighten the mood or rolling her eyes when Kamiah Smalls calls her “Alexis,” it’s usually easy to tell what the junior from Ironton, Ohio, is thinking.

So Tuesday afternoon before JMU departed for Newark, Del., and the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, it wasn’t really the words, but the fact the came through gritted teeth that told the story. Smalls, who gets away with calling her Alexis by virtue of being the best player on the team and Barrier’s best friend was snubbed for the CAA Player of the Year award, and the Dukes were none too happy about it.

“I’m proud of everyone who made (all-conference) on our team and I’m respectful of everyone who made it for somebody else,” Barrier, a second-team All-CAA pick herself, said. “But I also feel like I’ve never seen somebody average numbers and field goal percentages like my teammate, Kamiah. Not any disrespect to Bailey Greenberg, because she’s a great player as well, but Kamiah just did something very special this year. I guess it wasn’t as noticed as we thought it would be.”

Drexel’s Bailey Greenberg, the league’s leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, won the honors and told Philly.com it took her by surprise.

She wasn’t alone. Many in the Harrisonburg area expected the conference coaches to vote for Smalls nearly unanimously. Instead she was third on some ballots despite leading the Dukes (25-4, 17-1 CAA) to a first place finish while outscoring opponents by 16.5 points per game.

“I just think things could have gone a different way,” Smalls said. “But I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”Angry Dukes Ready To Open CAA Tournament

Smalls averaged 16.6 points per game, a number that dipped after going to the bench early with a jammed finger in the regular season finale. She also did it on a remarkably efficient 48.4 percent shooting and ranking in the top 18 in the conference in rebounds, assists and 3-point shooting.

So now the team that dominated the CAA in the regular season enters the conference tournament with a chip on its shoulder, and, the Dukes say, fully healthy after injury scares to Smalls and reserve guard Madison Green in the regular season finale.

“We’re actually blessed in that regard,” Barrier said. “I think we are more healthy than we’ve been at this point in other years.”

JMU arrived in Delaware Tuesday night and open the tournament Thursday at noon with a quarterfinal matchup against ninth-seeded Hofstra, who got 42 points from Boogie Brozoski in an opening-round victory against Elon.

Smalls’ snub may add some fuel, but with the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in three years potentially on the line, motivation was never going to be lacking for JMU.