HARRISONBURG — If the name Bobby Knight resonates though the Convocation Center during a James Madison women’s basketball practice, it doesn’t mean the legendary basketball coach is in town.

It’s the term Dukes coach Sean O’Regan uses to exemplify the type of grit the players need to exhibit to win in the Colonial Athletic Association. That type of effort was a major reason JMU returned from its annual northeastern trip 2-0 in the conference, battling against poor shooting and sloppy turnovers to defeat Hofstra and Northeastern.

“Obviously, we want to be cleaner with our wins and play in general, but we’re a very gritty team and we’re just going to get it done however possible,” junior guard Logan Reynolds said. “Basically, we’re just going to Bobby Knight it, that’s what Coach O usually says.”

“Bobby Knight-ing it for us is just getting it done,” sophomore Lexie Barrier added. “It’s not going to be pretty, it’s not going to be perfect, it might not be the way we plan it, but at the end of the day, we get the job done.”

That mindset has permeated many aspects of the Dukes program, including O’Regan’s choice in starting lineup. During JMU’s recent three-game winning streak, the second-year coach has removed both of his seniors — Hailee Barron and Tasia Butler — from his opening five and replacing them with Reynolds and redshirt sophomore Kayla Cooper-Williams. O’Regan said he was pleased with how both players have responded, pointing to Barron’s clutch free throws and 3-pointer down the stretch that helped seal JMU’s win over Northeastern.

However, the adjustment was bigger for Butler, who started all 35 games last season for JMU, as compared to Barron, who has floated in and out of the starting lineup throughout her career in Harrisonburg. O’Regan said the change has only reaffirmed his faith in Butler as the Dukes’ captain because she has become an example to the underclassmen about the need to put the team before the individual.

“It’s part of the sacrifice, and we had a long talk about sacrifices after the Dayton game [on Dec. 17],” O’Regan said. “She’s responded with nothing but leadership. She’s our sole captain right now and she’s been a great leader by example to show our team what sacrifice is. I give her a lot of credit for that.”

Barrier has been able to take advantage of the new starting lineup in a big way on the glass. The sophomore has set a new career high in rebounds in three of JMU’s last four games, culminating in her first career double-double in Sunday’s 60-57 win over Northeastern.

With so much attention being paid to Cooper-Williams and Kelly Koshuta, Barrier has quietly snuck in to grab a team-best 11 offensive rebounds in the last three games. In many ways, Barrier has taken pages out of the playbook of her roommate — fellow sophomore Kamiah Smalls, the team’s leading rebounder — who has become a nuisance for teams on the offensive glass since her first game at JMU.

“Maybe she’s watching Kamiah get a couple of offensive rebounds and saying, ‘Hey, that looked like an easy layup, let me get one of those,’ but she’s a huge key for us,” O’Regan said. “There’s a growing confidence in her and she was one of the beneficiaries of the fresh start [to conference play], just kind of resetting her mind.”

The offensive rebounds have also helped energize Barrier’s shot, which had been sporadic since opening the season with 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting in the loss to Rutgers. The Ironton, Ohio, native shot 26.9 percent from the field in JMU’s final 10 non-conference games and averaged 8.5 points per game.

In JMU’s two CAA victories last weekend, Barrier averaged 15 points on 46.4 percent shooting, an improvement Barrier said was definitely related to her improved focus on offensive rebounds.

“I was struggling for awhile with my shot and [O’Regan] told me before that offensive-rebound putbacks are the easiest way to get yourself going and get some points, so that was definitely a goal of mine,” Barrier said. “It definitely made me feel better seeing the ball go through the net a couple of times and help me gain that confidence back.”

JMU (6-7, 2-0 CAA) hosts Towson (5-8, 0-2) today at 7 p.m. before welcoming Drexel (10-4, 2-0) to the Convocation Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Dragons will be fresh for the matchup with the Dukes after their game at William & Mary was postponed from today to Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Williamsburg.