Dukes Go To Plan B In Win Over Northeastern
HARRISONBURG — James Madison’s normal offense wasn’t working Sunday, but plan B worked just fine.
The Dukes set a season-low in 3-point attempts with 12 — nine fewer than their season average — but they found a few different ways to score. They attacked the rim at every opportunity and either found easy layups or worked a trip to the foul line.
JMU sank 16 of the 18 free throws it attempted in the second half to stave off Northeastern 74-54 at the Convocation Center.
“That’s how they’re going to start playing us,” senior guard Precious Hall said. “They’re going to start forcing us not to take 3s. [Coach Sean O’Regan’s] always telling us we need to attack the basket more. We were trying to attack more and look for easier shots, but when we have wide open 3s, we’ll still take them.”
The Dukes (11-5, 4-1 Colonial Athletic Association) opened the game on a 10-0 run and extended the lead to 23-7 by sinking eight of their first 11 shots. JMU made just 35.4 percent of its attempts the rest of the way, but it shot an impressive 86.4 percent from the free-throw line in the game.
O’Regan has consistently asked his teams to attack the rim more all season, but he said he believes the team has grown from last week’s loss to Towson when the Dukes were 2-of-21 on 3-pointers and attempted just nine free throws in the second half.
“I think it’s just lesson learned,” the first-year coach said. “Since that game, we’ve been zoned almost the entire game. It didn’t surprise me at all, but all right, good, we need to work on our zone offense. We’re working through it and the mentality is a huge boost for us in that respect in attacking and getting to the free-throw line.”
Kamiah Smalls tied her career high with 18 points to tie for the team lead, but the biggest difference in her game came in her aggressiveness. The freshman guard powered her way toward the basket more often Sunday, attempting more free throws against Northeastern (eight) than she had in the previous four game combined (seven).
“At practice all week, [assistant coach Ashlee McGee has] been telling me ‘You have to be more aggressive. You have to get to the line, we need those points,’” Smalls said. “Doing those things really gives my teammates more opportunities. That’s just something that I’m starting to focus on and build up.”
The Dukes’ mindset to attack the rim helped add to what was already a physical game from the start. Hall caught an elbow to the face two minutes into the game, bloodying her nose and forcing her to the sideline for a bit. The senior guard never really found her stroke after that, scoring 18 points on just 4-of-19 shooting by forcing her way to 10 free-throw attempts.
Northeastern (6-11, 2-3 CAA) looked the most prepared to face the Dukes, who are known for their physical style of play on both ends of the court, out of any of JMU’s opponents. Francesca Sally battled her way to 16 points and 11 rebounds in the post while Claudia Ortiz scored a game-high 19 by finding the openings in the JMU defense.
“Their style is a physical style of basketball,” Huskies coach Kelly Cole said. “Our kids are competitors and anytime you have that many good athletes on the floor and they’re competing at that level, it’s going to be a physical game. If the officials are letting that physicality kind of go, that’s where the game is going to go.”
After JMU’s opening run, the Huskies were able to hang around with good defense and opportunistic shooting. The Dukes stretched the lead to 14 at the start of the third quarter with a 10-3 run fueled by seven foul shots and then effectively closed the game on a 10-2 spurt that included eight free throws over the final 4:18.
“O says the game is like a roller coaster,” Hall said. “With it, you have to find your own way to win. That’s where we’re starting to know what to do at what time. … When we start having closer games, that’s going to be really important because things aren’t always going to go our way.”