HARRISONBURG — She’s back, perhaps too early to say better than ever, but Kamiah Smalls return to James Madison’s lineup Sunday evening jump started the Dukes to a 71-54 second-round WNIT victory against South Florida.
Smalls finished with 17 points and attracted enough attention from the Bulls defense to open things up for her teammates, particularly Jackie Benitez, who busted out of a shooting slump to nail seven 3-pointers and finish with a game-high 26.
“We know when Kamiah is on the court she’s getting face guarded and she is also a really good passer, so I can just be ready to shoot,” Benitez said.
The Dukes (27-5) once again looked like a team that 10 days earlier anticipated playing this week in the NCAA Tournament, but wound up in the WNIT after injuries to Smalls and fellow all-conference guard Lexie Barrier led to a shocking quarterfinals exit in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
“If Smalls doesn’t get hurt they are in NCAA Tournament,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “It’s a shame they aren’t playing in that tournament, but today she hadn’t played in a while and she made everybody around her better. And then the Benitez kid, she had a night.”
Of course, the consolation prize that is the WNIT became a whole lot more exciting Sunday when victories by the Dukes and Virginia Tech set up a showdown between JMU and the in-state ACC school that hired away longtime Madison coach Kenny Brooks three years ago.
The Dukes and Hokies will tip off Thursday at 7 p.m. in Brooks’ return to the school where he played and then served 14 seasons as head coach, winning 337 games and making the NCAA Tournament six times in the process.
“The energy and the build up we are going to have for that game, regardless of the outcome, is going to be awesome,” JMU coach Sean O’Regan, who was an assistant under Brooks for nine seasons, said. “Kenny Brooks took this program to another level. The amount of stuff he’s done for this school, for what he’s done for me, it’s a massive thing to have him back here”
After back-to-back games with offensive struggles, it was clear early on having Smalls back in the lineup made a huge difference for the Dukes. The first-team All-CAA junior scored eight of JMU’s first 10 points, but USF (19-16) put the Dukes defense to the test on the other end.
The Bulls got good looks in the paint throughout the first quarter, shooting 45 percent from the field in the opening period and getting 14 points in the paint through the first 10 minutes to hold a one-point lead. USF’s starting frontcourt of Tamara Henshaw and Shae Leverett shot 55 percent and combined to score 26 points and grab 16 rebounds.
But the second quarter was a different story as JMU tightened up the defense and Benitez warmed up from deep to help Madison finish the half on an 18-1 run and take a 16-point lead into the intermission. The Bulls were able to cut it to seven late in the third quarter before Benitez exploded again for eight quick points in the fourth to help JMU put it away.
All in all, it was a celebratory night for the Dukes, who seemed to return to form just in time for what could be the most anticipated game at the Convocation Center in years.
“I missed this so much,” Smalls said. “I’ve been going crazy on the sidelines and this was amazing. We were relentless. We wanted to get to the next round so we could play Virginia Tech, of course.”
