HARRISONBURG, Va. (November 25, 2020) – In a difficult first challenge to the 2020-21 season, Mount St. Mary's women's basketball hung tough with an athletic and physical James Madison squad. But the Mountaineers were held in check on offense by the Dukes, who handed them a 69-55 defeat.
Rebecca Lee was the brightest light for the Mount (0-1), securing her fifth career double-double with seven minutes to spare. Over 26 minutes, the senior tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds, along with four assists and a block. She led the team in all four categories.
James Madison (1-0) contained the rest of the offense, holding the visitors to 27.9 percent (19-for-68) from the floor. One key component to the Mount's game – three point shooting – escaped them for most of the afternoon. They were shut out from beyond the arc in the first half, eventually finishing 5-for-31 on the day.
Aryna Taylor hit from downtown three times to lead the team.
Kendall Bresee and
Taylor Addison battled to score eight points each, with Bresee adding seven rebounds and Addison contributing six boards.
The Dukes – with several players taller than six feet – controlled the rebounding game, finishing plus-17 in rebound margin. Rayne Tucker had a double-double of her own with game-highs of 16 points and 18 boards.
Lee made her presence known early on, scoring the first points of the season with an old-fashioned three-point play. She would accumulate seven of the team's first nine points to provide an early spark. Mount led 3-0 before the Dukes rallied to take a 4-3 lead. Despite coming up short from long range, tough defense and clutch foul shots kept the game within two, 14-12, after one quarter of play.
Michaela Harrison registered a layup to tie the score in the opening seconds of the second quarter, but JMU responded with a 10-2 run. The two sides traded points to a 29-22 Dukes lead at halftime.
Although Mount was unable to regain the lead, they fought to keep within striking distance until the final minutes. After no three pointers for 24 minutes, Bresee finally found pay dirt from the left wing midway through the third. Addison's subsequent layup cut the deficit to five and forced James Madison to call time. But once again the home side responded, pushing the lead into double digits as the fourth quarter began. Mount was able to come within five points again inside of four minutes to go, but one final push from JMU sealed the contest, ending the game on a 12-3 run.
The Mountaineers' next game will be Monday in the nation's capital when they take on Howard. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium.
