HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 17, 2011 -- The James Madison University women's basketball team won its third straight contest and its 12th consecutive home game as the Dukes (3-0) beat Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-2) 61-53 Thursday night at the JMU Convocation Center.
* Leading scorers for JMU were sophomore guard Kirby Burkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby), who scored all of her 16 points in the first half (including four three-pointers), and junior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch), also with 16... junior guard Jasmine Gill (Greensboro, N.C./Page) scored a season-high 13.
* UMES was led by junior forward Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) with 14 points and senior guard Caitlyn Dillard (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) with 13 points.
* Top rebounders for the Dukes included junior forward Nikki Newman (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby) with a game-high nine... Burkholder, Gill and senior forward Lauren Whitehurst (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) had eight apiece
* JMU pulled away to a nine-point (26-17 at 9:03) point lead with a 9-2 run in the first half
* Dukes led 35-27 at halftime
* UMES cut the lead to three, 38-35, at 16:35, but got no closer
* JMU has won 13 straight at home... the Dukes' last home defeat was to then No. 5 Duke (75-58) on Nov. 30, 2010
* Attendance was 1,798
* Prior to tip-off, JMU Head Coach Kenny Brooks was honored for his 200th career win, and the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association championship and NCAA Tournament banners were unveiled at the JMU Convocation Center
* The Dukes' next game is Sunday (Nov. 20, 2 p.m.) at home vs. Middle Tennessee State... MTSU is ranked eighth and JMU 10th in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll
Post-Game Comments from JMU Head Coach Kenny Brooks
"I thought (the game) was ugly. UMES did a good job of creating us being stagnant. We were settling for jumpers and kept relying on the outside shot. We never had a flow. UMES beat us to the ball a lot. Our defense was so soft, so lackadaisical; we played defense as individuals and they made us pay."
