AT 
James Madison at Drexel
Wednesday, March 6 | 7 PM | John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center
Live Stats | JMU Audiostream | Drexel Videostream
THE BASICS
◊ Tickets: Tickets are $6
for adult general admission and free for youth.
Please click here
for specific information.
◊ Parking
: Parking is $7 in the
Drexel Garage (located on the corner of 34th & Market Streets) and is
available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please click here
for a map of campus.
◊ Where: John A. Daskalakis
Athletic Center, Philadelphia, Pa. (capacity: 2,532)
◊ Multimedia:
>> Local Radio: WHBG
1360 AM (Harrisonburg, Va.)
>> JMU Audiostream:
MadiZONE on JMUSports.com (free; requires registration)
>>
Drexel Videostream: DrexelDragons.com
(free)
LAST MATCH-UP
1/10/13,
JMU Convocation Center: Drexel 48, JMU 46
NOTES OF NOTE
♦
The winner of the JMU/Drexel game will
be the No. 2 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball
tournament, and the loser will be the No. 3 seed.
♦
Drexel has won three of the last four
meetings between the Dragons and the Dukes, including a two-point win earlier
this season when JMU had led for the duration of the game. The other two recent wins featured 17-point
deficits: 60-43, Jan. 12, 2012 at JMU Convocation Center; 67-50, March 10, 2012
in the CAA semifinals.
DREXEL SCOUTING
REPORT
♦ The Dragons are one game back of the
Dukes in the CAA standings heading into the final game of the regular season
for both squads. Drexel holds a 14-3
conference record and a 20-8 overall record.
♦
Senior guard Hollie Mershon boasts
the second-best scoring average in the league, dropping 19.2 points per
game. In a March 3 loss at #18 Delaware
(62-57), the senior dropped a team-high 26 points and was the lone Dragon in
double-figures. She also dished out six
assists in the loss, just above her average 4.3 assists per game (second in the
CAA). Mershon also leads the Dragons in
rebounds (6.3) and in steals (1.4) while she accounts for 40.2 percent of
Drexel's made free throws (104).
♦ In
conference play, senior guard Renee Johnson-Allen
is leading the team in rebounds (6.2).
She is also contributing 4.8 points per game on 40.8 percent shooting
and 26.0 minutes played per outing.
♦ Senior
forward Taylor Wootton is the second
Dragon averaging double-figures, dropping 10.9 points per outing on 49.4
percent shooting from the floor. She
leads the team in foul-outs this season (3) with her latest coming in the
waning moments in the March 3 loss at #18 Delaware.
♦
Drexel is allowing opponents to score just
51.9 points, the second-best scoring defense in the CAA, and only 35.3 percent
of those points are coming from 3-pointers.
The Dragons lead the league in five statistical categories: free throw
percentage (.790), field goal percentage (.423), rebound defense (32.9),
assists (15.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
♦ The Dukes are 14-3 against CAA foes and 20-9 overall heading into the final game of the regular season. JMU has won 17 of its last 20 games, and the three losses have come against Drexel (48-46, Jan. 10) and #18 Delaware (71-64, Feb. 10; 61-60, Feb. 24).
♦ Freshman guard Precious Hall has earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the fifth time this season after averaging 15.5 points per game off of 54.5 percent shooting from the field and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe. She poured in a career-high 26 points on Feb. 28 in a 77-61 victory over Old Dominion.
♦ Over the last 10 games, junior guard Kirby Burkholder has averaged a double-double with 12.9 points and 10.4 rebounds. She posted her eighth double-double of the season on March 3 against George Mason when she put up 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. For the year, Burkholder is averaging 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds.
♦ Sophomore forward Toia Giggetts and redshirt freshman guard Jazmon Gwathmey have also posted impressive statistics over the same 10-game span. Giggetts is second on the team in rebounds with 8.2 per game. She is also scoring 9.2 points per game, including a season-high 15 points against Mason on Sunday. Her 50.7 percent made field goal average is eclipsed only by Gwathmey's made field goal average of 52.9 percent. Gwathmey is averaging 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds for the last 10 games. She notched her first career double-double against Old Dominion on Feb. 28 when she scored 13 points with 11 rebounds.
♦ JMU is scoring a league-leading 68.8 points per game while allowing opponents to put just 58.1 points on the board to create the second-best scoring margin in the CAA (+10.8). The Dukes are helped along by their ability to clean the glass as they lead in five rebound-centered statistical categories: rebounding offense (43.1), rebounding margin (+6.7), offensive rebounds (17.4), offensive rebound percentage (.412) and defensive rebound percentage (.690). They also lead the conference with a +3.72 turnover margin.
