The win by the visiting Bobcats in their season-opening game ended JMU's home winning streak at nine games. JMU dropped to 0-2 after losing its second game in three days.
The loss ended JMU's home winning streak at nine games. The Dukes had not lost at home since falling 72-65 to #15/16 Delaware (72-65) on Jan. 29, 2012.
JMU's last home loss to an unranked team was to Drexel (60-43) on Jan. 12, 2012, and the Dukes' last home loss to an unranked non-conference opponent was to Hampton (69-64) in JMU's 2010-11 season-opener on Nov. 12, 2010.
Senior guard Felicia Barron (Springfield, Mass./Central) led Quinnipiac with 23 points, and sophomore forward/center Samantha Guastella (Red Bank N.J./Red Bank Catholic) and junior forward Brittany McQuain (Independence, Mo./William Chrisman) each recorded double-doubles. Guastella had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and McQuain contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.
JMU was led by junior guard Kirby Burkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) with 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Also in double figures was senior guard Tarik Hislop (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) with 16.
JMU was up by seven (27-20) at halftime and held a 33-24 lead with 17:50 on the clock. The Bobcats, however, ran off nine straight points, four of them by sophomore guard Jasmine Martin (Slicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek), to tie the game at 33 with 15:49 left.
After a JMU free throw put the Dukes ahead 34-33, Barron scored on back-to-back three-point plays as Quinnipiac went in front of JMU for the first time since the Bobcats led 7-6 at the 10:55 mark of the first half. Barron's second three-point play at 12:52 put her team ahead 39-34.
A short jumper by Hislop and a runner in the lane by redshirt senior guard Jasmine Gill (Greensboro, N.C./Page) got the Dukes within one, 39-38, at 12:12.
However, Quinnipiac responded with a 14-4 scoring run to pull out to an 11-point (53-42) lead with 6:00 to play. The Bobcats started the run with eight unanswered points, beginning with a jumper by McQuain at 11:53. McQuain also scored the final six points of the run on a 10-foot jumper, a put-back on a rebound and two free throws.
The Dukes were able to close the gap to three twice (55-52 at 2:33 and 57-54 at 1:37) but could get no closer.
Notes:
0-2 Start Rare for Dukes: This marks the first time JMU has lost its first two games of the season under 11th-year head coach Kenny Brooks. The last time JMU lost its first two contests was in 2002-03. Bud Childers was the coach for JMU's first three games that year, then Kenny Brooks became an interim coach while Childers was on medical leave.
Back-to-Back 20+ Points Junior guard Kirby Burkholder has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games, and this marks the first time in her career that that has happened. She scored 26 points (one under her career high) on Nov. 9 at Virginia and 24 points today vs. Quinnipiac on Nov. 11.
JMU Career Lists: Senior guard Tarik Hislop has 359 free throws and has moved from seventh to fifth. Junior guard Kirby Burkholder moved into the top 10 for three-pointers. She is ninth with 102.
First Start for Shepherd Since 2010: Redshirt senior forward Kanita Shepherd started for the Dukes for the first time since being in JMU's starting lineup vs. Iowa on Nov. 25, 2010. She suffered a knee injury nine games into the 2010-11 season and saw her first game action since Dec. 12, 2010 (at Middle Tennessee State), when she came off the bench to play 25 minutes at Virginia on Nov. 9.
