March 13, 2003

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. - Fourth-seeded James Madison took control of the contest early and went on to defeat fifth-seeded George Mason 70-50 in the quarterfinals of the 2003 ALLTEL Colonial Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

In a rematch of last year's four versus five quarterfinal, JMU avenged a 65-56 loss to GMU. The teams also met in the 2001 tournament with the Dukes claiming a 72-68 overtime win.

The Dukes had four players score in double-figures as the five starters combined for 63 of JMU's 70 points. Two players collected double-doubles as senior Nadine Morgan had 16 points and pulled 10 rebounds and sophomore Lynn Liburd scored 14 and also grabbed 10 boards. Senior Shanna Price scored 14 points and had eight rebounds while senior guard Jess Cichowicz netted 11 points and dished out seven assists. Price moved into second-place on JMU's all-time scoring list with 1,484 points.

Junior guard Jen Derevjanik led George Mason with 13 points while junior Vernessa Neamo had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Patriots struggled from the floor throughout the game, hitting only 27.4 percent of their field goals. GMU converted only 7-of-31 attempts from the floor in the second half and only 1-of-13 three-pointers in the game.

The Dukes meanwhile shot 44.6 percent for the game and hit 17-of-23 free throws. JMU held a 52-32 rebounding edge.

The Dukes took control of the contest right from the start, building an early 14-4 advantage 7:13 into the contest. The first George Mason field goal did not come until the 13:45 mark of the first half on a Derevjanik basket. The Patriots pulled within six before JMU quickly extended the lead to 12 on two free throws and then a steal and layup by Liburd followed by a Cichowicz drive to the hoop.

George Mason responded with a brief 7-0 run to pull within 26-21 with 4:24 remaining. JMU would close the half on a 10-4 run to go up by 11 at intermission. George Mason could get no closer than eight points in the second half as each Patriot attempt at a comeback was thwarted by the Dukes.

James Madison advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal game where the Dukes will meet the winner of tonight's contest between top-seeded Old Dominion and eighth-seeded Hofstra.