Harrisonburg, Va. – Despite double-doubles from senior
Sandra Dongmo and junior
Ashunae Durant, Hofstra Women's Basketball fell to James Madison, 93-57, at the Convocation Center on Friday night.
Dongmo recorded her second career double-double for the Pride (7-6, 0-2 CAA) finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Durant's 16 points and 10 rebounds marked her eighth double-double of the season as she went 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
The Dukes (9-4, 2-0 CAA) finished with four players in double figures, led by conference leading scorer Precious Hall with 23 points. Amber Porter put up 17, while Kamiah Smalls and Lexie Barrier each chipped in 14. Hall exploded for 17 points in the first half, but the Pride held her to just six in the second half.
James Madison jumped out to an early 15-6 lead midway through the first quarter, led by seven early points from Hall. A pair of made free throws from freshman
Marianne Kalin snapped a scoreless drought for the Pride, cutting the deficit to 15-8. Junior
Ashunae Durant went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and senior
Krystal Luciano made a pair of shots from the stripe to bring it to 22-16 with just over a minute left, but a Hailee Barron three-pointer pushed the Dukes' lead to 25-16 at the end of the quarter.
Hall knocked down a three early in the second to bring the lead to 30-17. Junior
Olivia Askin then drained a pair of treys of her own to cut the hole back to seven, but Hall answered right back to make it 33-23 with five minutes left in the half. After JMU had taken a 41-28 lead, Askin came up with a key steal on Hall to cut a late possession short for the Dukes, but after JMU got the ball back, Lexie Barrier hit a shot as time expired to give the Dukes a 43-28 lead at the break.
Hall made a pair of free throws to open the second half before Dongmo and Luciano knocked down layups for the Pride. A three from Kamiah Smalls pushed JMU's lead to 20 with 6:07 left in the third. Durant knocked down a long-range jumper with just over three minutes left to halt a scoreless span for Hofstra. Freshman
Ana Hernandez Gil drained her first attempted three and Durant stayed hot at the free throw line, but the Dukes took a 67-44 lead into the final frame.
JMU continued to push its advantage in the fourth quarter. Freshman
Sandra Karsten and Hernandez Gil each sank a three to bring the score to 89-57 with just over three minutes to go, before the Dukes capped the game at 93-57.
Hofstra's contest scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday has been postponed due to the threat of inclement weather from Winter Storm Helena.