HARRISONBURG, Va. - Towson shot 51.6% in the second half but it was not enough to help the visitors rally as James Madison claimed the 71-61 victory. Krystal Parnell led the Tigers (8-17, 2-12 CAA) with 19 points and seven assists in the game.

"I thought we played really well in the second half tonight," said Coach Joe Mathews. "We played really hard and executed well but Dawn Evans was able to get her shots like a good player does."

The Tigers jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the first half. The Dukes responded with an 11-0 run to take a 13-6 lead with 13:15 to play in the half. Lauren Jimenez had four points for the Dukes during that run. Towson used a 5-0 run to pull to within two at 13-11 with 11:37 to play. James Madison would push its lead back to nine, 20-11 with 8:15 to go on a basket by Evans. The Tigers and Dukes would trade baskets over the next several minutes with a pair of Courtney Hamner foul shots at 3:50 giving James Madison a 28-17 lead. Jalissa Taylor hit a lay-up with 56 seconds left to send James Madison into the locker room leading 32-21.

James Madison shot 52% from the floor in the first half and got nine points from Evans. Towson shot 27.3% from the floor and got six points and six rebounds from Dovile Miliauskaite. Towson held a 24-17 advantage on the boards.

Towson opened the second half on a 12-4 run to cut the home team's lead to 36-33 with 13:31 to play. Tanisha McTiller had four points for the Tigers during that stretch. James Madison would push its lead back to seven, 42-35 with 12:28 to play as Jimenez convert a three-point play. The Tigers would score six of the next eight to make it a 44-41 game with 10:03 to go. A pair of free throws from Krystin Fields at 7:21 pulled the Tigers to within two, 47-45. However, the Dukes would score nine unanswered points to push their lead to 56-45 with 4:53 to play. Five straight points from Parnell would pull the Tigers to within six, 56-50 with 3:27 to go. Hamner would answer Parnell's trey with a triple of her own and James Madison's lead would fluctuate between eight and 12 the rest of the way.

Towson shot 51.6% in the second half and finished the game shooting 39.1%. James Madison shot 36.7% in the second half and finished shooting 43.6%. Towson posted its third straight game of 40+ rebounds and won the rebounding battle 42-37.

Parnell added four rebounds in addition to her points and assists. Miliauskaite just missed a "double-double" with 11 points and nine rebounds. Fields added nine points while McTiller added eight points.

Evans led all scorers with 23 points and added four assists. Jimenez contributed a "double-double" with 14 points and 10 boards. Lauren Whitehurst finished with 14 points while Taylor grabbed 10 rebounds.

Towson wraps up its road swing by visiting George Mason on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game in Fairfax. 

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