UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - No. 2 James Madison earned a 59-48 win over the No. 7 Towson University women's basketball team in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Quarter-final contest in Upper Marlboro, Md. Junior guard Tanisha McTiller, who was a second team All-CAA selection, led the Tigers with 27 points.

"We came out a little slow and putting ourselves in a quick 11 deficit hurt," said Towson coach Joe Mathews. "I thought once we got past that point we really battled and I'm proud of my team. The fact that we outrebounded them was a good sign for the future."

James Madison (22-9) opened the game on a 9-0 run as Jazmon Gwathmey scored four points for the Dukes in the first four minutes. James Madison extended its lead to 13-2 as Tarik Hislop hit a jumper at 13:48. The Tigers (12-18) used a 7-2 run to pull to within six, 15-9 with 4:53 remaining in the half. McTiller had five for the Tigers during the run. The Tigers and Dukes traded baskets over the next several minutes. Freshman guard Dominique Johnson hit a jumper with 35 seconds remaining in the half to make it a 24-15 game at intermission.

James Madison shot 19% from the field in the first half while the Tigers shot 17.2%. Both teams grabbed 30 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Dukes opened the second half on a 12-4 run to increase their lead to 36-19 with 14:35 to play. Precious Hall had eight of the Dukes' 12 points during that stretch. The Tigers responded by scoring 12 of the game's next 18 points to cut it to 11 points, 42-31 with 9:21 to play. McTiller and senior forward Michelle Peebles each scored four points during that run by the Tigers. The two teams continued to battle as Gwathmey hit one-of-two from the foul line at 4:01 to give James Madison a 50-34 advantage. The two teams traded baskets as Hislop made a pair of free throws with 58 seconds left to give the Dukes a 57-39 advantage. That was James Madison's largest lead of the game. McTiller hit three three-pointers in the final 40 seconds of play to make the final score 59-48.

James Madison shot 40% from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 27.8%. The Tigers shot 32.3% in the second half and 25% for the game. Towson won the rebounding battle, 55-51.

McTiller's 27 points gave her 564 points for the season, the second most in single-season history at Towson. She added eight rebounds and two steals. Peebles finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while redshirt junior forward Nyree Williams had a team-high 14 rebounds.

Hall led James Madison with 16 points and seven rebounds while Hislop had 13 points.

The Tigers lose Peebles to graduation but return four of their top five leading scorers for next season. The game was also the final for Mathews, who will not return for the Tigers next season.