HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison University held off a fourth quarter run by the Towson University women's basketball team and claimed a 61-45 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victory on Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Dominique Johnson led the Tigers with 13 points and seven rebounds against the Dukes.

THE BASICS
James Madison 61, Towson 45
Convocation Center, Harrisonburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• An Ashley Perez three-pointer with 3:05 to go in the first quarter gave James Madison a 12-3 advantage.
• Towson scored three of the final five points in the stanza but trailed 14-6 after one quarter. All three of Towson's points during that closing stretch came from Johnson.
• Free throw shooting played a major role in the second quarter. The Dukes (20-5, 13-1 CAA) scored 10 of their 12 points in the stanza from the foul line. Jazmon Gwathmey and Angela Mickens each went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in that 10 minute stretch.
• Towson scored four of the final five points in the stanza and the two teams went into the break with James Madison leading 26-14. Sophomore guard Shanea Butler had all four of the Tiger points during that closing stretch.
• James Madison opened the third quarter on a 13-5 run and led 39-19 with 3:02 to go in the period. Perez and Gwathmey each had five points during that stretch.
• The Tigers scored four of the final six points in the stanza and trailed 41-23 after three.
• Towson opened the fourth quarter on a 13-6 run and cut the James Madison lead to 11, 47-36 with 5:09 to play. Junior guard Raven Bankston scored six points during that scoring stretch.
• The two teams traded baskets and James Madison led 49-38 with 4:40 showing on the clock.
• Towson cut the James Madison lead to 12, 54-42 with 1:55 to play as freshman forward Brittany Tarr hit one of two from the foul line.
• James Madison scored seven of the last 10 points and claimed the 61-45 victory.

QUOTABLE

• "It's always a good game when you come up to JMU, the atmosphere makes it good for women's basketball," said Towson Head Coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "I loved the fight my young women showed today, it's always a battle when you come up and we fought until the end. The difference in today's game was at the free throw line and on the offensive boards."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• A large portion of the game was spent at the foul line. James Madison went 16-for-28 (57.1%) from the charity stripe. Towson was 10-for-18 (55.6%) from the foul line.
• Towson (6-20, 3-12 CAA) got 11 points from Bankston and Tarr tied Johnson for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
• James Madison won the rebounding battle, 56-40 after grabbing 22 offensive rebounds.
• Gwathmey led James Madison with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, Feb. 26 when they travel to William & Mary for a 7 p.m. game.