College of Charleston
James Madison
Women?s Hoops Falls at Home to James Madison
1/25/2015 10:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophomore standout Bre Bolden celebrated her birthday in style on Sunday with an impressive 21-point display, but it wasn't enough as the College of Charleston women's basketball team fell short against defending conference champion James Madison, 73-53, at TD Arena.
Outside of Bolden, who led the team in points, rebounds and steals, it was junior Jacqueline Luna-Castro who shined brightest, dropping 12 points on five-of-10 from the floor and chipping in on the glass with four rebounds. Erin Hall also contributed on the offensive end with nine, while freshman point guard Shiclasia Brown continued her maturation, dishing out six assists in 37 minutes of action.
As a team, the Cougars (4-15, 2-6 CAA) shot the ball at a 35% clip, while forcing 15 turnovers and holding the conference leading Dukes (17-2, 8-0 CAA) to below their season average in almost every major statistical category. However, led by a 20-point showing from preseason CAA Player of the Year Precious Hall, the Harrisonburg outfit managed to fight off a highly-competitive first half, to claim their 27th conference win in their last 28 outings.
It was a strong opening twenty minutes for The College, led by the tenacious play of Bolden, who delighted the Cougars faithful with great play on both ends of the floor. After a lay-up from Ashley Perez gave the visitor's an 11-3 lead out of the gates, it looked as though the 2013-14 NCAA Tournament participants might run away with it, but the Cougars showed their resiliency, quickly closing the gap to three after Hall splashed a step-back triple with 12:23 to go in the half. The Dukes extended their lead to 12, but again the Cougars pushed back, as back-to-back jumpers from Hall and a layup from Bolden brought The College to within seven, 35-28, with just 33 seconds to go in the opening stanza. CofC nearly cut in to the deficit further, but a late pull-up jumper from Bolden rattled out as time expired.
After the break, James Madison came out a reinvigorated team, extending their advantage from seven to 13 in the opening two minutes of play. From there it was all James Madison as the Cougars came no closer than 11 the rest of the way, eventually falling, 73-53.
Up next for Charleston is a weekend road swing through Philadelphia and Baltimore, where the Cougars will face Drexel and Towson next Friday (Jan. 31) and Sunday (Feb. 1), respectively.
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