By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
For the second consecutive Sunday, William & Mary took one of the Colonial Athletic Association's elite programs to the wire. But like before, the Tribe wasn't quite able to close the deal.
Trailing for nearly three-fourths of the game, James Madison rallied in the fourth quarter for a 64-58 win in Kaplan Arena. The Dukes took the lead for good with 1:40 remaining and sealed it by going 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 13.7 seconds.
W&M (6-14, 1-8 CAA) led 31-13 early in the second quarter but after making 12 of its first 20 shots missed seven of its last nine. Madison (11-10, 7-3) made it an eight-point game at the break and led 46-44 going into the fourth quarter.
"A great basketball game, but a tough one for the Tribe to swallow," W&M coach Ed Swanson said. "We had a great crowd and the energy was terrific in Kaplan today. Hopefully, they enjoyed the game than I do right now.
"This team has brought it every day in practice and the games. We just have to stay focused longer and we have to play harder longer. … Our team went toe-to-toe with one of the perennial better teams in our conference, and it's disappointing we didn't get the result we wanted."
A week earlier, the Tribe took first-place Drexel to two overtimes before losing 75-67. That time, W&M kept it close for three quarters before making its move in the fourth. This time, the Tribe got off to a big lead behind Riley Casey, who scored 16 of her 20 points in the first 13 minutes.
Casey's two free throws with 7:31 left in the second quarter gave the Tribe a 31-13 lead, but the Dukes closed with a 12-2 run. JMU's Kiki Jefferson dominated the rest of the way by scoring 22 of her 32 points after halftime.
It was a Jefferson 3-pointer that cut W&M's lead to 42-41 with 2:51 left in the third. After a W&M turnover, Jaylin Carodine gave JMU its first lead since 2-0 with a steal and layup. She missed her chance for an and-one, but Jefferson scored off the rebound to make it 45-42.
Bre Bellamy's layup tied it 56-56 with 1:55 remaining. But 15 seconds later, Jefferson sliced through W&M's defense for a layup that put the Dukes ahead for good at 58-56.
Madison went 5-of-9 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
"Kiki's an all-league player, but I thought she scored on our lack of discipline on defense at times," Swanson said. "She hit a couple of threes, and that's not her game. We had hands-down on defense. We weren't guarding the way we needed to guard her.
"Everybody on our staff and our team knew who would try to take over the game in the second half, and that was Jefferson. Some of our lack of focus at certain times allowed that."
Casey was outstanding, particularly in the first half when she scored 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 4-of-7 from the 3-point arc. It was the fifth time in her last six games that Casey played at least 40 minutes.
"Riley's been a bulldog for us all year," Swanson said. "She missed (five) games early in the season with an injury, and she fought hard to get back because she knew how much this team needed her. She's playing with great poise and energy.
"She's handling the ball, she's asked to score, and on top of it we asked her to guard the best player on the other team. She's been great all year. What you saw today is what we see every day."
Next up: The Tribe will go on the road to play at Charleston (12-9, 4-6) Friday and at UNC Wilmington (3-16, 0-9) on Sunday.
