HARRISONBURG, Va. – Backed by
Mide Oriyomi's team-high, 19-point effort on Monday, the Northeastern women's basketball team sported a halftime lead against James Madison despite granting the Dukes enough leeway to collect the 67-49 result at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
Oriyomi nearly posted her second consecutive double-double, tracking down nine rebounds while dialing up two 3-point baskets for the Huskies. Fellow NU sophomore
Mossi Staples elevated her career scoring high to 14 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field while registering four of the team's six steals.
After surrendering an 8-0 run to the hosts during the game's opening two minutes, Northeastern (2-6, 1-4 CAA) settled in, locking down its defensive game. The Huskies responded by keeping James Madison (7-4, 3-1 CAA) off the scoreboard through the next nine minutes of play – part of the 24-8 NU scoring run that occupied a 17-minute stretch of the first half.
Northeastern scored 20 of its 26 first half points off JMU turnovers, coaxing 14 out of the Dukes before halftime. The Huskies also limited the Dukes to 30-percent shooting from the floor (7-for-23) across the opening two quarters.
Within a minute of the second half starting, Northeastern had extended its 26-21 lead to a 32-24 advantage, receiving back-to-back 3-pointers from Oriyomi and
Stella Clark. However, JMU replied with 11 unanswered points, reclaiming the lead and sending the Huskies into a called timeout with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter.
Ayanna Dublin's drive through the lane knotted the game at 37-37 with four and a half minutes left until the quarter break, but the Dukes' offense did not back down. JMU broke the tie with a 7-0 scoring run before shooting 64 percent from the field during the fourth quarter, where the Dukes outscored the Huskies by a 19-6 margin.
Kiki Jefferson led James Madison's three double-figure scorers with 20 points, racking up seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Madison Green and Peyton McDaniel followed Jefferson's lead with matching 14-point lines.
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