Dec. 28, 2003
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Dukes (4-5) at James Madison (2-6)
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003 - 7:00 pm
Harrisonburg, Va. - JMU Convocation Center (7,156)
Audio: www.JMUsports.com (click on the JMU Audio link in the left column)
Duquesne Probable Starters James Madison Probable Starters | No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 24 | Lesley Dickinson | FR | F | 5-10 | 15.0 | 3.9 |
| 40 | Meredith Alexis | FR | F | 6-2 | 10.0 | 8.5 |
| 44 | Denae Dobbins | SO | C | 6-5 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| 20 | Jody LeRose | R-SR | G | 5-9 | 9.8 | 1.9 |
| 43 | Krystal Brooks | JR | G | 6-3 | 7.1 | 3.4 |
About the Dukes
Duquesne enters the contest with a 4-5 overall record following their 74-65 win over Siena on Monday Dec. 22nd. This will be the Dukes' seventh game, of 10 played, on the road. Senior Candace Futrell leads DU with 22.2 ppg and 7.7 rpg while sophomore Nicole Sinclair is contributing 7.3 rebounds per game. Senior Shiri Sharon leads the offense with a 5.0 assists per game average and is six dishes away from moving into second place all-time at Duquesne.
About the JMU Dukes
James Madison fell to 2-6 on the season with a 53-60 fall at Virginia Tech (8-0) Dec. 21. Denae Dobbins and Jody LeRose led the Dukes with 11 points each. They return two starters from last year's 17-12 squad, which took fourth in the CAA. Lesley Dickinson leads JMU with 15.0 ppg while Meredith Alexis adds 10.0 ppg and a team-best 8.5 rpg. They were picked to finish 5th out of 10 in the CAA pre-season poll. The Young Dukes have started three freshmen throughout the slate thus far. Their 12-member roster has just one senior and three juniors.
The Series
Duquesne holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with James Madison. The Duquesne Dukes met the James Madison Dukes for the first time last season in Pittsburgh with Duquesne taking a 70-53 victory.
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 11th year at Duquesne and as a head coach. He is 4-5 this season and 134-154 overall over his tenure. Kenny Brooks is in his second year at the helm of James Madison and as a head coach. He is 18-16 overall. Brooks was a guard on JMU's men's basketball team and served as an assist coach for both the men and women at JMU prior to being named the Dukes' head women's coach.
Next Game
The Dukes open Atlantic 10 play on Jan. 4 as they travel to Philadelphia to face Saint Joseph's Jan. 4 and La Salle Jan. 6.
The Dukes' Last Game
Duquesne took a 74-65 victory over visiting Siena on Dec. 22 at the Palumbo Center to improve to 4-5 on the season. Candace Futrell led all scorers with 30 points marking the fourth time in her career she had netted 30 or more markers. She also grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds. Aiga Bautre added 15 points for the Dukes. Shiri Sharon paced the Dukes with six assists. Siena was led by Liene Jansone with a season-best 27 points.
Siena held an 11-6 lead with 13:22 to go in the first period before the Dukes sprang to a 13-4 run to snag a 23-15 ledge with 7:30 remaining. The Saints hits six unanswered points to bring the game to a 21-23 reach, but Duquesne rattled off a 15-3 drive to take a 38-24 lead into the half. Duquesne shot .560 (14-25) from the field in the first half and nailed 18 of their points inside the paint.
Duquesne held at least a 12-point edge early in the second frame before the Saints got within a 34-44 reach at the 13:22 mark. DU jumped to a 10-0 drive lead by Loui Hall's eight points to gain a 54-34 lead as 10:49 showed. Siena hit a 6-0 run of their own but would not get closer than 14 points until a late and strong 9-2 drive cut the lead to a 61-52 Duquesne edge with 4:58 ticking. The Saints would not get closer to a lead. The Red & Blue held at least a 10 point margin from then on until Michelle Blot hit a Siena jumper in the final second for the 74-65 final.
Duquesne shot .500 (26-52) from the field for the game and held a slight 34-33 rebounding edge. Siena shot .400 (24-60) from the field and just .118 (2-17) from the three-point line. Duquesne connected on 7-21 treys for a .333 accuracy.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and James Madison compare statistically
| 2004 | GP | FGM | FGA | PCT | RPG | ATG | TOG | BLG | STG | PPG |
| DU | 9 | 213 | 551 | .387 | 38.0 | 13.7 | 18.2 | 2.7 | 7.3 | 68.9 |
| JMU | 8 | 185 | 439 | .421 | 34.9 | 12.5 | 20.3 | 3.3 | 7.0 | 62.5 |
The Last Time They Met
Candace Futrell led all scorers with 15 points as the Dukes defeated visiting James Madison 70-53 Nov. 27, 2002 at the Palumbo Center. Beth Friday and Shiri Sharon each recorded double-doubles as Friday grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds and added 10 points and Sharon dished out 10 assists and netted 11 markers. Shanna Price and Jody LeRose led James Madison with 12 points each. Nadine Morgan led the JMU with 10 boards. The first half saw three ties and three lead changes in the first seven minutes before Duquesne rattled off a 10-0 run for a 22-12 lead with 9:49 remaining. James Madison saw over five minutes of scoreless play before a 13-0 drive, which included three extra-point goals, gave the visitor a 25-22 edge as 2:44 remained in the first half. Sharon hit a three-point goal to tie the game 25-25 at the 2:15 mark followed by a lay-up from Madison's Jess Cichowicz for a 25-27 DU deficit. Futrell nailed her second trey of the half with :04 on the clock to give Duquesne a 28-27 advantage at the break. Duquesne out-scored JMU 8-2 to open the second half for a 38-31 lead with just three minutes off the clock, but the visiting Dukes hit two field goals in :20 for a 35- 38 reach of the lead - their closest of the second period. Nikolina Pender sparked a 20-6 Duquesne scoring spree to give the Dukes a 58-41 advantage and the lead for good with 8:35 to go. Nicole Sinclair's lay-up at 6:42 started an 8-2 DU drive that was capped by Friday's jumper at 3:01 for the Dukes' largest lead of the game (68-48). Duquesne shot .519 (28-54) from the field while James Madison shot just .328 (22-67). Four Dukes hit double figures as Nikolina Pender also added 10 points in the win.
Common Opponents
Duquesne and James Madison share one common opponent - West Virginia. Duquesne suffered a 86-68 loss to the Mountaineers Dec. 20 while JMU fell 89-63 on Nov. 29 at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas.
No Stop'n Futrell
All-America candidate Candace Futrell produced her fourth career game scoring 30 or more points with a 30- point effort vs. Siena Dec. 22. She notched her third the earlier this season pouring in a game-best 32 points in the Dukes' loss to Kentucky at the USF odwalla Classic over Thanksgiving. This past summer, she became the first Duquesne player to compete in the USA Basketball Team Trials when she was one of 60 D-I athletes invited to participate. The 5-10 guard did not make either of the 12- member rosters, but had the chance to compete with some of the top talent in the country. One of the top scoring threats in Duquesne history and the Atlantic 10, she entered her senior campaign with 1,047 career points, even after missing eight games last year with injuries. Futrell averaged 19.5 ppg as a junior and owns a teambest 22.3 ppg average this year. Futrell stands 8th on the Duquesne career list with 1,247. The quick and agile guard could surpass Darcie Vincent as the #2 scorer with 1,538 points. Futrell would need to net 292 markers to do so.
Duquesne Career Points Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 2,631 1995-98 2 Darcie Vincent 1,538 1989-92 3 Beth Friday 1,410 2000-03 4 Kris Sebastian 1,374 1991-94 5 Kathy Ridilla 1,312 1986-89 6 Amy Alger 1,306 1986-89 7 Becky Oglevee 1,292 1983-86 8 Candace Futrell 1,247 2001-present 9 Katie Collins 1,186 1987-9010 Chrissi Stough 1,152 1981-84
Sharon Becomes Fourth to Hit 500 Assists
Shiri Sharon posted a DU and Atlantic 10 best 6.6 apg average last year, which also stood 12th in the NCAA. She became the first player at Duquesne over the past nine-years to record 12 assists in a game when she did so at Xavier marking a career high and a league single-game best mark. On the season she had four games with double-figure dishes. She moved into fourth all-time at Duquesne in just her third season with 505. She is on track to be the first Duquesne player to reach 600 career assists. Sharon is currently fourth among A-10 leaders with a 5.0 assist per game average and stands third all-time at Duquesne.
Sharon's Season High Assists - 2004
8 ........ vs West Virginia 12/207 ........ at Pitt 12/36 ........ vs Siena 12/225 ........ at Toledo 11/255 ........ vs Robert Morris 11/23
Duquesne Career Assists Leaders
1 Korie Hlede 570 1995-982 Darcie Vincent 555 1989-923 Shiri Sharon 550 2001-present4 Becky Oglevee 528 1983-865 Michelle Bouldin 446 1992-94
