We’re not making any predictions, but who’s that we see atop the CAA? That’d be the usual suspects, JMU, which stayed perfect in the conference after rallying to defeat defending tournament champion Elon, 70-67, last week.
Happy as he was with the win, Coach O admits, “We didn’t play well. We played OK, and we closed really well.”
JMU (9-7) hit six of its nine shots in the final 10 minutes, including all six free throws, and limited the Phoenix (10-5) to 6-of-23 shooting from the field in the final quarter. They also weathered foul trouble and prevented Elon from getting off a decent final shot.
While JMU’s punishing nonconference slate didn’t allow for many wins, it’s paying off in league play, O’Regan says. JMU lost to just about every good team it played — Tennessee, Florida State, Villanova, St. John’s, Rutgers, to name a few
“The teams we played were better than I thought, but I never regretted it,” O’Regan said.
Tennessee has returned to elite status, this looks to be C. Vivian Stringer’s best team at Rutgers in years and did you check out the Seminoles’ throttling of Virginia Tech the other night (sorry to bring that up, Kenny)?
While amassing seven losses isn’t going to lead to any at-large bids, it did allow a Dukes team that spent last year wrapped around Precious Hall to find its identity without her.
For the first time in many moons, JMU’s offense isn’t oriented around a single player. That said, Kamiah Smalls has evolved into the go-to. The sophomore, who has scored in double figures in every game, was rewarded with her first league player of the week honors this week. Her 21 points against the Phoenix included the final seven points of the game to seal a victory over a group that celebrated its first trip to the NCAA tournament by denying JMU a fourth straight CAA championship last March.
One reason behind Smalls elevating her game this season is the time she spent playing point at the beginning early on. Due to a high ankle sprain, Logan Reynolds missed all of preseason practice. While the junior never missed a game, Smalls shouldered some early point guard duties. New role equals new skills.
“Having gone through the whole preseason with having the ball in her hands at the 1, it was perfect for us and for her,” O’Regan said. “It developed her more than just hitting on the wing the whole preseason. It clicked for her, and she gained confidence. What I love about her more than anything else, more than her athletic ability, is she’s a single-trial learner. You tell her something and you don’t have to tell her again. There’s not a whole lot of players like that. She latches onto information so well.”
Kelly Koshuta continues to impress on the offensive end and Lexie Barrier averages 11 (still, we’d love to see Kayla Cooper-Williams, a lockdown defender, develop a bit more touch around the rim on the other end).
The surprise on these Dukes? That’d be Aneah Young, O’Regan says. The preseason honorable mention all-conference pick got off to a slow start, but now . . .
“She has great energy. She defends. She rebounds and now she really understands her role,” he said.
As a rule, that means no more 3-pointers for the 5-11 guard unless she’s fresh off a practice having drained 7-of-10. Hasn’t happened yet, and by taking something off her plate, Young is better at just about every other category on the stat sheet.
As far as the CAA, we’re almost a third of the way through, and the Dukes have already dismissed Elon and Drexel (let it be known that JMU swept Elon last year in the regular season, however). They’re on the road this week versus College of Charleston and Karen Barefoot’s Wilmington team that plays everybody close but has yet to win a league game.
While they don’t look ahead, we can’t help but circle the weekend of Feb. 2 and 4 (at W&M, at Elon; we hope to see you in Williamsburg, guys) as particularly large. Last year proved just how resilient Charlotte Smith’s team can be and the Tribe often gives JMU fits.
Note that the Dukes don’t see Delaware, the surprise team in the league, until mid February. If you’ve not followed the Blue Hens, they also upset Elon. They’re 11-5 overall with a league loss at Drexel. The only player averaging more points in the CAA than Smalls’s 16.8 average is Delaware’s Nicole Enabosi (19.1 ppg). She’s also the league’s top rebounder and is second to the Tribe’s Abby Rendle in FG percentage.
So stayed tuned. Lots of ball to come for the purple and gold showing their usual promise in O’Regan’s second year in charge.