So forgive us if we’re repeating this phase again about a game in Harrisonburg, but again the sun came up this morning in the Valley despite a disheartening result last night in the Convo.
The last time we wrote that was when Hofstra stunned a heavily favored but injured JMU team in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals in March. Now it’s the morning after what could’ve, should’ve but wasn’t JMU’s first win over a ranked opponent in the Sean O’Regan era. Instead, the Dukes got nipped at the wire, 70-68, against No. 8 Maryland on Wednesday night.
How close was this one? It wasn’t. JMU dominated three quarters and led by 19 to start the final frame. Then it all fell apart. Terps soph Shakira Austin scored 13 of her 21 points in the final period off 6-for-6 shooting. Maryland, which trailed 60-41 to start the fourth quarter, outscored James Madison 29-11 to improve to 2-1.
“We’ve got to close that game and when I say ‘we,’ that’s myself included,” O’Regan said. “I’ve been in this program for 14 years, and probably the thing I’ve learned from Kenny (Brooks) is that there are no moral victories.”
O’Regan didn’t run into any resistance postgame to that idea, either. “We’re crushed,” he said. These Dukes, a veteran bunch led by Kamiah Smalls, Kayla Cooper-Williams and Lexi Barrier, know what a squandered opportunity Wednesday night was. Close isn’t good enough.
It’s hard to get a Top 10 opponent into your building if you’re JMU. Elite teams don’t relish games against teams with the pedigrees of the Dukes. While JMU wants to win the CAA Tournament to invite itself to the NCAAs, an upset of Maryland would have been an insurance win in the event an at-large discussion becomes necessary. At large bids for non-Power 5 teams are about as commonplace as an open parking spot for an 11 a.m. class on the Harrisonburg campus.
Now that insurance policy is null and void after an unraveling O’Regan compares to the old cartoons when a dam bursts starting with a tiny hole only to lead to a bunch of out-of-control leaks.
“I thought we lost a little bit of our aggressiveness,” he said. “We were like an NFL team going prevent defense. We got tired, and we got unaggressive.”
Maryland flicked a switch, eroding the advantage JMU built with patient shot selection, including eight 3-pointers. A half-court shot by Smalls in the final second was certainly close but didn’t go down. It was a nightmarish end after such a magical beginning.
All the Dukes can do now is learn from an otherwise deflating loss. A year ago, they were up by 16 at Hampton when the Lady Pirates rallied to snatch that one. That loss stung for a while. This one will likely stay with them longer. But a game in November won’t set the tone for what has the potential to be a championship team. What the Maryland game did show is just how good these Dukes can be and what a bright spot they have in freshman Kiki Jefferson, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week.
One of our thoughts going into this Maryland game is does JMU have enough offense to contend with a heavy? Jefferson scored 16 unabashed points. That was after going 0-of-6 against Villanova.
“She’s fearless, and she reminds me of Smalls in that category,” O’Regan said. “She leads us in points and rebounds. It’s pretty incredible for a freshman to come in and do that. She didn’t show anything from that performance against Villanova.
Jefferson shook it off and that’s what these Dukes must do now.
They’ll host St. John’s next; the Red Storm boast an impressive freshman of their own in Leilani Correa. The four-star recruit, who originally committed to West Virginia, has already received Big East Freshman of the Week honors after scoring 18 in her college debut against St. Bonaventure.
Tip is at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Convo.
*Photo courtesy of JMU Athletic Communications