HARRISONBURG, Virginia – Looking to secure its first Colonial Athletic Association semifinal berth since 2012, the UNCW women's basketball team continues its postseason journey on Thursday afternoon when the Seahawks face James Madison in a quarterfinal game at the JMU Convocation Center at 5 p.m.
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The winner of the UNCW-James Madison quarterfinal moves on to the semifinals on Friday and will face the winner of the Drexel-Northeastern contest.
UNCW, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, dispatched College of Charleston in the first round on Wednesday by a 49-44 margin. Redshirt senior guard
Jasmine Steele tallied a game-high 17 points for the Seahawks after making 8-of-10 field goal attempts. It was Steele's ninth double-digit scoring performance in the last 12 games.
Junior center
Rebekah Banks grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in Wednesday's victory in addition to scoring six points while junior guard
Diamond Willis tallied all nine of her points in the second quarter, including six points during the Seahawks' 7-0 run to end the period.
Junior guard
Madison Raque, who was limited to nine points in the win over Charleston, is the Seahawks' leading scorer with an 11.0 average. Meanwhile, Steele has elevated her scoring average to 9.2 points per game and paces the Seahawks with 119 assists in 29 contests.
The three-time defending CAA champion Dukes enter the postseason with a 22-7 record after closing out league play with a 74-60 victory over Charleston last Wednesday in Harrisonburg. James Madison earned the No. 2 seed with a 15-3 league mark, finishing one game behind Elon in the league standings.
Redshirt senior guard
Precious Hall, the CAA's Player-of-the-Year, leads the 10-team circuit in scoring with a 23.3 average. She has also scored in double figures in all 29 games this season, the second-longest streak in JMU history.
Led by Hall, the Dukes lead the league in scoring by averaging 71.1 points per game and have scored 75 points or more in 11 contests.
UNCW and James Madison will face each other for the third time this season. The Dukes claimed a 73-51 victory in the CAA opener on Jan. 2 before notching a 70-59 triumph in Wilmington on Feb. 17.
James Madison leads the all-time series by a 60-9 margin and has won 14 straight encounters over its long-time opponent.
