Boxscore
Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware stayed within striking distance for most of the contest, but James Madison led from start to finish and posted a 70-53 Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball victory over the Blue Hens Wednesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Hens, who list seven freshmen and sophomores among their top nine players, pulled to within 10 points in the final four minutes against the Dukes, but could never get closer and dropped their fourth straight game.

Delaware (8-7, 0-4 CAA), which allowed a season-high 70 points, is off to an 0-4 start in league play for the first time since 1991-92 when the Hens were members of the North Atlantic Conference.

Sophomore guard Tesia Harris led the Hens with 14 points while sophomore forward Ariene Jenkins (at right) added 12 points and nine rebounds, Corinthia Benison chipped in with eight points, and Meghan McLean dished out a career-high five assists in her first career start.

Center Lauren Jimenez matched a career-high with 20 points and pulled nine rebounds, NCAA scoring leader Dawn Evans (24.5 points per game) overcame a slow start and finished with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists, Courtney Hamner added 11 points off the bench, and Jalissa Taylor pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds as James Madison (9-6, 3-1 CAA) bounced back from one of its most lopsided losses in school history.

The Dukes, who have now won seven of their last eight games, fell to Virginia Commonwealth 81-48 on Sunday afternoon for their worst home loss in 27 seasons and their worst ever setback in CAA regular season play.

“James Madison is a better team than we are right now,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “The effort was there tonight, but we just ran into a better opponent. People will say that we should be happy having been within 10 or 12 points most of the game, but I want us to have the chance to win against them. That’s the goal - to catch up to a team like James Madison.”

Although James Madison led the entire first half, Delaware cut the lead to 18-15 on a layup by Jenkins with 9:32 left in the opening stanza and cut the margin to two at 20-18 on a free throw by Jasmine Gibson at the 7:01 mark.

But Kisha Stokes followed with a layup and Evans connected on consecutive three-pointers as part of an 8-2 run to increase the lead to 28-20 and the Dukes cruised to a 33-22 lead at the break.

Delaware cut the lead to 33-26 on two free throws by Jenkins 2:21 into the second half, but Jimenez fueled a 12-3 JMU run with nine points over a span of just under three minutes to up the margin to 45-29 - the Dukes’ biggest lead of the game until the final minute - with 14:35 remaining. Delaware stayed within striking range and pulled to within 10 points at 56-46 with 5:57 left and at 60-50 at the 4:13 mark but could never get closer.

The Hens shot just 32.7 percent from the field (18 of 55), committed 23 turnovers, and were outrebounded by a 46-37 margin. The Dukes shot 48.1 percent from the field (13 of 27) in the second half to pull away.