Dukes Search for Swagger

On the ride home from Old Dominion, JMU women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks received text messages from members of his team apologizing for their most disappointing performance of the season. But he’s convinced that his squad is ready to rebound at George Mason today.

“They’ve all been texting me, they’ve been apologizing to me,” Brooks said Monday at his weekly press conference. “But they don’t need to apologize to me, because they’re the ones that had to suffer through it. I think they’ll be able to bounce back.”

George Mason is the second of three opponents Madison faces on the road in January, and JMU is still searching for its first road victory against a team with at least a .500 record.

“We haven’t won some of the bigger games away from the Convocation Center that we need to win,” Brooks said. “We talk about the swagger, we have to have the swagger.”

Usually, Brooks uses Mondays to wind down and focus on personal things. This past Monday morning he was already watching film of GMU. His motivation?

“I want to get back out there to erase the [ODU] memory,” Brooks said.

JMU (9-5 overall, 2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association) beat George Mason twice last year by a combined 58 points, but both teams have changed significantly. GMU (7-7, 1-2) is only one win shy of its total from last season, and has a 6-2 record at home. Brooks said he’s glad JMU has a chance to bounce back on the road.

“Our goals are much higher than just to be a good team at home,” Brooks said. “We want to be able to be one of the upper-echelon teams.”

Madison may not be the only team trying to regain confidence today. While the Patriots started the season 5-0 at home, they have gone 1-2 in their last three home games.

GMU has also dropped two straight games by at least 15 points. The Patriots lost 69-54 on Tuesday at Liberty, a team that beat JMU 79-66 earlier this season in Lynchburg.

“We’re coming off a loss to Liberty that I felt we played very well at their place,” GMU coach Debbie Taneyhill said in a phone interview. “I know our kids are glad to be back home and get into being able to concentrate on our CAA schedule.”

GMU senior guard Lateisha Wade leads the Patriots in scoring, averaging 14.6 points. Wade is the only GMU player averaging double figures, but the Patriots have managed to improve on last year’s season with a focus on defense.

“We’ve really made that an emphasis for our team this year,” Taneyhill said. “On nights when your offense may not be going well, if you have that solid defense you can still manage to win some games, and that’s what we’re trying to instill with our team.”

The Patriots will need that focus on defense to hang with a JMU team hungry for redemption.