By Mark Mausner — STAFF WRITER
The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team dropped its Colonial Athletic Association opener 55-42 to James Madison University at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Hofstra’s E’Lexus Davis garnered six points, four rebounds and five assists in the loss. Marianne Kalin scored 11 points, the third time she’s scored in double figures in the past four games.

Kamiah Smalls, the second leading scorer in the CAA, dropped 18 points to lead the way in scoring for JMU.

Davis opened the scoring 45 seconds in with a driving layup in transition off a JMU miss. The Dukes wouldn’t score its first field goal until the 5:38 mark in the first quarter when Logan Reynolds converted on a layup.

A three-pointer by Aleana Leon and a Kalin jumper from the baseline made it 11-6 Hofstra with 3:44 remaining in the opening frame. The visitors responded by going on a 9-0 run, including two Smalls midrange jump shots, to close out the quarter leading 15-11.

Hofstra started the second quarter on a 5-0 run but would go on to miss its following seven field goals, a draught that spanned nearly five minutes. Layups by Boogie Brozoski and Sica Cuzic ended the dry spell but were matched by a series of three-pointers by Lexi Barrier and Smalls, giving JMU a 28-23 halftime lead.

Davis got to the line early in the third and drained both attempts, bringing the score to 32-29. After Hofstra got within three, JMU began to impose their will, going on a 7-0 run, including back-to-back Barrier jumpers that gave the Dukes a 10-point lead with 5:16 remaining in the third.

The teams would trade baskets for the remainder of the period with JMU taking a 45-34 lead into the fourth quarter.

Baskets came few and far between for both teams in the final period. Hofstra made just three field goals in the entire frame, one of which was a Davis jumper coming with under 15 seconds remaining, the game long lost for Hofstra at that point.

JMU only hit five field goals in its own right, scoring just 10 points in the final frame while Hofstra was held to single-digit scoring in the a quarter for the sixth time this season.