HARRISONBURG, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University used a 19-6 run to start the second half but couldn't overcome an 18-point deficit and fell to James Madison University, 79-70, Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship at the JMU Convocation Center.

VCU, which made its third straight seminal appearance, falls to 20-12 overall, while James Madison improves to 25-6 on the season.

Senior guard Kita Waller led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and six rebounds, while classmate D'Andra Moss finished with 18 points for VCU.

James Madison junior guard Dawn Evans registered a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists.  Kiara Francisco finished with 18 points and six rebounds off the bench and Lauren Jimenez registered 14 points and seven boards.

Both teams traded baskets over the first five minutes of the contest as the score was knotted at 7-7 with 15:11 showing.  Sophomore guard Jennifer Lane hit a trey from the left wing and Moss scored six straight points as part of a 9-2 VCU run that put the Rams on top 16-9 with 12:45 to go.

James Madison stormed back and used a 28-4 spurt spanning nearly 11 minutes to take control of the game.  Evans hit back-to-back 3-pointers to close the half and the Dukes took a 45-23 advantage into the locker room.

VCU scored just six points over the final nine minutes of the first stanza and shot just 31 percent (9-of-29) from the field, including 2-of-13 from long range.  James Madison held a commanding 27-16 margin on the boards and forced the Rams into eight first half turnovers.

VCU hit its first four shots from the field to start the second half in what would begin a furious VCU rally.  Moss hit a jumper on the Rams first possession before Lane came up with a steal on an inbounds pass and hit a layup to cut the James Madison lead to 43-29 in the first 20 seconds of the second half.

James Madison, who held a 50-27 advantage on the boards, went back on top 47-31 on a layup by Jalissa Taylor with 18:51 showing before the Rams scored 10 points over a 40-second span to cut the Dukes lead to 47-41.

Down 55-47, Waller converted a traditional 3-point play and then hit a triple from the left wing to pull the Rams within 55-53 at the 11:54 mark.

VCU trailed by no more than five points and pulled within one twice over the next seven minutes.  Junior guard Ebony Patterson hit a runner in the lane to cut the James Madison lead to 67-66 with 4:46 to go.  It was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way as the Dukes scored 12 of the final 16 points to seal the win.