HARRISONBURG, Va. – Freshman guard Diamond Thomas led the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team with 18 points and three steals in a 77-54 non-conference road loss at James Madison University on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Thomas made over half of her field goal attempts on the way to her career-high, 18-point performance in just her fourth collegiate game. With her three thefts against the Dukes, Thomas also paces NCCU with 2.3 steals per game.
 
Senior guard Necole Hope continues to be NCCU's top scorer after bucketing 17 points. Sophomore forward Tianna Carter added 10 points. Hope and Carter have both scored in double digits in three of NCCU's first five games. Hope also led the Eagles with seven rebounds.
 
The Dukes made 20-of-23 (87%) free throws and outrebounded the Eagles 45-29 in their second straight win. James Madison (3-2 Overall) moved over .500 on the season with the victory.
 
Junior guard Kiki Jefferson, who ranks in the top-30 scorers in NCAA Division I, scored a game-high 23 point. Jefferson's point total included 9-of-11 precision from the free throw line.
 
The Dukes scored the first 10 points to the contest and led from the beginning. JMU maintained a double digit cushion throughout the final three quarters, including a 43-25 advantage at halftime.
 
NCCU did outscore the hosts 23-20 in the third quarter, including a perfect shooting 10-minute stretch by Hope, but was unable to made a big dent into the early deficit.
 
NC Central (0-5) will return to play after the Thanksgiving weekend at Elon University on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.