Felgemacher Crashing The Glass For JMU

Nikki Fox / DN-R

HARRISONBURG — Savannah Felgemacher jumped in front of a pass and was off to the races.

The James Madison sophomore had no one between her and the basket Sunday as she cruised in for what should have been a simple layup. Felgemacher ended up missing the shot, but neither she nor her coach seemed to mind.

“I was not surprised in a way because sometimes I get going too fast and it’s kind of hard for me to stop,” Felgemacher said. “One layup isn’t going to be a change in the game, but I know my teammates will have my back when we need a score on the next possession.”

That scene details the transformation that Felgemacher has undergone this season under first-year women’s basketball coach Sean O’Regan into a player who is more defensive minded than an offensive juggernaut.

The forward from Church Hill, Tenn., began her college career with back-to-back double-digit scoring performances, but in the 44 games she has played since, she’s hit 10 points just once as she has floated in and out of the rotation.

O’Regan said he is surprised with how much faith he has in her defense, but credited Felgemacher with buying into the mentality he has preached for her since she arrived on campus in 2015.

“All I’ve asked Savannah to do is rebound, hustle and play good defense,” O’Regan said. “It’s hard for somebody to say, ‘Don’t focus on your offense, focus on your defense and let your offense come,’ and she’s reached the point where she finally has done that.’”

The only thing that has stayed consistent in Felgemacher’s game is her rebounding. O’Regan called the Felgemacher the best rebounder on the team, and she has proven that in JMU’s last three games.

Felgemacher’s 26 rebounds over the past three games are 11 more than the closest teammate, and she has accomplished this in less than 19 minutes of action per game. She tied her career high with 12 rebounds in Sunday’s 61-54 win over Elon, a mark she set in her debut against Longwood on Nov. 15, 2015.

“I was really proud of her weekend and I’m most proud of her perseverance through the last couple of weeks where I didn’t have as much confidence putting her in the game and letting her play through long stints,” O’Regan said. “Sometimes because of the game, but sometimes because I didn’t think she had the look that she had this past weekend.”

Felgemacher missed four games in December with a knee injury after averaging five rebounds per game in the Dukes’ first seven contests. When she returned from her injury, her playing time was sporadic, seeing the floor in three-minute clumps when O’Regan did send her into the game.

O’Regan said he thought those moments were harder on Felgemacher than the games in which she didn’t dress. The sophomore agreed, adding it was a test of her patience through a trying time.

“It’s definitely hard for anybody in general to sit, but I think it was harder to be healthy and still be sitting because I had to work my way back in,” Felgemacher said. “That was really hard on my confidence, but I just kept my head up.”

The one saving grace Felgemacher had was her participation on the scout team during practices. Once she was healthy enough to join practices once again, Felgemacher earned the task of helping the normal rotation players prepare for upcoming opponents by replicating the opposition’s offenses and defenses.

She said she relishes her opportunities with the scout team because it gives her a better understanding of why and how JMU attacks certain plays, knowledge, she said, that translates over to games.

“I kind of enjoy being on the scout team because I get to play against our team and I get to better myself in that way,” Felgemacher said. “I get to run their other team’s offenses and other team’s defenses and I get to really focus on what they run, but also playing against how we would defend it or we play offense against it. I really enjoy that and I think that’s helped me understand just how key the defense is.”

Felgemacher’s recent performances are part of a larger trend for the Dukes (18-6, 11-2 Colonial Athletic Association) as they wind down the regular season. JMU heads to UNC-Wilmington (9-15, 4-9 CAA) for today’s 7 p.m. game playing the best team basketball it has all season.

O’Regan has been able to mix and match his lineups to whichever player is hot while also spreading time between all nine of his healthy players. In the past three games, everyone has played at least 14 minutes and no one other than Precious Hall has played more than 31.

Sophomore wing Aneah Young said she thinks the Dukes’ brand of unselfish play recently is unique around the college basketball landscape.

“One thing that [O’Regan’s] been hammering in is playing for each other,” Young said. “I think it’s something that’s really different that most teams don’t really do. It shows we’re all for each other. It’s not about one person, it’s about the greater good and the fact that anyone of us could step up and make an impact on the game.”