Runnin' the show

By MADI ALLEY The Breeze

Heading into the 2022-23 season, JMU women’s basketball head coach Sean O’Regan and his team were coming off of a 14-15 record. The Dukes needed a “true point guard,” junior forward Claire Neff said, someone who could run the offense with a high basketball IQ and push the pace.

With graduate transfer Caroline Germond, JMU found it.

“She is a true point guard,” Neff said.

Germond came to JMU from TCU, where she played for two years and averaged 2.5 points and 1.95 assists a game across her career. Now in Harrisonburg, Germond became the “floor general,” O’Regan said, that the Dukes needed to flip the script from last year’s season to this year’s 20-6 (10-4 Sun Belt) start in the new conference.

“The first time we played pick up together I was just like, ‘Wow,’” junior forward Steph Ouderkirk said. “She’s running this and has a big part in running this team and she just got here.”

As of Feb. 13, Germond has the 18th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation at 2.53 per game. She averaged 4.0 assists per game this season, with a season high of 10 in the Dukes’ pivotal 80-79 win over Troy on Jan. 21 that put them in first place in the Sun Belt at the time.

“Assists have always just kind of been my thing,” Germond said. “It’s just my signature now.”

In JMU’s 72-54 win over South Alabama on Feb. 2, Germond found junior guard Peyton McDaniel for a pair of 3-pointers in a span of 35 seconds in the third quarter, helping put JMU ahead 54-43.

“I like being super aggressive to get to the basket,” Germond said, “so I attract the defender and then my teammate is just open.”

The graduate transfer doesn’t lead the Dukes in scoring or rebounding; however, Neff said Germond is supportive, energetic and, even though she’ll let teammates know when they’re messing up, she’ll always be there to give teammates a pat on the back. Germond “leads by example,”

Ouderkirk added.

“Every practice, she goes really hard and brings everybody with her,” Ouderkirk said. “When we see her go hard, it makes us want to go hard, too. We need a really good point guard and we need a big team leader, and I think Caroline is perfect for that role.”

Prior to this season, Germond started her journey of college basketball at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, before landing on TCU for her final two seasons of undergrad.

When she arrived at JMU, Germond said the program embraced her with “open arms and made the transition easy.”

“Everyone has been so welcoming,” she said. “Since day one, they have been there for me if I needed something … I really appreciate that.”

Germond experienced some bumps early on at JMU, though — she sprained her ankle Nov. 17 and missed two games — but she returned to action two games later Dec. 1 versus VCU and pushed the Dukes to a narrow 62-60 on the road, racking up eight points, three rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes.

Playing for O’Regan has allowed Germond’s experience and high-level basketball IQ to shine through as she continues honing her skills running the point for the Dukes this season. The veteran point guard said she wants to play overseas professionally — in France — after closing her chapter at JMU.

Germond and the Dukes have four regular season games left and are currently tied for second in the conference at 20-6 (10-4 Sun Belt). First up on the remainder of the slate is a trip to Texas State on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. After the regular season, the Dukes head to the Sun Belt tournament, looking for an automatic bid to March Madness.

“We have to keep doing what we are doing,” Germond said. “We still have so much to accomplish. We still have something to prove.”

CONTACT Madi Alley at alleyml@dukes. jmu.edu. For more women’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

JMU women's basketball junior forward