Senior attacker Katie Kerrigan set a program record with eight assists and fourth-ranked James Madison dominated play early en route to a 15-3 Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse victory at Elon on Sunday afternoon at Rudd Field. The Dukes improved to 13-1 overall and 4-0 in CAA play, while the Phoenix fell to 2-10 and 1-2. It's the first time in program history JMU has won 13 of 14 to start the year, besting its 12-2 starts in both 2010 and 1981. JMU has also won each of its last five games by double digits, outscoring opponents 85-19 during the span. Kerrigan registered all eight assists in the first half to set the program record while coming up just one shy of the CAA record. It was still a conference record for most assists in a league game, besting the previous mark of six, which was set five times. Five Dukes recorded two goals and 10 players in all scored at least one goal. Senior midfielder Elena Romesburg had two goals and tied game-high honors with four draw controls. Junior attacker Hanna Haven had two scores and a pair of ground balls, while sophomore midfielder Halle Duenkel, sophomore attacker Maddie McDaniel and freshman midfielder Charlotte Haggerty each struck the back of the net twice. Senior attacker Kristen Gaudian tied Romesburg with four draws, to go with her one goal, and senior midfielder Haley Warden added one goal, one assist, three caused turnovers and two ground balls. She also won a draw, to reach 200 for her career. Junior defender Lauren Duvall and sophomore defender Emma Johnson each had two caused turnovers to pace the defense. Between the pipes, JMU's goalkeepers combined for eight saves with only three goals allowed. Redshirt freshman Molly Dougherty picked up the win after making five stops in the opening 30 minutes, and junior Ellie Harmeyer tallied three saves in the second half. JMU dominated from the onset, out-shooting Elon 25-14 (18-11 SOG). The Dukes also held leads in draws (13-7), caused turnovers (14-11) and ground balls (18-16). JMU was 2-for-3 on free-position attempts, as opposed to Elon's 1-for-6. The Dukes took control early, scoring four goals less than 10 minutes in. They accounted for the first eight goals, with six being assisted by Kerrigan. JMU led 11-2 at the break and opened the second half with four straight to build its largest lead of the game, at 15-2. Elon closed the scoring with a goal and the game was called with 2:55 to play due to lightning in the area. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY QUOTING COACH "It was a total team effort with unselfish ball movement, great spacing and disciplined shooting," Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "Katie [Kerrigan] reaped all the benefits because she has great vision, great movement and is just a sniper in finding her teammates. We're impressed with the energy coming off the bench. The standard of excellence is being maintained and that's a great find for the future of this program." KATIE K ON FIRE Katie Kerrigan, who is one of JMU's all-time leaders in assists, had a field day connecting on her interior passing. She produced a program-record eight assists, all of which came in the first half. That mark was one shy of the CAA record set earlier this season by Delaware's Mia DeRuggiero, and was two better than any other player in a CAA game all-time. Her 37 assists in 2018 rank fourth in JMU single-season history and she needs just 13 more to own the season record. She also moved into third place in career assists, with 84. DOMINANT CAA PLAY JMU is off to a 4-0 start in CAA play once again this season and the Dukes have done so with stellar defense. The Dukes have outscored conference foes 70-14, averaging each league win by a margin of 17.5 to 3.5 (+14). In league-play alone, JMU has a .579 shooting percentage, while limiting teams to a .264 shooting clip. JMU also has 35 assists in the four CAA wins. UP NEXT JMU closes its non-conference slate on Wednesday April 18 when it travels over the mountain to face ACC-foe Virginia. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va. This is a makeup game from March 21 when snow forced a postponement.