Dukes’ Defense Shines in 63-52 Victory Over Troy

Sunday, December 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

9-4,1-0Sun Belt

Troy

6-7,0-1Sun Belt

Troy

James Madison

12/29/2024 6:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison held Troy to a season-low 52 points on 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the field as the Dukes earned a 63-52 victory over the Trojans on Sunday afternoon inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Sun Belt Conference women's basketball action.

JMU (9-4, 1-0 SBC) won the rebounding battle (48-46), and limited Troy (6-7, 0-1 SBC) to 5-of-20 (.250) from long range.

The Dukes trailed 16-7 after the first quarter, shooting 2-of-17 (.118) from the field and 0-for-7 from three. JMU responded with 23 points in the second frame and took the lead for good at the 9:12 mark of the third.

Peyton McDaniel finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and tied her career high with three assists. Ro Scott registered 11 points and a game-high three steals off the bench, while Kseniia Kozlova produced 10 points and nine boards. Reserves Bree Robinson and Angela Williams chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.

Brianna Jackson paced the Trojans' offense with 14 points, while Ashley Baez added 10. Jackson pulled down a game-best 21 rebounds and registered a pair of blocks. Shaulana Wagner led all players with four assists.

How It Happened
First Quarter – Troy 16, JMU 7

Troy came out hot, jumping for a 12-0 lead by the 5:43 mark with a trio of three-pointers

Second Quarter – JMU 30, Troy 30

Down 21-10 early in the second, the Dukes outscored the Trojans 20-9 to close the first half 30-30.
McDaniel scored eight points in the period, highlighted by an and-one play to open the quarter and a three-pointer to make it a one-score game (24-21).

Third Quarter – JMU 49, Troy 39

After a free throw from Troy's Zay Dyer, the Dukes responded with an 8-0 run for a 38-31 advantage halfway through the quarter.
JMU shot 6-of-13 (.462) from the field and benefited from making 7-of-11 (.636).

Fourth Quarter – JMU 49, Troy 39

Troy turned the ball over five times in the final seven minutes.
Robinson hit a corner three to cap off a 9-0 spurt to put the Dukes ahead by 19 (63-44), their biggest lead of the contest.

Game Notes

JMU held an advantage in bench points (27-10), rebounds (48-46), steals (8-3) and assists (9-7).
By holding Troy to nine points in the third, JMU has now had seven quarters this season in which it has held an opponent to single digits in scoring.
McDaniel's 14 points give her 10 double-digit scoring games this season, including eight in the last nine contests.
The total attendance for Sunday's game was 3,376, the highest attendance recorded this season and the fourth highest in Atlantic Union Bank Center history for a women's basketball game.
The Dukes had a season-low nine turnovers – the least amount of turnovers JMU has committed since nine against Texas State on March 6, 2023.