HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – James Madison women's basketball continues conference play as it treks to Marshall for a Saturday afternoon contest. Action inside the Cam Henderson Center is set for 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
LAST TIME VS. THUNDERING HERD
JMU recorded a season-best 55.0% (11-of-20) from three and 54.1% (33-of-61) from the field to fly by Marshall, 93-65, inside the Cam Henderson Center on Jan. 15, 2025.
The Dukes registered a season-high 14 steals and turned 20 Marshall turnovers into 29 points for JMU's sixth consecutive victory.
Ro Scott paced the Dukes with 20 points on 7-of-11 (.636) and grabbed three steals off the bench in her return to Huntington. Peyton McDaniel finished with 15 points and six rebounds, hitting 3-of-6 (.500) from deep. Zakiya Stephenson tied her then-career high of 13 points and dished out six assists, while Kseniia Kozlova added 13 points and six boards.
THE DUKES VS. THE SUN BELT
James Madison holds a 100-69 (.589) record against current Sun Belt Conference foes and is 51-12 (.810) since joining the league in 2022.
Moreover, the Dukes are 45-10 (.818) in regular-season league matchups, and have won 21 consecutive regular-season tilts.
The last time James Madison lost to a Sun Belt team in the regular season, App State knocked down 12-of-30 (.400) from three-point range to hold off the Dukes for an 83-79 win inside the Holmes Convocation Center on Feb. 24, 2024.
GAME RECAP VS. COASTAL CAROLINA
James Madison held Coastal Carolina without a made field goal for the final 3:41 to hold on for a 71-68 victory to open Sun Belt Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
Tied 68-68 with 0:23 on the clock, Barnes found a wide-open Zakiya Stephenson on the wing who knocked down the triple, ultimately giving JMU its 10th consecutive conference-opening win.
Stephenson scored a career-high 16 points, knocking down 3-of-7 (.429) from three and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. The junior also recorded a game-high four steals and dished out three assists.
NCAA RANKING SUMMARY
Through Dec. 17Â games, JMU owns three top-75 marks nationally: defensive rebounds per game (36th - 29.1), rebounds per game (T-38th - 42.46) and blocks per game (57th - 4.5).
Individually, Peyton McDaniel is 13th in points (239) and 22nd in field goals (191). Additionally, Ashanti Barnes is tied for eighth in rebounds (123), Brianna McLeod is 15th in blocks (26) and Zakiya Stephenson is tied for 33rd in assists (60).
ROAD DOGS
The Dukes went 12-2 in true road games and 2-2 in neutral matchups for a 14-4 (.778) record in 2024-25.
Last season, JMU was one of 10 Division I teams with at least a dozen road wins, with Portland (13) being the only program with more.
The Dukes have gone a combined 18-5 (.783) across true road games and neutral site contests over the last two seasons.
NON-CONFERENCE
James Madison's non-conference slate features four teams that competed in the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: George Mason, Liberty, Texas and Notre Dame.
Meanwhile, four foes finished in the top 50 from the final NET rankings of the 2024-25 season: Texas (3), Notre Dame (4), George Mason (45) and Virginia Tech (47).
Four opponents were voted a top two team in their respective preseason polls: Kent State (1st - Mid-American Conference), George Mason (2nd - A10), Liberty (2nd - CUSA) and Texas (2nd - SEC).
Lastly, Texas (#4) and Notre Dame (#15) were ranked in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll.