JMU Hosts Mountaineers for Annual Play4Kay Game

Saturday, February 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

App State

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2/19/2026 10:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison kicks off its three-game homestand to close the regular season with a tilt against App State on Saturday for the Dukes' Play4Kay game. Action inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.

LAST TIME VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS

Trailing by double-digits at multiple points, James Madison women's basketball turned it up in the second half, shooting 57.7% (15-of-26) from the field and committing just two turnovers in the final 20 minutes to top App State, 60-53, last Wednesday inside the Holmes Convocation Center for JMU's fifth consecutive win.
The Dukes found themselves down 41-37 after three quarters but managed to take the lead for good after holding the Mountaineers without a made field goal until the 5:21 mark during an 11-0 JMU scoring run.
Ashanti Barnes led all players with 15 points and nine rebounds, tying for the team lead in assists with four. Grace McDonough scored a career-high 14 points on 7-of-8 (.875) from the floor and tied her career high with two blocks. Peyton McDaniel finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, scoring 10 points in the second half.

SAME FIVE? SAME FIVE.

The Dukes have rolled out the same starting five of Zakiya Stephenson, Bree Robinson, Peyton McDaniel, Ashanti Barnes, and Grace McDonough for all 28 games this season, the longest streak with the same starting five ever under Head Coach Sean O'Regan.
According to Assistant Athletic Director for Athletics Communications John Vogel (Youngstown State), there are 14 Division I programs who have used the same starting five all season: Boise State, Eastern Washington, Fairleigh Dickinson, James Madison, Montana State, North Dakota State, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, Stephen F. Austin, UC Davis, Vanderbilt, and Youngstown State.

THE DUKES VS. THE SUN BELT

James Madison holds a 110-73 (.601) record against current Sun Belt Conference foes and is 61-16 (.792) since joining the league in 2022.
Moreover, the Dukes are 55-14 (.797) in regular-season league matchups and had won 21 consecutive regular-season tilts prior to their 83-74 overtime loss to Marshall on Dec. 20, 2025.
James Madison has not lost a home game against a Sun Belt foe since dropping a 73-62 result to Georgia State on Feb. 15, 2024.
JMU has encountered Old Dominion more than any other SBC opponent with 86 meetings, with the Dukes trailing 33-53 in the all-time series. Additionally, ODU is the only team in the league with a winning record against JMU.
The Dukes have never lost to Louisiana (6-0), Southern Miss (5-0), Texas State (4-0), South Alabama (4-0), or ULM (3-0).

NCAA RANKING SUMMARY

JMU owns eight top-75 marks nationally: rebounds per game (21st - 21.96), rebound margin (24th - +8.2), defensive rebounds per game (26th - 28.6), field goal percentage (51st - 44.6), scoring offense (52nd - 74.6), scoring margin (62nd - +11.9), blocks per game (73rd - 3.9), and assists per game (74th - 15.1).
Individually, Peyton McDaniel is 20th in points (521), Ashanti Barnes is tied for 29th in rebounds (250), Bree Robinson is 30th in steals (71), and Brianna McLeod is tied for 45th in blocks (45).

BY THE NUMBERS

8: Peyton McDaniel (2,189) is one of eight active Division I players with 2,000-plus points, alongside Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina - 2,428), Hannah Hidalgo (2,167), Ny'Ceara Pryor (Texas A&M - 2,118), Audi Crooks (Iowa State - 2,116), Destiny Leo (UNLV - 2,082), Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss - 2,038), and Maggie Doogan (Richmond - 2,027).
30: Bree Robinson scored a career-high 30 points at Old Dominion on Feb. 14 - the most scored by a Duke in a game this season. The guard is the first JMU player to score 30-plus points without hitting a three since Tarik Hislop finished with 30 points (0-1 3PT) in a 63-58 victory over Wichita State in Cancun, Mexico on Nov. 24, 2012.
41: Brianna McLeod is fourth in the nation in blocks (41) among players with no starts, trailing Kyla Abraham (Baylor - 44), Paulina Hernandez (Youngstown State - 48) and Aziyah Farrier (Stephen F. Austin - 49). Additionally, her 41 rejections are the most by a Duke since Kayla Cooper Williams posted 74 in 2019-20.
87: Grace McDonough has shot 87.5% (21-of-24) from the field over its last four games. Against App State (Feb. 11), the forward made seven of eight for a career-high 14 points. Doing so, McDonough became the first Sun Belt player to shoot 87.5% or better from the floor with at least seven makes on the road as a freshman since 2011 when Ebony Rowe of Middle Tennessee went 8-of-9 (.889) for 19 points at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 26.

PEYTON'S CAREER STATS

Playing her fifth season of collegiate basketball, Peyton McDaniel has placed herself in the top 20 of career rankings in eight categories: three-point attempts (1st - 937), points (2nd - 2,189), three-pointers (2nd - 331), field goal attempts (2nd - 1,793), field goals made (3rd - 780), three-point attempts per game (4th - 6.37), games played (T-6th - 147), and rebounds (16th - 968).

MILESTONE TRACKER

With 2,189 career points, Peyton McDaniel is 159 points away from passing Precious Hall (2012-2017) for second in all-time scoring at JMU, tallying 2,347 in her career.
For McDaniel, if she maintains her season scoring average of 18.6, she can move into second in nine games.
With 15 points against App State, Ashanti Barnes became the 35th member of the program's 1,000-point club.
With 71 steals, Bree Robinson is 12 away from notching the most steals in a single season in program history. Jess Cichowicz owns the record at 82, doing so in 28 games in 2002-23. That season, she set the program single-game record for steals with nine against Charlotte on Dec. 21, 2002.

HOME SWEET HOME

JMU is 66-23 (.742) since the Atlantic Union Bank Center opened at the start of the 2020-21 season. Moreover, Head Coach Sean O'Regan is 126-33 (.792) when playing in Harrisonburg.
The Dukes went 16-2 inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center in 2024-25, marking consecutive seasons with at least a dozen home victories. Additionally, the 16 home wins were the most by the program since the 2018-19 season when James Madison produced an 18-1 record at the Convocation Center.

SEASON TICKETS

Tickets for the 2025-26 JMU Women's Basketball season are still available - both season tickets and single-game tickets can be found here.

PARKING
Reserved Parking

All parking pass holders — both Spot-Specific and Reserved — will enter through the North Entrance of the Ballard Parking Deck. All reserved parking opens two (2) hours before tip-off.

General Parking

General Parking is located in the adjacent surface lots (C12, D3, and R4) as well as the South Entrance of the Ballard Parking Deck. General parking is available beginning two (2) hours before game time. General parking is free of charge, available on a first-come, first-served basis.