Women’s Basketball Earns Fourth Seed at Sun Belt Championship

NEW ORLEANS – The James Madison women's basketball team finished with a 14-4 record in Sun Belt Conference play, closing the regular season with eight straight wins over league opponents to earn byes directly to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.

The conference tournament will return to Pensacola, Fla. for the sixth consecutive year, with all games being played inside the Pensacola Bay Center, March 3-9.

JMU will compete in the first quarterfinal game, scheduled for Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT). There, the Dukes will face the winner of Game 7 between fifth-seeded Marshall (23-8, 13-5 SBC) and the victor of Game 5. James Madison split with the Thundering Herd during the regular season, falling 83-74 in overtime on the road (Dec. 20) before handing Marshall an 80-43 loss in Harrisonburg (Jan. 15).

With a win in the quarterfinals, the Dukes would take on No. 1 seed Georgia Southern, (23-6, 16-2 SBC), who JMU also split with, dropping a 78-70 decision in Statesboro, Ga. (Jan. 7), followed by a 67-60 triumph over GS inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center (Jan. 17).

The Eagles – who've won 10 consecutive league games captured their first Sun Belt regular-season crown to earn the top seed, while Troy (24-6, 15-3) notched the No. 2 spot, followed by Arkansas State (23-8, 14-4 SBC) in third.

The Dukes are pursuing their second Sun Belt tournament title in the last four seasons and an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship for the first time since 2023. JMU has appeared in the league championship game all three seasons as a member of the Sun Belt.

Action for the opening round will commence on Tuesday, March 3, with each proceeding day featuring a pair of games until the title game on Monday, March 9. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game televised on ESPNU.

For more information, click here to visit the Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship page. Tickets to the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve are still available and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

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