No. 12 Dukes to Face No. 5 Kentucky in NCAA First Round Saturday Afternoon

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison makes its return to March Madness as the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship and will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take on fifth-seeded Kentucky on Saturday, March 21. Action inside Hope Coliseum is slated for 2:30 p.m. and will broadcast nationally on ESPNU. The winner of the game will face the victor of No. 4 West Virginia and No. 13 Miami (Ohio) in Monday's second round.

JMU is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Championship, including twice under the direction of Head Coach Sean O'Regan. The Dukes earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship after capturing their second Sun Belt Conference Championship on Monday, March 9, with a 69-52 victory over Troy in Pensacola, Fla. The win marked JMU's second Sun Belt tournament title in its four seasons in the conference.

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Peyton McDaniel (28) and Ashanti Barnes (19) combined for 47 points and each recorded double-doubles, as James Madison led wire-to-wire to capture the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship crown with a 69-52 victory against Troy inside the Pensacola Bay Center on March 9.
McDaniel, who was named the Sun Belt Championship Most Outstanding Player, finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Barnes, who joined McDaniel on the All-Tournament Team, added 19 points and 12 rebounds with four dimes.
JMU used big scoring runs in both the first and third quarters, outscoring the Trojans (25-7) by a combined 18 points in the odd stanzas to become the first four seed or lower to win the SBC tournament since Troy did so as the same seed in 2016.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

As the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship, the Dukes had to win three games in three days to capture the league's tournament title, defeating No. 12 South Alabama (79-54, March 7), No. 1 Georgia Southern (81-53, March 8), and No. 2 Troy (69-52, March 9).
JMU is one of five teams that were a four-seed or lower to earn an AQ into the NCAA Tournament this season, joining Southern (#4 - SWAC), UTSA (#6 - American), Missouri State (#6 - CUSA), and Samford (#6 - SoCon).

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

JMU is seeking its ninth win in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in program history, and first since the 11th-seeded Dukes topped No. 6 Gonzaga, 72-63, on March 23, 2014, in College Station, Texas.
The Dukes are looking to become the first Sun Belt Conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game since No. 11 Little Rock came away with a 69-60 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M in the NCAA First Round on March 21, 2015.
JMU aims to be the first Sun Belt school to defeat an SEC opponent in March Madness since No. 3 Louisiana Tech beat Missouri, 78-67, on March 24, 2001.
The Dukes hope to pick up their first ranked victory since 2014 when they defeated No. 23 UCLA, 91-87 OT, in Harrisonburg, Va., on Nov. 14. Moreover, it would be the Dukes' highest ranked win since a 75-73 result against No. 14 Virginia on Dec. 6, 2009. Lastly, it would mark Head Coach Sean O'Regan's first ranked win since taking over the reins in 2016.
With a win, JMU would reach at least 27 wins for the 11th time in program history.

BY THE NUMBERS

2: With 2,310 points and 1,018 rebounds, Peyton McDaniel is one of two active Division I players with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Raegan Beers (2,009 points, 1,215 rebounds) of Oklahoma is the only other player to accomplish the feat.
51: Brianna McLeod is fourth in the nation in blocks (51) among players with no starts, while Aziyah Farrier of Stephen F. Austin leads the nation with 63 blocks off the bench. Additionally, her 51 rejections are the most by a Duke since Kayla Cooper Williams posted 74 in 2019-20.
82: Bree Robinson has tallied 82 steals, tying the program record for steals in a single season. The guard is one steal away from passing Jess Cichowicz for the most single-season steals, finishing with 82 in the 2002-03 season. That season, she set the program single-game record for steals with nine against Charlotte on Dec. 21, 2002.
100: Zakiya Stephenson (145) and Robinson (109) are the first JMU teammates to record at least 100 assists in the same season since Nikki Newman (142) and Angela Mickens (139) accomplished the feat during the 2013-14 season.

NCAA RANKING SUMMARY (THROUGH MARCH 17 GAMES)

JMU owns nine top-75 marks nationally: rebounds per game (13th - 42.18), rebound margin (13th - +9.0), defensive rebounds per game (18th - 28.7), scoring margin (34th - +13.7), field goal percentage (36th - 44.9), scoring offense (42nd - 74.8), assists per game (62nd - 15.4), field goal percentage defense (55th - 37.5), and offensive rebounds per game (68th - 13.4).
Individually, Peyton McDaniel is tied for 17th in points (642), Ashanti Barnes is tied for 28th in rebounds (311), Bree Robinson is tied for 40th in steals (82), and Brianna McLeod is tied for 41st in blocks (51).

PEYTON'S CAREER STATS

Playing her fifth season of collegiate basketball, Peyton McDaniel has placed herself in the top 15 of career rankings in eight categories: three-point attempts (1st - 981), three-pointers (2nd - 344), field goal attempts (2nd - 1,899), points (3rd - 2,310), three-point attempts per game (3rd - 6.41), field goals made (4th - 829) games played (T-5th - 153), and rebounds (15th - 1,018).

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