Jefferson, McDaniel Earn Preseason All-Conference Honors

RICHMOND, Va. – James Madison women's basketball was selected to finish third in the Colonial Athletic Association while junior Kiki Jefferson landed on the Preseason All-CAA First Team and sophomore Peyton McDaniel was tabbed All-CAA Second Team, as announced by the league office on Wednesday morning.

Delaware and Drexel each received five first-place votes to tie for the top spot with 77 points apiece. The Dukes rounded out the top three as they totaled 64 points in the preseason poll.

JMU finished the unprecedented 2020-21 campaign with an overall record of 14-10 and a 9-6 mark in conference play. The Dukes return a majority of last year's squad, including Jefferson, who was tabbed All-CAA First Team at the end of the season and the 2021 CAA Rookie of the Year in McDaniel.

During the 2020-21 season, Jefferson led the Dukes in scoring (16.2 points per game), rebounding (7.8 rebounds per game) and steals (26). In conference play, she averaged 15.9 points (eighth in CAA) on 40.9% shooting, 8.8 rebounds (fourth in conference) and 1.2 steals per game. The guard collected double figures in all but three games on the season, highlighted by a career performance at Towson with her monster double-double of 29 points on 56.3% (9-of-16) shooting, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the line, and a game-high 10 rebounds. Jefferson concluded the year with All-CAA First Team, CAA All-Tournament Team and VaSID All-State First Team honors.

McDaniel finished the season averaging 12.2 points per game on 38.8% (71-183) shooting despite missing six games in the middle of conference action due to injury. She led the team with 35 made three-pointers while also putting in work on defense, collecting 4.8 rebounds per game and snatching 1.1 steals a night.

The Dukes open the 2021-22 campaign on Nov. 9 as the host Virginia at the Atlantic Union Bank Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The full schedule can be found at JMUSports.com.

2021-22 CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

T1.	Delaware (5 first-place votes)	77
T1.	Drexel (5 first-place votes)	77
3.	James Madison	64
4.	Towson	58
5.	Hofstra	47
6.	Elon	38
7.	Charleston	33
8.	William & Mary	29
9.	UNCW	15
10.	Northeastern	12

2021-22 CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Jasmine Dickey, Delaware

First Team
Ty Battle – Delaware
Jasmine Dickey – Delaware
Kiki Jefferson – James Madison
Hannah Nihill – Drexel
Kieshana Washington – Drexel

Second Team
JaKayla Brown – Hofstra
Tyler Collins – Charleston
Peyton McDaniel – James Madison
Aleah Nelson – Towson
Sydney Wagner – William & Mary

Honorable Mention
Kendall Currence – Northeastern
Arynn Eaddy – Charleston
Brie Perpignan – Elon
Anissa Rivera – Towson
Rayne Tucker – Towson

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