Women's Basketball Falls to Marshall on Cold Shooting Night

Friday, February 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

23-7,13-5Sun Belt

Marshall

16-13,9-9Sun Belt

Marshall

James Madison

Women's Basketball Falls to Marshall on Cold Shooting Night

2/24/2023 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison connected on just 25.4% (16-of-63) of its shots from the field, while Marshall knocked down 12-of-24 (50.0%) from three as the Dukes were defeated on Senior Night, 71-58, on Friday inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

JMU finishes the regular season at 23-7 with a 13-5 mark in Sun Belt play. Meanwhile, the Thunder Herd enter the conference tournament with an even 9-9 record in league action and 16-13 overall.

Junior Peyton McDaniel paced the Dukes with eight points and tied for the team-lead in rebounds with six. Classmate Jamia Hazell added seven points, while senior Kiki Jefferson, junior Steph Ouderkirk, and Kadidia Toure each had six. Graduate student Caroline Germond dished out three assists and pulled down six boards in the loss.

How It Happened

The Dukes connected on a trio of triples in the opening frame, but Marshall hit eight shots for a 20-15 lead after one.
After taking a 21-20 lead, JMU suffered a cold stretch that lasted the final 8:08 of the quarter. However, James Madison held on for a 26-25 edge at the break.
The Thundering Herd retook the lead, starting the second half on a 7-0 run. The Dukes answered with a physical layup by junior Annalicia Goodman. Prior to the bucket, JMU's last field goal came at the 8:08 mark of the second quarter.
Marshall shot 11-for-17 (64.7%), including hitting four threes to outscore the Dukes 27-14 in the third quarter. Additionally, the Thundering Herd's Abby Beeman sank a mid-court three as time expired for a 52-40 lead with one quarter remaining.
Marshall led by as many as 20, at 60-40 with 7:35 remaining in the game. Head Coach Sean O'Regan threw in freshmen Chloe Sterling, Kadidia Toure, Mya Koné, and Cheyenne Rowe who fought to cut the deficit to nine (60-51) at the 3:35 mark.
The Thundering Herd responded with 11 points the rest of the way to top the Dukes, 71-58.

Game Notes

JMU still owns the lead in the all-time series against Marshall, 6-2.
The Dukes now share the regular season SBC title with Texas State and Southern Miss after they won their games on Friday.
Jefferson has climbed all the way to sixth on JMU's all-time scoring list with 1,766 career points, passing Meredith Alexis (2003-07) who sits in sixth with 1,760 career points during her time in Harrisonburg.
The loss snapped James Madison's five-game winning streak.
The Dukes' 25.4% shooting clip from the field is the lowest for the team this season. Additionally, 16 total makes are the fewest by James Madison in 2022-23 and the third time this season with less than 20 makes. The last time the program shot below 25% was against Elon on Feb. 4, 2018, when O'Regan's squad went 12-for-56 (21.4%)
No Duke scored in double figures against the Thundering Herd, the first time this year the program has not had a double-digit scorer.
James Madison won the rebounding battle, 47-34. With a margin of +13, the Dukes have recorded six Sun Belt games with double-digits in the category, including back-to-back games, out-rebounding App State 48-31 on Feb. 22.
JMU is 17-4 in 2022-23 when leading at halftime and 1-7 when trailing entering the fourth quarter. The Dukes' sole win when behind heading in the final frame was against Hampton on Dec. 17. James Madison was down 43-42, but outscored the Lady Pirates in the fourth, 15-9, for the 57-52 win.

Up Next
With the top spot secured in the SBC, JMU secures a double-bye into the quarterfinal where it will face the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 contest, which will feature Coastal Carolina and Marshall. The Chanticleers and Thundering Herd are locked into those two spots in either order.