No. 14 JMU to Face No. 3 Ohio State in NCAA Tournament in Seattle Region

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison women's basketball has earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 3 Ohio State in the Seattle Region on Saturday, March 18 in Columbus, Ohio.

The winner will face the winner of No. 6 North Carolina and No. 11 Purdue/St. John's, also playing on March 18.

JMU (26-7, 13-5 Sun Belt) is set for its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after an 81-51 romp past Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference Championship on March 6. The Dukes are led by senior guard Kiki Jefferson, who was named MVP of the conference tournament as well as the league's player of the year. Head Coach Sean O'Regan's team boasts four top-20 NCAA DI marks: defensive rebounds per game (13th – 29.8), rebounds per game (14th – 42.47), rebound margin (16th - +8.1), and field goal percentage defense (17th – 35.9).

James Madison and Ohio State (25-7, 12-6 Big Ten) have squared off six times, with the Buckeyes owning a 6-0 lead in the all-time series.

The two programs last faced each other in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. That year, No. 12 seed JMU fell to No. 5 OSU, 90-80, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on March 21. Precious Hall dropped in 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Ashley Perez produced 20 points, and seven boards in the loss.

JMU played OSU one other time this century, meeting one another in the WNIT on March 25, 2001. The Dukes saw four players score in double figures, led by Shanna Price with 17, however, the Buckeyes fought to edge James Madison 74-65.

The Dukes' most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament was back in 2016 as a No. 11 seed, where it bowed out with a loss to No. 6 seed DePaul, 97-67, on March 18 in Louisville, Ky. Perez paced JMU with 19 points, while Jazmon Gwathmey chipped in with 19. Kayla Cooper-Williams posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Fans looking to attend should purchase tickets from the host venue - information on available tickets will follow in the coming days.

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