JMU Falls to Marshall in Overtime of Sun Belt Title Game

Monday, March 11

Pensacola, Fla.

2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

23-11,13-5Sun Belt

Marshall

26-6,17-1Sun Belt

OT 1

James Madison

Marshall

JMU Falls to Marshall in Overtime of Sun Belt Title Game

3/11/2024 5:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PENSACOLA, Fla. – James Madison overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit but its pursuit of a conference title would come up just short, falling 95-92 in overtime to Marshall on Sunday afternoon in the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship final at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Thundering Herd move to 26-6 on the year and punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship, while the Dukes fall to 23-11 this season.

Marshall forced JMU into 39 turnovers and took 46 more shots (99-53) than the Dukes. The Herd missed 38 three-point shots but converted a pair in overtime to hold off JMU to win the title.

Meredith Maier hit four of the team's eight triples and led five Marshall players in double figures with 20 points. Aislynn Hayes, who made three treys, finished with 19 points, while Brean Campbell produced 15 points. Abby Beeman and Mahogany Matthews added 10, as Beeman was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.

For JMU, Hevynne Bristow recorded her best outing, posting career highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds with three blocks for her third double-double of the season. Peyton McDaniel scored 20 points and finished with nine rebounds for her 11th 20-point game of the year.

Kseniia Kozlova tallied 16 points off the bench with six boards, while Annalicia Goodman had 10 points. Olivia Mullins tacked on nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, and Chloe Sterling added eight points and five assists.

Earning Sun Belt Championship All-Tournament Team honors were McDaniel and Kozlova.

For the game, JMU shot 51 percent (27/53) from the floor and 45 percent from long range (5/11) while also hitting 33 free throws. It also out-rebounded Marshall 59-50, though the Herd held a 33-17 advantage on the offensive glass.

The Herd held a massive advantage in two key scoring categories – 48-12 in points off turnovers and 25-18 in second-chance points. Marshall had 20 steals on JMU's 39 turnovers and also dished out 20 assists on its 30 made field goals.

JMU trailed 68-60 with less than five minutes to play, but the Dukes closed the gap with eight straight in a minute span, tying the game at 68-all with 3:56 to go. JMU led 74-73 before Maier hit a jumper and Beeman knocked down a free throw for a 76-74 advantage with 16 seconds left.

Goodman's pair of free throws with 6.6 left tied the game and Marshall missed a three at the buzzer to force overtime. In the extra period, JMU took an 85-83 lead on a Bristow jumper with 2:37 to play, but a Hayes three and pair of CC Mays free throws put MU up 88-85 with less than two to go.

Down 90-88 with less than a minute remaining in OT, a Hayes jumper doubled the lead and JMU would not convert another field goal until the final horn to give Marshall the title.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – JMU 20, Marshall 15

Trailing 6-4, JMU surged ahead with a 9-0 run in a span of 2:29, which included Mullins draining a corner three and scoring five to put JMU up 13-6 with 3:16 remaining.
Marshall came right back with five in a row to trim the lead to two, but McDaniel's sixth triple of the tournament aided JMU in taking a 20-15 after one.
JMU shot 46.2 percent (6/13) from the floor and hit two of three treys, while Marshall converted just 31.6 percent (6/19) of its shots, which included missing all six 3-point attempts.
Turnovers were a bit of an issue in the opening stanza, as the teams combined for 12, with JMU giving it away seven times.

Second Quarter – JMU 35, Marshall 32

Marshall missed its first seven long-range shots, before a Campbell three opened the scoring to bring MU within 20-18.
A driving fastbreak layup by McDaniel with 5:47 left matched JMU's largest lead of the half, as it took a 25-18 lead at that point before Matthews converted back-to-back layups to climb within 25-22 midway through the period.
Turnovers continued to ail the JMU offense, as 15 in the opening 17 minutes allowed Marshall to score eight of 10 points to reclaim the lead, at 30-29 with 2:55 left in the half.
JMU closed the final 2:35 on a 6-2 run to claim a 35-32 lead at the break.
The Dukes shot 48 percent (12/25) in the first half, while Marshall was at 31 percent (13/42). While the top seed made half of its two-point shots, it was at 5.6 percent from three, going 1-of-18 in the half.
JMU held a 26-19 rebounds advantage but turned it over 17 times, as opposed to Marshall's seven.

Third Quarter – JMU 52, Marshall 52

A pair of JMU turnovers gave way for Marshall to recapture the lead, 36-35 less than two in, but a coast-to-coast layup and the foul for McDaniel gave it right back to JMU, at 38-36.
JMU grew the lead back to seven for the third time in the game, going on an 8-0 run, capped off by a Kozlova layup for a 43-36 lead with 6:40 left.
Marshall continued to try to find any rhythm from three, but continued to miss, as it missed 22 of its first 23 long-range shots.
Maier ended the three-point miss streak with a left-wing make, cutting JMU's lead to 45-42 with 4:48 left in the frame.
JMU led 48-42, but a plethora of offensive rebounds and free-throw action would tie the game at 52-52 heading to the fourth.
Despite shooting just 23 percent with 20 misses, Marshall outscored JMU 20-17 in the third after forcing nine more turnovers.

Fourth Quarter – JMU 76, Marshall 76

Marshall, which had missed 26 from beyond the arc hit its third and by far largest one of the game in the first minute of the fourth from Maier, giving MU a 55-52 lead.
The Herd's offense awoke, as Hayes converted a layup and three, and Maier's layup made it a 62-52 Marshall lead with 8:16 to play. That capped off a 20-4 run.
Kozlova had four in a row to trim the deficit to six, but Maier drained another three, getting the Marshall lead to 65-56 with 7:26 to go.
Trailing by nine, McDaniel pulled up for a big trey with 5:20 to play, bringing the Dukes within 66-60.
Trailing 68-60, McDaniel drained another long shot and after a Sterling make, Bristow's jumper in the lane tied the game at 68 apiece with 3:56 remaining.
Bristow knocked down six more free throws to give JMU a 74-73 lead with 1:36 to play but a Maier jumper in the paint put Marshall up 75-74 with 1:23 to play.
After empty possessions for both teams, Marshall extended the lead to 76-74 with 16.4 left on 1-of-2 free throws from Beeman.
On the other end, Goodman was fouled and made both free throws to knot the game at 76-all with 6.6 left.
Marshall had the open look for the win, but Maier's corner three missed to force overtime.

Overtime – Marshall 95, JMU 92

After a back-and-forth scoring for the first half of OT, JMU took an 83-81 lead on a Bristow jumper.
Marshall responded with a Hayes three and pair of free throws to lead by three and later led 90-86 with 1:09 left.
Bristow's final points on a layup with 56 ticks remaining trimmed it to 90-88, but Marshall extended it back to six in the final seconds before Sterling hit a three at the buzzer for the final margin.

GAME NOTES

JMU is now 10-10 in conference championship games.
The Dukes finished the game with 51 bench points.
Monday marked the first time James Madison was tied entering the fourth quarter this season.
In the Dukes' three Sun Belt tournament games, they limited their three foes to a combined 29 percent shooting, as teams managed just 65-of-221 from the floor.
JMU's 92 points were the second most of the season and best against a Division I opponent this season.
Steph Ouderkirk and Ashanti Barnes tied for the third-most rebounds for JMU, with seven each.
This was JMU's first setback inside the Pensacola Bay Center, as it is now 5-1 in its two tournament appearances.
The 59 team rebounds are the most ever for JMU against a Sun Belt team as a member of the conference.
The teams combined for 74 paint points, with Marshall holding a 40-34 edge.
It was the first time JMU went over 30 turnovers since its 31 versus Old Dominion on Jan. 13, 2008.