Dukes Hit the Road to Battle Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga. – James Madison women's basketball heads to Statesboro, Ga. to face Georgia Southern for a Wednesday battle at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. The opening tip is slated for 6 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.

LAST TIME VS. THE EAGLES

Ashanti Barnes (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Peyton McDaniel (10 points, 10 rebounds) registered double-doubles, while four Dukes scored in double figures as JMU rolled past Georgia Southern in a wire-to-wire 77-60 win inside the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center on Jan. 29, 2025.
The Dukes out-rebounded the Eagles 49-33 for their 10th consecutive victory.
The effort from Barnes and McDaniel marked the team's fourth-straight game with multiple players recording double-doubles.

JMU VS. THE SUN BELT

James Madison holds a 102-70 (.593) record against current Sun Belt Conference foes and is 53-13 (.803) since joining the league in 2022.
Moreover, the Dukes are 47-11 (.810) in regular-season league matchups and had won 21 consecutive regular-season tilts prior to their 83-74 overtime loss to Marshall on Dec. 20, 2025.
The last time James Madison lost to a Sun Belt team in regulation during the regular season, App State knocked down 12-of-30 (.400) from three-point range to hold off the Dukes for an 83-79 win inside the Holmes Convocation Center on Feb. 24, 2024.
JMU has encountered Old Dominion more than any other SBC opponent with 85 meetings, with the Dukes trailing 53-32 in the all-time series. Additionally, ODU is the only team in the league with a winning record against JMU.
The Dukes have never lost to Louisiana (5-0), Southern Miss (4-0), Texas State (4-0), South Alabama (3-0), or ULM (2-0).

GAME RECAP VS. TEXAS STATE

James Madison women's basketball shot 51.7% (31-of-60) from the field, 40.9% (9-of-22) from three, and 84.2% (16-of-19) from the free throw line to cruise to a wire-to-wire 87-52 victory over Texas State on Saturday afternoon inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
The Dukes' 35-point win marked their biggest margin of victory against an SBC opponent since joining the league in 2022.
James Madison forced the Bobcats (6-7,2-1 Sun Belt) to commit 22 turnovers, which the Dukes turned into 32 points. Additionally, JMU outscored Texas State in points in the paint, 40-18.

NCAA RANKING SUMMARY

Through Jan. 4 games, JMU owns six top-75 marks nationally: rebounds per game (T-28th - 43.06), defensive rebounds per game (36th - 29.1), rebound margin (49th - +7.4), offensive rebounds per game (T-70th - 14.0), blocks per game (72nd - 4.2), and scoring offense (74th - 73.7).
Individually, Peyton McDaniel is tied for 19th in points (291), Ashanti Barnes is 22nd in rebounds (148), Brianna McLeod is tied for 23rd in blocks (29), and Bree Robinson is tied for 46th in steals (38).

ROAD DOGS

The Dukes went 12-2 in true road games and 2-2 in neutral matchups for a 14-4 (.778) record in 2024-25.
Last season, JMU was one of 10 Division I teams with at least a dozen road wins, with Portland (13) being the only program with more.
The Dukes have gone a combined 18-6 (.750) across true road games and neutral site contests over the last two seasons.

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-pointers (2nd - 301), three-point attempts (2nd - 855), three-point attempts per game (3rd - 6.34), field goals made (4th - 694), points (4th - 1,959), field goal attempts (5th - 1,620), games played (T-6th - 134), and rebounds (14th - 881).

MILESTONE TRACKER

With 1,959 career points, Peyton McDaniel is 41 points away from becoming the fourth Duke to reach 2,000-plus career points.
If McDaniel maintains her career scoring average of 14.5 ppg, she'll reach the 2,000-point plateau in three games.
For Ashanti Barnes, with 902 points across her time at Old Dominion (2021-22) and JMU (2023-Present), she is 98 shy of reaching 1,000 in her Division I Career.
If Barnes averages 11.0 ppg, she can reach 1,000 career points in nine games.
The achievement would make Barnes the 35th member of the program's 1,000-point club.

Calendar

Players Mentioned

Ashanti Barnes

Peyton McDaniel

Brianna McLeod

Bree Robinson

JMU Footer

Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Coastal Carolina on December 17, 2025 , Win , 71, to, 68

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Marshall on December 20, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 83 , (OT)

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Georgia State on January 1, 2026 , Win , 84, to, 64

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Texas State on January 3, 2026 , Win , 87, to, 52

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Georgia Southern on January 7, 2026 , Loss , 70, to, 78

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Georgia State on January 10, 2026 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Marshall on January 15, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Georgia Southern on January 17, 2026 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at ULM on January 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT)

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Arkansas State on January 24, 2026 at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. CT)

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