ATLANTA – James Madison women’s basketball will complete its regular-season series versus Georgia State with a Saturday afternoon tilt in Atlanta. Action inside the GSU Convocation Center is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.

LAST TIME VS. THE PANTHERS


Trailing 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, James Madison connected on 25-of-46 (.544) from the field over the final three periods and posted a 53-33 rebounding advantage over Georgia State for an 84-64 victory in Sun Belt Conference women’s basketball action inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on New Year’s Day.
The Dukes poured in 42 points in the paint, while limiting the Panthers to just three second-chance points.
Four players scored in double-figures, led by Zakiya Stephenson with a career-high 22 points. Stephenson registered 19 points in the second half, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from behind the arc.


JMU VS. THE SUN BELT


James Madison holds a 102-71 (.590) record against current Sun Belt Conference foes and is 53-14 (.791) since joining the league in 2022.
Moreover, the Dukes are 47-12 (.797) 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.
James Madison has not lost a home game against a Sun Belt foe since dropping a 73-62 result to Georgia State on Feb. 15, 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).

 

NCAA RANKING SUMMARY (THROUGH JAN. 7 GAMES)


JMU owns five top-75 marks nationally: rebounds per game (31st – 42.71), defensive rebounds per game (39th – 28.8), rebound margin (48th – +7.4), scoring offense (74th – 73.5), and offensive rebounds per game (75th – 13.9).
Individually, Ashanti Barnes is tied for 16th in rebounds (154), Brianna McLeod is tied for 20th in blocks (31), Peyton McDaniel is 21st in points (301), and Bree Robinson is tied for 41st in steals (41).


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 18-7 (.720) 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 – 302), three-point attempts (2nd – 862), three-point attempts per game (3rd – 6.34), field goals made (4th – 704), points (4th – 1,969), field goal attempts (4th – 1,632), games played (6th – 136), and rebounds (14th – 888).


MILESTONE TRACKER


With 1,969 career points, Peyton McDaniel is 31 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 917 points across her time at Old Dominion (2021-22) and JMU (2023-Present), she is 83 shy of reaching 1,000 in her Division I Career.
If Barnes averages 11.0 ppg, she can reach 1,000 career points in eight games.
The achievement would make Barnes the 35th member of the program’s 1,000-point club.