HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Bree Robinson (19), Peyton McDaniel (18), and Ashanti Barnes (18) combined for 55 points as James Madison women’s basketball connected on 46.2% (30-of-65) to hand Marshall its first Sun Belt loss this season with a wire-to-wire 80-43 victory on Thursday evening inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
With her scoring output, McDaniel eclipsed 2,000 career points, joining Dawn Evans (2,667), Precious Hall (2,347) and Tamera Young (2,121) as the only Dukes to achieve the feat.
The Dukes’ (12-7, 4-3 Sun Belt) 37-point win is their largest margin of victory in conference play since joining the league prior to the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd’s (15-4, 6-1 Sun Belt) 43 points are tied for the fewest allowed by JMU in that same span
James Madison dominated the glass, out-rebounding Marshall 48-30, while committing just six turnovers – the fewest giveaways by the program since 2023.
Barnes wrangled in a game-high 15 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Zakiya Stephenson registered seven assists and tied her career high with five steals.
Delilah Soltys finished with eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Grace McDonough added six and five points, respectively. Brianna McLeod posted another multi-block game with a pair of rejections to go with four points and three rebounds.
The Dukes dished out 20 assists – marking the team’s fifth outing this season with 20 or more.
Timaya Lewis-Eusty led the way for Marshall with eight points, while TreShondra Williams finished with seven. Leyocha Marigney led all players with four blocks. Timberlynn Yeast was limited to 0-for-7 from three and 0-3 from behind the arc in 29 minutes of action.
How It Happened
First Quarter – JMU 27, Marshall 2
The Dukes opened on a 13-0 run before Marshall made it on the board with a layup from Chesterfield at the 5:13 mark.
The Thundering Herd failed to score for the remainder of the half as JMU went 12-for-17 (.706) in total from the field for a 27-2 lead at the break.
Barnes and Robinson combined for 16 points on 7-for-7 from the floor.
Second Quarter – JMU 39, Marshall 19
JMU had a colder quarter, going 4-for-20 (.200) from the floor, with McDaniel adding five points.
Ilderton gave the Thundering Herd some life with six points off a pair of three-pointers.
Marshall finished the first half on a 9-0 scoring spurt over the final 3:44.
Third Quarter – JMU 60, Marshall 32
Robinson went for seven points, while the Dukes sank 8-of-10 (.800) from the charity stripe to out-score the Thundering Herd 21-13 in the period.
Fourth Quarter – JMU 80, Marshall 43
Seven Dukes registered points as JMU shot 8-for-14 (.571) from the field.
Stephenson dished out four helpers in the frame.
Game Notes
James Madison held an advantage in points in the paint (44-20), points off turnovers (19-4), and fast-break points (17-8).
The Dukes’ six turnovers are the fewest by the team since having six in a 72-64 loss at Georgia State on Jan. 28, 2023. Meanwhile, three steals are the fewest by the Thundering Herd since posting three versus Arkansas State, also on Jan. 28, 2023.
JMU’s 13 steals are the most by the program since recording 14 against Queens on Nov. 9.
James Madison is 54-1 all-time when distributing at least 20 assists.
— JMU Athletics —
