HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Peyton McDaniel recorded a season-high 29 points on 9-of-19 (.474), including 21 in the second half, as James Madison women’s basketball rolled past Georgia Southern, 85-68, inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Saturday afternoon for its fifth consecutive victory.

JMU (13-4, 5-0 SBC) sank 25-of-30 (.833) from the line and held Georgia Southern (8-9, 1-4 SBC) to a season-low four offensive rebounds. The Dukes dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles 46-31.

McDaniel knocked down 8-of-9 (.888) from the line and 3-of-10 (.300) from deep to go along with five rebounds. Zakiya Stephenson posted a career-high nine rebounds, nine points and six assists. Kseniia Kozlova finished with 12 points, four boards and one block in 19 minutes of action. Annalicia Goodman produced 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds off the bench.

Indya Green led the Eagles with 20 points on a 10-of-18 (.556) outing. Nicole Gwynn notched 18 points, going 4-for-7 (.571) from three, while Shanti Simmons registered 10 points and a team-best seven boards.

How It Happened
First Quarter – GS 13, JMU 12
• The Dukes held the Eagles to one of their last eight going into the first media timeout to take an 8-7 edge.
• Georgia Southern closed on a 6-0 run in the final 1:52 to take the lead after one.

Second Quarter – JMU 36, GS 29
• JMU responded with a 6-0 spurt to go ahead 18-13 at the 8:20 mark.
• Goodman and McDaniel combined for 16 points and seven rebounds in the frame.
• Through the first thirty minutes, the Dukes had out-rebounded GS 27-18.

Third Quarter – JMU 58, GS 46
• The Dukes started quickly once again, utilizing an 8-0 run to go up 44-31 with 6:53 left in the period.
• McDaniel finished with 10 points the period, connecting on 3-of-6 (.500) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line.

Fourth Quarter – JMU 85, GS 68
• McDaniel shot an unblemished 4-for-4 from the field for 11 points in the final frame as the Dukes poured in 27 points.
• Gwynn also scored 11 points in the fourth, knocking down 3-of-3 from behind the arc.

Game Notes
• James Madison is now 5-3 in the all-time series versus Georgia Southern, and has won three consecutive contests against the Eagles.
• McDaniel’s 29-point performance marked her fifth time this season scoring 20-plus.
• JMU held an advantage in bench points (23-11), second chance points (20-5) and fast break points (15-5).
• Georgia Southern finished with more points in the paint (40-38) and points off turnovers (16-10).
• The win marked the Dukes’ fifth straight – tied for the team’s longest winning streak since recording five consecutive victories from Feb.9-22, 2023.
• JMU has wrangled in 40 or more rebounds for the 12th time this season, while its 46 boards are the most since grabbing 48 versus Troy this season on Dec. 29.
• The Eagles’ four offensive rebounds are the fewest allowed by JMU against a Sun Belt member since joining the league in 2022. Meanwhile, the offensive rebounding total for GS was the lowest by an opponent since holding Wake Forest to three on Dec. 3, 2023.
• The Dukes’ 85 points against Georgia Southern are tied for the most scored by JMU in a regular season Sun Belt game since its 85-79 victory over ULM on Dec. 30, 2023.

— JMU Athletics —