Dukes rally for SBC road victory | James Madison University

Trailing by double digits early, James Madison never flinched.

Redshirt senior center Kseniia Kozlova tied her career high of 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added eight rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks as the Dukes rallied for a thrilling 68-63 victory over Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana in the Cajundome on Thursday.

After the Dukes fell into an 8-0 deficit to open the game and eventually went down by double digits by the end of the opening quarter, Kozlova scored 22 of her 24 points over the final three frames to lead the rally.

After eventually taking a 55-50 lead into the fourth quarter, the Cajuns went on a scoring drought that lasted 3:14, allowing JMU to open up a 61-54 lead and it never looked back.

The 13-point comeback was the Dukes’ largest since erasing a 14-point hole against Maryland Eastern Shore in 2022.

Redshirt junior guard Peyton McDaniel hit four 3s and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for JMU in the win. Her 14 points put her at 19th in program history for total points (1,285), passing Missy Dudley, who played from 1985-1989.

Ro Scott continued to shine off the bench for the Dukes with 16 points while freshman wing Angela Williams was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field to finish with 10 points.

JMU (10-4, 2-0 SBC) returns to action on Saturday with another conference game at Texas State.

James Madison 10 23 22 13 — 68

Louisiana 20 15 15 13 — 63

JAMES MADISON (10-4) — Kozlova 9-14 6-7 24, McDaniel 4-5, 2-4 14, Barnes 1-2 0-0 2, Stephenson 0-5 0-0 0, Hazell 0-2 0-0 0, Scott 5-13 3-4 16, Williams 4-4 0-2 10, Robinson 1-3 0-0 2, Goodman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 11-17 68.

LOUISIANA (5-6) — Lafayette 3-14 10-10 18, A. Jones 2-5 5-8 9, Sam 2-5 2-2 6, Robinson 2-8 0-0 4, K. Jones 1-4 0-2 2, Benedith 4-9 2-2 12, Wheaton 3-8 1-2 7, Matthews 1-2 0-0 3, Franklin 1-1 0-0 2, Travis 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 20-26 63.

3-Point Goals — James Madison 9-19 (McDaniel 4-5, Scott 3-6, Williams 2-2, Stephenson 0-2, Robinson 0-2, Kozlova 0-1, Hazell 0-1), Louisiana 5-18 (Lafayette 2-5, Benedith 2-2, Matthews 1-2, Robinson 0-3, Wheaton 0-3, A. Jones 0-1, Sam 0-1, K. Jones 0-1). Rebounds — James Madison 37 (McDaniel, Kozlova 8), Louisiana 31 (Lafayette 8). Assists — James Madison 15 (Stephenson 3), Louisiana 5 (Wheaton 3). Total Fouls — James Madison 22, Louisiana 16. Total Turnovers — James Madison 22, Louisiana 14. A — 511 (12,608).