Georgia Southern University
23-7,16-2Sun Belt
James Madison
25-8,14-4Sun Belt
Eagles Fall In Sun Belt Semifinals To JMU, 81-53
3/8/2026 3:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Georgia Southern will now await word of a possible postseason berth
PENSACOLA, Fla. - No. 4-seeded James Madison used a significant rebounding advantage to defeat top-seeded Georgia Southern women's basketball, 81-53, in the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals on Sunday at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Eagles (23-7) will now await word of a berth in the WBIT, to be announced next weekend. James Madison (25-8) makes its fourth straight trip to the SBC Tournament title game, where it will face the winner of today's other semifinal game between Troy and Arkansas State.
The Dukes held Georgia Southern without a field goal for the game's first five minutes, but the Eagles were just as stout as the score was 6-3 at the first quarter media time out. A three-pointer from McKenna Eddings tied the score at 9-all with 3:08 left in the frame, but JMU ended the period on a 7-2 run to take a 16-10 lead at the end of one.
In the second quarter, Kyla Bryant came off the bench to score seven points in the first five minutes of the frame, but James Madison again went on a run to end the period, outscoring the Eagles 15-2 to take a 36-23 lead at the break.
James Madison stretched its lead to 21, 46-25, within the first four minutes of the second half and the Eagles were never able to get any closer the rest of the way. The Dukes finished the game with a 45-16 rebounding edge, the second-largest rebounding deficit for Georgia Southern in a game this season.
Kyla Bryant led the Eagles with 17 points, while Destiny Garrett added 10 points. JMU was led by Peyton McDaniel's 25 points.
Eagle of the Game
Bryant registered her second highest scoring output of the season with her 17-point output, trailing only the 18 points she scored against No. 5 LSU on November 9. She hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 three-pointers, in 32 minutes of action.
Stat of the Game
James Madison had a 15-0 advantage in offensive rebounds on the game, resulting in a 25-0 edge in second chance points.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the semifinal game against James Madison
"Hats off to JMU. They played really well yesterday and picked up right where they left off today. Disappointed that we came down here and played like this after the season that we had, it's a really tough pill to swallow. I don't think we put our best foot forward, and obviously JMU had something to do with that. We talked about this game being decided on the glass. We got beat on the boards in both games that we played against them this year, including the game we won, but it was a narrow margin, only seven. To get beat by almost 30, that was going to be too much to absorb.
