James Madison Dukes women's basketball

Last updated
James Madison Dukes
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 James Madison Dukes women's basketball team
James Madison University Athletics logo.svg
University James Madison University
Head coach Sean O'Regan (9th season)
Conference Sun Belt Conference
Location Harrisonburg, Virginia
Arena Atlantic Union Bank Center
(capacity: 8,500)
Nickname Dukes
Student sectionElectric Zoo
ColorsPurple and gold [1]
   
Uniforms
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Kit body basketball.svg
Kit shorts blacksides.png
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Home
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Kit body basketball.svg
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Away


NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1986, 1987, 1988, 1991
NCAA tournament round of 32
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2014
NCAA tournament appearances
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023
AIAW tournament appearances
1975
Conference tournament champions
CAA: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
Sun Belt: 2023
Conference regular season champions
CAA: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
Sun Belt: 2023, 2025

The James Madison Dukes women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference after previously playing in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). [2] The Dukes are led by ninth-year head coach Sean O'Regan.

Contents

The Dukes have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament thirteen times, most recently in 2023. Including Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) berths, the Dukes played in a post-season tournament each season from 2006 through 2019.

History

James Madison's women's basketball program is among the oldest in the nation, being founded in 1920. The program's first coach, Althea Loose Johnston, coached the team to a 106-33-5 record during her 22 year career. [3] Through the end of the 2022–23 season, the Dukes have compiled a record of 1200-585 (.672), the fourth most wins among all Division I programs and only one of four with over 1,200 wins.

In the 1986 and 1991 NCAA women's tournaments, they upset the #1 seed (Virginia in the former and Penn State in the latter) while ranked #8 (the lowest seed at the time), being the first team to ever do that on the women's side (the size of the tournament for the former was 40 while the latter had 48 teams). They are one of only three schools to upset a #1 seed while ranked as the lowest seed (the other being Southwest Missouri State in 1992 and Harvard in 1998). They have made the NCAA Tournament in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2023. They have made the WNIT in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, and 2019, finishing as runner-up in 2012.

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

The Dukes have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament twelve times. Their overall record in tournament games is 8–12.

YearRoundSeedOpponentResult
1986 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#8Providence
Virginia
Western Kentucky
W 55–53
W 71–62
L 72–51
1987 Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#4Vanderbilt
Texas
W 68–60
L 91–51
1988 Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#4Clemson
Tennessee
W 70–63
L 72–52
1989 First Round
Second Round
#6Providence
Ohio State
W 94–74
L 81–66
1991 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#8Kentucky
Penn State
Clemson
W 70–62
W 73–71
L 57–55
1996 First Round#13DukeL 85–53
2007 First Round#9PittsburghL 71–61
2010 First Round#9TempleL 65–53
2011 First Round#11OklahomaL 86–72
2014 First Round
Second Round
#11Gonzaga
Texas A&M
W 72–63
L 85–69
2015 First Round#12Ohio StateL 90–80
2016 First Round#11DePaulL 97–67
2023 First Round#14Ohio StateL 80–66

WNIT

The Dukes have appeared in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) nine times. They have an overall tournament record of 22–9. In the 2012 tournament, the Dukes finished as runners-up to Oklahoma State.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2001 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Quarterfinals
Temple
Georgetown
Mississippi State
Ohio State
W 59–57
W 78–74
W 63–61
L 74–65
2006 First RoundCharlotteL 70–62
2008 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Radford
Indiana
Kentucky
W 80–58
W 86–81^OT
L 84–76
2009 First Round
Second Round
American
Richmond
W 61–59
L 59–57
2012 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Davidson
Wake Forest
South Florida
Virginia
Syracuse
Oklahoma State
W 64–49
W 84–76^OT
W 72–45
W 68–59
W 74–71
L 75-68
2013 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Quarterfinals
North Carolina A&T
NC State
Fordham
Florida
W 77–64
W 72–66
W 77–61
L 85-80
2017 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Radford
Virginia
Villanova
W 80–59
W 61–55
L 69–67^OT
2018 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
ETSU
Radford
West Virginia
W 60–52
W 62–35
L 67–55
2019 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
North Carolina A&T
South Florida
Virginia Tech
Georgetown
Northwestern
W 48–37
W 71–54
W 70–66
W 54–44
L 74-69

WBIT

The Dukes appeared in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament in 2024. They have an overall tournament record of 0–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2024 First RoundStony BrookL 81–70

AIAW Division I

The Dukes, then the Madison College Dukes, made one appearance in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–2.

YearRoundOpponentResult
1975 First Round
Consolation First Round
Queens (NY)
William Penn
L, 50–83
L, 40–76

References

  1. "Color Information" (PDF). JMU Official Athletics Identity Usage and Style Guide. July 12, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. "James Madison University". jmusports.com.
  3. "JMU Women's Basketball History & Records" (PDF). James Madison University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13.