Sun Belt notebook: James Madison challenging itself against the best, App State’s huge community assist

The veteran James Madison head women’s basketball coach had to ensure that the AP didn’t mistakenly publish his 2024-25 schedule, which includes games against three programs ranked in the top 10: No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 9 North Carolina State.

All three opponents appeared in the last NCAA Tournament: N.C. State appeared in the Final Four, Texas lost in the Elite Eight and Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16. The Dukes’ schedule also includes a road game at Villanova, which advanced to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) championship, and a neutral-site contest against Florida.

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“I believe in this team, and I believe in the pieces we added and the people that we returned and had the opportunity to add some of these, I mean huge heavyweights,” O’Regan said during Wednesday’s Sun Belt coaches media availability over Zoom. “The mix is going to be a challenge, and what I’m really hoping for with our group is, you know, being able to attack each challenge for what it is and that that’s all about us versus somebody even if we’re favored against.”

James Madison, the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference, is staying strong despite the challenges, consistently testing themselves against top competition. After all, staying at an elite level requires stepping outside your comfort zone.

While coaches, players, conferences, and facilities have changed, the Dukes’ winning tradition has stood the test of time. Even now during the evolving collegiate landscape of conference movement, Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals, and the transfer portal.

“You want to get players that come in here like Peyton McDaniel, Jamia Hazell, Anna Goodman that have stuck with you for five years,” O’Regan said. “That’s to me my personal vision of sustaining success. Being able to have freshman develop and learn your language and learn your culture and believe in that culture. Even when recruits are coming in you know in this fall, they’ll tell you who they like and who they don’t and I think that you got to listen to them. This women’s basketball program here has been obviously great for a long time you’re fourth all time in wins and you know that’s because of the people.”

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O’Regan, who is entering his ninth season at the helm in Harrisonburg, downplayed his role in keeping the Dukes’ winning tradition going strong.

“I just happen to have the whistle in my mouth right now,” O’Regan said. “It’s not me. I’m a very small chunk of this whole thing. I mean, Kenny Brooks coming in after Sheila Moorman and eventually ousting a really good ODU program that was in the top 25 year after year. [Longtime ODU head women’s basketball Wendy Larry] winning and setting that bar, and then Kenny Brooks being able to come in here and raise the bar for us, so there’s been a long history of it. To me, the people and the leadership at JMU are giving us the resources to do that.”

James Madison’s home game against Texas on Sunday, Dec. 8 is significant. Not only is it the first year of a home-and-home series against the Longhorns, but it’s a battle between two of the top all-time winningest Division I women’s basketball programs in history. James Madison’s 1,225 victories are fourth all-time behind Tennessee (1,471), UConn (1,304) and Stanford (1,240). Texas is nine victories behind the Dukes, with 1,216 wins.

“To get [a program like Texas] to come to your campus and your facility, much respect for Vic Schaefer for that,” O’Regan said. “There were a lot of people that when I shared that with them, their jaws dropped … I’m hoping that Texas can be the highest level of entertainment for this place, in this community. Having them here and being able to make a run at them is a huge opportunity, and it says a lot about his confidence in his program and his ability to do his part in growing the game, too.”

James Madison’s schedule is designed to provide the Dukes with the necessary edge to reverse last year’s bitter ending, a 95-92 overtime loss to Marshall in the SBC tournament championship game. This loss has fueled the team’s determination to perform better in the upcoming season.

The Dukes have a rich history of success, having appeared in a postseason tournament 23 times, with 13 NCAA appearances and nine Women’s National Invitation Tournament outings. James Madison’s impressive track record, including being a No. 1 seed in last year’s inaugural WBIT, is a source of pride.

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With 6’0 redshirt junior guard Peyton McDaniel, 6’3 redshirt senior center Kseniia Kozlova and 5’8 graduate guard Ro Scott earning preseason All-Sun Belt recognition, it’s also easy to see why the Dukes scheduled this gauntlet. McDaniel was also selected as the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, and all three earned All-Sun Belt honors last season. The trio will lead the Dukes this season, another reason why O’Regan scheduled aggressively.

Ultimately, the Dukes received 12 first-place votes and 191 points to be named the league favorites. Troy collected the two remaining first-place votes for second with 169 points, followed by Old Dominion (167), ULM (150) and Louisiana (122).

“Our schedule is designed for us to prepare for the Sun Belt,” O’Regan said. “We’re trying to win the league just like everybody else, and we failed at that goal last year. This group is hungry for that, so we designed the non-conference schedule to help prepare us for that.” 

Sun Belt Shining

Including James Madison’s experience in the WBIT, the Sun Belt further polished its reputation with a record six programs participating in postseason tournaments last season. Marshall was a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it eventually fell on the road to Virginia Tech. That marked the highest seed for a Sun Belt team in the NCAA Tournament since the 2019 season.

For the first time in conference history, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Troy and ULM played in the WNIT. The Trojans advanced to as far as the WNIT Fab 4, while ULM advanced to the Great 8 and Southern Miss exited in the Super 16.

With its 23 victories, James Madison was one of six Sun Belt Conference teams to win at least 20 games last season:  Marshall (26), Troy (22), Old Dominion (22), ULM (21) and Southern Miss (20). Those same schools finished among the Top 150 in the NET rankings on Selection Sunday.

Marshall’s New Leader

Marshall has a new face in the head coach position, 2024 WBCA Division III National Coach of the Year Juli Fulks. A proven winner, Fulks led Transylvania to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the second straight season in 2023-24. She is also one of eight head coaches across all divisions of women’s basketball to eclipse the 400-win mark in 20 or fewer seasons.

Fulks inherits an experienced roster, highlighted by 5’8 senior guard Aislynn Hayes, a Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt Selection who played her first two years at Mississippi State. Last season, Hayes scored at a 14.7 point per game clip while shooting 41.7 percent, which was eighth in the SBC. Hayes is one of 10 returning players from last season’s squad, having scored double figures in 24 games and posting 10 games with 20 or more points.

Marshall continued its 2024 to remember by visiting Italy for a summer tour. Division I programs can take a foreign trip once every four years, so it was just a coincidence that this year’s journey occurred months after edging out James Madison in the riveting SBC championship game. The Herd will also head to Orlando next month when they compete in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Showcase at Walt Disney World Resort. Marshall will face Penn State on Thursday, Nov. 21 and Tulsa on Saturday, Nov. 23.

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Bigger Than Basketball at Appalachian State

In her first year as head coach at Appalachian State, Alaura Sharp faced plenty of challenges beyond basketball. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, she experienced firsthand the resilient spirit of the Boone community as they weathered the storm’s devastating impact. The hurricane caused severe flooding, leading to the displacement of many residents and causing damage to numerous homes and businesses.

Boone Creek, which runs through the Appalachian State campus, flooded severely during the storm, causing extensive damage. Significant buildings and classrooms, including the women’s basketball locker room and the convocation center, were affected.

“We feel like our team and staff have been really fortunate amongst seeing the devastation of people who lost so much,” Sharp said. “Our facilities team came on strong, and we have things that are being replaced … We have two things I share all the time, and that’s adaptable and choose to make the disadvantage the advantage, and we used it as an opportunity to get out in the community to engage, serve, and help out. We saw the impact of the flooding and devastation when you meet somebody who lost everything.”

Fortunately for the Mountaineers, none of their women’s basketball players were significantly impacted by Helene. According to Sharp, facilities staff have started making repairs to the locker room, including installing a new carpet. Recognizing their role as community leaders, the team quickly stepped up to help those in need, a response that left a lasting impression on Sharp.

“I think the first thing that I noticed was that the next day, we had two or three players already coming and helping the Red Cross,” Sharp said. “I mean, it was like one day was flooding, the next day the convocation upstairs was turned into a shelter for people, and we had players coming over early in the morning and serving without us even organizing that, and so that just shows to the types of individuals that we want to bring into our program. We want high-character players and people who came to Boone to be a part of the women’s basketball program and the Boone community. That’s something I noticed right away, and I was proud of and thankful for.”

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The basketball program’s members (coaches, players and support staff) all had access to power, internet and cell phone service, so they were able to stay connected during the difficult time. Since classes were canceled until recently, the Mountaineers spent extra time practicing in preparation for the season. This allowed Appalachian State to spend more time learning Sharp’s system.

“We did have the opportunity to practice,” Sharp said. “We made the disadvantage the advantage. We had no classes and more time on the court. We used that time wisely to lock in and move the needle in our program. Our chancellor has been amazing in getting App State back up and running.”

One key piece this season for the Mountaineers is expected to be 5’10 senior guard Emily Carver, who was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Carver averaged 13.5 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists last season. A scorer supreme, Carver recorded double figures in 18 games, including in seven straight games from Jan. 27 to Feb. 22.

“I wanted to come to App State because of the close-knit of the fans, the community and the college,” Sharp shared. “That’s really been represented over the last couple of weeks just dealing with the hurricane and witnessing in person boots on the ground everyone coming together to help support our faculty, our staff, our students, and the surrounding community that’s lost so much. I want to thank everyone who’s pitched in and reached out to our program and our team. It just really shows the pride in the black and gold, and I am thankful for that.”

Troy, Encore?

After making its deepest Division I postseason run in program history last season when it advanced to the WNIT semifinals, Troy is excited for the upcoming season even though it will look a little different this season with just three returning players. The Trojans won 15 conference games in 2023-24.

Fortunately for Troy, it returns the two players who earned Preseason All-Sun Belt recognition, 5’10  senior guard  Shaulana Wagner (Second Team) and 6’2 junior forward Zay Dyer (Third Team). Wagner led the conference and ranked 28th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 2.27. She started in 25 of 31 games, averaging 4.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Dyer contributed 6.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists in just 16.0 minutes per game.

Milton-Jones Memories

Head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones has been successful at Old Dominion. Not counting the shortened 2020-21 season, she has led the Monarchs to 20 or more wins in five-straight seasons.

This season, ODU returns four player, including 5’7 graduate guard En’Dya Buford, who earned a spot on the preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team, and 5’10 junior guard Kelsey Thompson landed on the Third Team. The Monarchs also added 10 newcomers for Milton-Jones’ fifth season at ODU, and the program’s third in the Sun Belt since rejoining the league in 2022.

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Milton-Jones spent the end of her recent presser reflecting on the significant growth of women’s basketball from the time she began a distinguished 19-year career in the WNBA, to the present.

“To go through all of that and to sit and be a fan nowadays and to see that the arenas are packed, filled to capacity and the support is just tremendous from the media attention and then to the in-game experience, I am tickled pink every time I get to see that,” Milton-Jones said. “I’m also very joyous over the fact that the sacrifices we all made to have women’s basketball be on a solid foundation today that really does my heart well knowing that we’re leaving it in good hands and I’m hoping that they will also create a legacy for those behind them to carry that torch.”

“When you see the media rights and now the money exchange surrounding women’s basketball under the table and behind closed doors women and the women’s game is always attached to conversations and to deals. Now, for us to be at the forefront of those deals and to reap the benefits of our work solely for us, I’m very happy about that. I wish I would have been around nowadays to get the nice check but the $50,000 that I made for a WNBA season back then I think it was all well worth it.”