PENSACOLA, Fla. – James Madison and Texas State will meet in Monday’s Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship Final.
 
The regular season co-champions proved why they earned the tournament’s top two seeds in a pair of semifinal contests that saw both teams lead the entire way. 
 
The 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship will tip off on Monday, March 6 at 1 p.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. 
 
Tickets to Monday’s finale are still available and can be purchased through Ticketmaster. 
 
(1) James Madison 70, (5) Old Dominion 64 [Box Score]
 
Kiki Jefferson scored 12 of the Dukes’ 23 fourth-quarter points to hold off Old Dominion, 70-64, and advance to the Sun Belt Championship title game. James Madison now owns a 25-7 record and has won seven of its last eight games. 
 
Jefferson finished with 22 points and seven rebounds while Kseniia Kozlova dropped 20 points and grabbed six boards. Both caused havoc in the paint, drawing five fouls and sinking a combined 11-of-13 (84.6%) from the charity stripe. Jamia Hazell registered 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, posting five points in the final frame. Kobe King-Hawea was tough on the glass, leading all players with eight rebounds. 
 
It was a low-scoring affair in the first quarter, with the Dukes holding a 9-8 advantage after one. The second period saw the James Madison offense coming alive for 22 points, with seven coming from Kozlova. James Madison shot an efficient 9-of-15 (60.0%) from the field, while Old Dominion managed to add 12 points to trail 31-20.
 
The Dukes led by as many as 16, 38-22, with 7:35 on the clock in the third period. However, the Monarchs fought back to tie the game at 45 with 0:53 remaining in the quarter. Hazell hit a tough floater in the waning seconds to give James Madison a 47-45 edge heading into the final frame.
 
Old Dominion's Mikayla Brown knocked a jump shot 20 seconds into the fourth to tie the game at 47 all. The Dukes responded by pulling ahead 53-47, highlighted by a Jefferson triple at the 7:56 mark. James Madison increased its lead to seven, 66-59, with 0:42 left on the clock thanks to a mid-range jumper from Hazell. However, the Monarchs connected on a quick three and made a pair of free throws to trail by two, 66-64, with 0:26 left on the game clock. From there, Jefferson and Caroline Germond came in clutch with four free throws to close the game out for a 70-64 James Madison victory.
 
(2) Texas State 85,  (3) Southern Miss 57 [Box Score]
 
Da’Nasia Hood matched her season-high with 30 points, the Texas State bench scored 39 points, and the Bobcats controlled Southern Miss in an 85-57 win in the 2023 Sun Belt Basketball Championship semifinals on Sunday at the Pensacola Bay Center. 
 
The Bobcats (23-8) move on to the tournament championship game on Monday against James Madison thanks to Hood’s double-double with 30 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. The graduate student shot 12-of-19 from the field (63.2 percent) and 5-of-6 from three (83.3 percent). 
 
Complementing Hood was a Bobcat bench that scored its most points in a game against a Sun Belt team this season. Texas State, which was averaging 15.2 bench points coming into the contest, had Taelour Pruitt score 17 off the bench, Jaeda Reed with a career-high 16, and Kennedy Claybrooks with six. 
 
While Texas State shot 50.9 percent from the field, its defense held Southern Miss (21-10, 13-5 Sun Belt) to just 19 field goals made on 56 attempts (33.9 percent). The Bobcats limited the Lady Eagles to 1-of-18 in the third quarter, including 0-of-6 from three.
 
2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship
 
Tuesday, February 28
Game 1 – (12) Georgia State 59, (13) South Alabama 44
Game 2 – (11) Arkansas State 76, (14) ULM 65
 
Wednesday, March 1
Game 3 – (8) Marshall 60, (9) Coastal Carolina 53 
Game 4 – (5) Old Dominion 66, (12) Georgia State 56
Game 5 – (11) Arkansas State 81, (6) Georgia Southern 76
Game 6 – (10) App State 51, (7) Louisiana 38
 
Friday, March 3
Game 7 – (1) James Madison 62, (8) Marshall 43
Game 8 – (5) Old Dominion 86, (4) Troy 83
Game 9 – (3) Southern Miss 79,  (11) Arkansas State 72
Game 10 – (2) Texas State 56, (10) App State 47
 
Sunday, March 5
Game 11 – (1) James Madison 70, (5) Old Dominion 64
Game 12 – (2) Texas State 85, (3) Southern Miss 57
 
Monday, March 6
Game 13 – (1) James Madison vs. (2) Texas State – 1:00 p.m. CT