NEW ORLEANS – James Madison guard Peyton McDaniel has been named Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year to headline the league’s 2024-25 All-Sun Belt teams and awards following a vote by the league’s head coaches.
McDaniel becomes the second James Madison player to earn Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. The redshirt junior averaged 16.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to anchor a JMU team that went a perfect 18-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. She is one of only two Division I players in the country to average at least 16 points and eight rebounds per game while hitting 60-or-more three-pointers. In league play, McDaniel’s 17.4 points per game led the conference, while her 8.3 boards ranked seventh. The guard shot an efficient 49.3 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from three and 84.1 from the free throw line across the team’s 18 league games.
McDaniel scored in double figures 27 times this season and posted eight games with 20-or-more points. The redshirt junior notched 12 double-doubles this season, good to tie for 30th in the nation and second most in the league. Five of those double-doubles came in consecutive games in conference play, making her the first JMU player with five-straight double-doubles since the 2006-07 season
In her first season with Georgia State, Mahogany Matthews became a key factor for the Panthers' defense, leading the Sun Belt and finishing second in the nation with 97 total blocks and 3.23 blocks per-game. She also broke the Georgia State program record for single-season blocks. The graduate student notched a career-high 11 blocks against South Alabama to tie the program record for blocks in a single-game.
Erica Lafayette transferred from Rutgers and turned into a force for the Ragin’ Cajuns, earning Newcomer of the Year. She scored in the double figures in 16-of-18 Sun Belt games to finish at 16.8 points per game, third-most in the league. The graduate guard scored 17 points or more in each of the first five conference games, establishing her spot at the top of the scoring charts, while producing 20-plus point games five times against league opponents. Overall, Lafayette completed the regular season reaching double digits in 21 of the 28 games that she played, leading her to clinching the first 400-point season by a Ragin' Cajun since 2016-17.
Trinity Rowe started in all 30 games for Southern Miss, becoming the fifth freshman to start in every game in Southern Miss' 50-season history. She finished fifth in the Sun Belt in minutes played (984) for an average of 32.8 minutes per game. Rowe reached double figures in nine games and averaged 7.1 points per game, leading all freshmen in the league with 212 points on the year. She nailed seven three-point baskets at Georgia State on Dec. 29, a performance that earned her Sun Belt Player of the Week. The freshman leads Southern Miss with 79 assists and is a sharpshooter beyond the arc, as she owns the most three-point baskets by a Southern Miss freshman in school history with a team-best 55 so far, leading all Sun Belt players that made at least 50 threes.
Ro Scott proved herself to be one of the best players in the nation coming off the bench, averaging 11.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Scott is currently fifth in Division I in points per game off the bench and is one of two reserves in the nation to average over 10 points per game and knock down 40 or more threes. The graduate student scored in double-figures 19 times this season and recorded four games with 20-or-more points, including dropping 22 points versus then-No. 4 Texas on Dec. 8. Scott played a pivotal role in James Madison’s 2024-25 success.
Sean O’Regan guided James Madison to a 27-4 overall record with a perfect 18-0 mark in Sun Belt action. This season proved to be historic for the Dukes, as they set the program record for regular-season wins at 27. James Madison achieved its fourth undefeated season against league foes, but its first as a member of the Sun Belt. James Madison is also the first Sun Belt team to go undefeated in league play since Middle Tennessee did so in the 2011-2012 season. Additionally, the teams 19-consecutive victories are the most under O’Regan and the most since posting a 20-game winning streak from Jan. 8 through March 12, 2016.
James Madison ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (59.6 ppg), scoring margin (+15.9), field goal percentage (44.8), field goal percentage defense (33.6) and three-point percentage defense (24.4) in league play. Overall, the Dukes boast four top-15 marks in the nation: three-point percentage defense (2nd – 15.1), defensive rebounds per game (5th – 30.5), rebounds per game (8th – 42.97) and field goal percentage defense (14th – 36.0).
James Madison led the way with three All-Sun Belt selections, including two first team selections and one on third team. Arkansas State, Marshall, Coastal Carolina each had two honorees and Troy, ODU, Louisiana, ULM, Southern Miss, and Georgia State each had one.
The 2025 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will take place March 4-10 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., with all 14 Sun Belt institutions competing in the single-elimination tournament.
2024-25 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Post Season Awards
Player of the Year
Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
Defensive Player of the Year
Mahogany Matthews, Georgia State
Sixth Woman of the Year
Ro Scott, James Madison
Newcomer of the Year
Erica Lafayette, Louisiana
Freshman of the Year
Trinity Rowe, Southern Miss
Coach of the Year
Sean O’Regan, James Madison
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Zay Dyer, Troy
Aislynn Hayes, Marshall
Jakayla Johnson, ULM
Kseniia Kozlova, James Madison
Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Savannah Brooks, Coastal Carolina
En’Dya Buford, Old Dominion
Melyia Grayson, Southern Miss
Erica Lafayette, Louisiana
Zyion Shannon, Arkansas State
All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team
Ashanti Barnes, James Madison
CC Mays, Marshall
Alancia Ramsey, Coastal Carolina
Crislyn Rose, Arkansas State
Mikyla Tolivert, Georgia State