NEW ORLEANS - A winter storm shakes up the Sun Belt women's basketball week five schedule as teams heat up midway through league play.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Due to inclement winter weather the following changes have been made to this week’s schedule. For Thursday, Marshall at Southern Miss’s tip time has been moved to 5:00 p.m., James Madison at ULM’s tip time has been moved to 6:00 p.m. Marshall’s matchup with ULM has been moved to Friday, January 23rd at 2:00 p.m., while Saturday’s meeting between James Madison and Arkansas State has been moved to 11:00 a.m.
GAME OF THE WEEK
The Sun Belt women’s basketball game of the week features a rematch between defending Sun Belt tournament champions Arkansas State (16-4, 7-1) and defending Sun Belt regular season champions James Madison (13-7, 5-3). The two teams did not meet during the 2024-25 regular season, not seeing each other until the Sun Belt tournament championship where the Red Wolves stunned the top seeded Dukes, 86-79. Arkansas State currently stands at the top of the Sun Belt standings with just one loss to Troy (15-3, 6-1). James Madison won their last two games improving to 5-3 in league play after a 3-3 start with losses to Marshall, Georgia State and Georgia Southern. The highly anticipated match up features two of the league’s top players in JMU’s Peyton McDaniel and Arkansas State’s Zyion Shannon, who each lead their team in scoring this season.
THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Troy leads the league in both scoring offense (84.6), assists (15.65) and rebounds (50.6). Their 85.6 point per game average ranks 13th nationally while their 50.3 rebounds per game ranks 2nd, behind just No. 16 Oklahoma. Three of the Trojan’s starters are averaging double digit scoring figures in Fortuna Ngnawo Fortuna (15.0), Emani Jenkins (12.4) and Zay Dyer (13.1). Dyer is also averaging 12.0 rebounds per game which ranks fourth nationally, while her 10 double-doubles ranks ninth.
BECKY HAMMON MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCHLIST
James Madison’s Peyton McDaniel is one of 15 players to be named to the midseason watch list for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. McDaniel is averaging a league best 18.1 points per game. She has scored in double figures in 19 of the teams 20 games this season, while also recording five double-doubles. The redshirt senior is the reigning Sun Belt player of the year, preseason player of the year and a first team all-conference selection.
PARTY IN PENSACOLA
The 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve will be held March 3-9, 2026 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., The championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 on Monday, March 9. The 2026 tournament will mark the sixth consecutive season the Sun Belt hosts the event in Pensacola, which will remain at the venue through the 2029-30 campaign. A different program has been crowned champion in each of the first five years in Pensacola: Arkansas State (2025), Marshall (2024), James Madison (2023), UTA (2022) and Troy (2021).
IN THE NET
Five Sun Belt teams rank in the top 100 of the NET. James Madison has the best NET at 59, followed by Troy (66), Georgia Southern (83), Arkansas State (86) and Marshall (93).
IMPACT PLAYERS – Sun Belt Statistical Leaders
PPG: Peyton McDaniel, JMU, 18.1
FG%: Cordasia Harris, USA, .561
3FG%: Emani Jenkins, Troy, .449
FT%: Saniya Burks, TXST, .863
RPG: Zay Dyer, TROY, 12.0
BPG: Riley Stack, ODU, 2.5
APG: Destiny Garrett, GS, 4.4
SPG: Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, MAR, 3.6
AST/TO: Emma Smith, APP, 2.0
WHERE TO WATCH
| Date |
Time |
Matchup |
ESPN+ |
| Weds., Jan. 21 |
11:00 a.m. |
Old Dominion at Arkansas State |
ESPN+ |
| Weds., Jan. 21 |
6:00 p.m. |
Coastal Carolina at Louisiana |
ESPN+ |
| Weds., Jan. 21 |
7:00 p.m. |
App State at Texas State |
ESPN+ |
| Thurs., Jan. 22 |
5:00 p.m. |
Marshall at Southern Miss |
ESPN+ |
| Thurs., Jan 22 |
6:00 p.m. |
James Madison at ULM |
ESPN+ |
| Thurs., Jan 22 |
6:00 p.m. |
Georiga Southern at Troy |
ESPN+ |
| Thurs, Jan. 22 |
7:00 p.m. |
Georiga State at South Alabama |
ESPN+ |
| Fri, Jan. 23 |
2:00 p.m. |
Marshall at ULM |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
11:00 a.m. |
James Madison at Arkansas State |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
1:00 p.m. |
App State at Louisiana |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
2:00 p.m. |
Coastal Carolina at Southern Miss |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
2:00 p.m. |
Old Dominion at Texas State |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
2:00 p.m. |
Georgia Southern at South Alabama |
ESPN+ |
| Saturday, Jan. 24 |
3:30 p.m. |
Georgia State at Troy |
ESPN+ |
All Times CT