Troy women's basketball falls in Sun Belt tournament title game

Looks ahead to possible NIT bid after 69-52 loss to James Madison

Published on Mar. 9, 2026

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The Troy women's basketball team fell to James Madison 69-52 in the Sun Belt tournament championship game, failing to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Troy, the regular season runner-up in the Sun Belt, is now hoping for a bid to the Women's NIT, where they have found success in recent years.

Why it matters

Troy had been seeking its first NCAA tournament berth since 2021, but came up short in the Sun Belt tournament final. The loss means the Trojans will have to settle for a possible WNIT bid, where they have reached the semifinals and finals in the past two seasons despite losing key players from their roster.

The details

James Madison built double-digit leads in both the first and third quarters, controlling the game from the opening tip. The Dukes outrebounded Troy 43-42 and scored 24 points off 16 Trojan turnovers. Troy struggled offensively, shooting just 30% from the field and going 1-for-12 on 3-pointers. All-Sun Belt guard Peyton McDaniel led JMU with 28 points and 10 rebounds, earning tournament MVP honors.

  • The WNIT pairings will be announced at some point Sunday, after the NCAA tournament field is announced.

The players

Chanda Rigby

The head coach of the Troy women's basketball team.

Peyton McDaniel

The All-Sun Belt guard for James Madison who led the Dukes to the tournament championship, averaging 25 points and 7 rebounds in the three games.

Zay Dyer

The All-Sun Belt forward for Troy who struggled with foul trouble and scored just 6 points, though she had 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Fortuna Ngnawo

The lone Troy player in double-figures scoring, posting a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Sean O'Regan

The head coach of the James Madison women's basketball team.

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What they’re saying

“We came out with it with an iron fist. We came out with a great energy and took it right to them. … We got off to a great start. We've done that before. … We were able to like respond to their run in the mid-second quarter. That's when it looked like, was they were battling back on us, but we responded And that's what true winners do in my mind is, is you stick together, trust each other, and you can lean on your defense. Our defense was unbelievable today.”

— Sean O'Regan, James Madison head coach (al.com)

“We had the momentum going into halftime, or at least that's the way I saw it, because we kept fighting back. They had such a comfortable lead and we battled back and cut it to one. And then by halftime it was four. … We would have to go back and look at it, the reason for those turnovers. But again, they capitalized off of every one of those turnovers that we made. And that's basketball. That's tough basketball right there. If we could go back, that'd probably be one thing we'd change. But we can't go back. And I do think that that's a big thing that turned the game because everything seemed to be in their favor from then on out.”

— Chanda Rigby, Troy head coach (al.com)

What’s next

The WNIT pairings will be announced at some point Sunday, after the NCAA tournament field is announced.

The takeaway

Despite the disappointing loss in the Sun Belt tournament final, Troy has proven itself to be a resilient team that can bounce back from setbacks. The Trojans have found success in the WNIT in recent years, reaching the semifinals in 2024 and the championship game in 2025, and will look to continue that postseason run if they receive a bid this year.