HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — James Madison built an early lead and withstood a second-half rally to defeat Southern Mississippi 83-72 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Wednesday night at Reed Green Coliseum.

The Dukes led 39-26 at halftime after holding the Lady Eagles to just 13 points in each of the first two quarters. Southern Mississippi outscored James Madison 24-18 in the third quarter to narrow the gap but could not complete the comeback. Peyton McDaniel led James Madison with 24 points, while Ashanti Barnes added 21. Jakayla Johnson scored 22 points for Southern Mississippi.

James Madison improved to 17-8 overall, while Southern Mississippi fell to 12-11. An announced crowd of 1,467 attended the game.