HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – For the first time since 2020, James Madison women’s basketball will trek over to the mountain to face Virginia with a non-conference matchup scheduled for Nov. 19 inside John Paul Jones Arena.
The contest will be the 28th meeting between the two programs, with the Cavaliers leading 16-11 in the all-time series, dating back to 1975. JMU has won the last two matchups, including four of the last five. Head Coach Sean O’Regan owns a 3-1 record against Virginia and will face first-year Head Coach Aaron Roussell for the first time, who spent the last seven years as head coach at Richmond.
Single-game tickets for Virginia women’s basketball will be available for sale in the fall.
Last time out, Kiki Jefferson (31), Jamia Hazell (17), and Claire Neff (14) combined for 62 points in a season-opening victory over UVA, 84-69, inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Nov. 9, 2021. In the series’ most recent game in Charlottesville, the Dukes closed the first half on a 15-2 run and held on for a hard-fought 71-67 win at John Paul Jones Arena on Dec. 3, 2020.
Both programs made the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in 2025-26, with James Madison being an automatic qualifier after capturing the Sun Belt tournament title, while Virginia earned an at-large bid.
The No. 10-seeded Cavaliers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2000 after winning three games in five days, including a stunning overtime win over the second-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes, before falling to third-seeded TCU.
JMU’s full non-conference slate will be announced at a later date. The Dukes open the 2026-27 season at Miami (Ohio) as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Nov. 2.
— JMU Athletics —
