Barely off the bus from Austin Peay, the James Madison women were back on the floor of the Convocation Center for a short conditioning practice Wednesday night.

The Dukes improved to 3-0 with an 83-56 win the night before.

"I mean, that's the best you could wish for right now," head coach Kenny Brooks said Wednesday night.

The Dukes have also come away with wins over Georgetown and Virginia Tech at home in the past week.

"I thought the kids handled each and every game very well. We faced some adversity; we overcame it," Brooks said. "And as a result we've gotten off to a really good start, being 3-0."

Brooks has a simple explanation for his team's early success.

"The kids are very talented, and they're starting to click together," he said.

"I think this last game, at Austin Peay, really let us be ourselves. We ran our offenses a little bit more, got a little more comfortable with each other," said senior guard Sarah Williams. "And I really think that we're really working together, and that's really working."

"The kids are starting to understand each other. They're starting to understand their roles, and what they need to do," Brooks added. "So we're putting it together."

If the team has a flaw, Brooks says it's a lack of production from its post players. Starters Jalissa Taylor and Kanita Shepherd have combined to score 31 total points in JMU's first three games.

"We've got to establish a presence down there, down low, and be able to go inside and not just rely on our guards to shoot outside shots," said Brooks, who has started three guards in each game. "Because you're not always going to make outside shots."

Brooks said he expects junior Lauren Jimenez to bolster the frontcourt. But she's not due back from offseason knee surgery for another month.

Brooks said Tuesday's win was also important because it got was the Dukes' first away from the Convocation Center.

"I've always said that to develop championship-caliber basketball teams, you've got to be able to win on the road. And you have to learn how to win on the road," he explained.

Four of JMU's next five games are on the road: at Western Carolina this Sunday, followed by trips to Liberty (December 1) and Virginia (December 6); then after a December 13 visit by Siena, the Dukes travel to Duke December 18.

Virginia is ranked No. 15 and Duke No. 10 in the latest AP women's basketball poll.

"It's going to be tough. It's going to be a challenge," Williams said of the upcoming stretch of road games. "But I think we're ready for it, and I think it's really going to test how tough we are."