MAAC Report: 2026 Women’s Tournament Preview

· Yahoo Sports

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — There may not be a single conference in the country where the top two teams are as far ahead of the rest of the pack as they are in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. For the second straight year, Quinnipiac and Fairfield are the clear favorites heading into Atlantic City.

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Over the last two seasons, the programs are 75-1 in MAAC games against teams that aren’t each other. The one loss was last year. The only separation in the standings this year is that Quinnipiac just so happened to play against the third-place team twice, while Fairfield only played them once.

But we can’t just have a Connecticut coronation yet. They’re going to get each team’s best shot on the boardwalk. Let’s meet them.

MAAC Bracket

MAAC Schedule

All games played at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

First Round – Thursday, March 5 | ESPN+

Game 1: No. 9 Marist vs No. 8 Manhattan | noon

Game 2: No. 10 Saint Peter’s vs No. 7 Sacred Heart | 2:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 | ESPN+

Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs No. 1 Quinnipiac | noon

Game 4: Game 2 Winner vs No. 2 Fairfield | 2:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 7 | ESPN+

Game 5: No. 5 Siena vs No. 4 Iona | noon

Game 6: No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s vs No. 3 Merrimack | 2:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Sunday, March 8 | ESPN+

Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs Game 5 Winner | noon

Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs Game 6 Winner | 2:30 p.m.

Championship Game – Monday, March 9 | ESPN+

Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner | 6:00 p.m.

All times EST.

Teams

1. Quinnipiac (19-1 MAAC, 24-5 overall)

    Quinnipiac is probably so tired of hearing about how amazing Fairfield is. Yes, the Bobcats lost to the Stags in last year’s MAAC Championship game, but this season, it’s QU that is the one seed. QU drew first blood on Fairfield’s home floor. And Quinnipiac features the best defense in the conference, holding opponents under 40% eFG%.

    Jackie Grisdale, Sydney Ryan, and Ella Ryan are sharpshooters, while Ella O’Donnell and Anna Foley provide playmaking and size in the paint. Don’t forget about Karson Martin either — she’s been more efficient than ever, just doesn’t have as much of a role for this group compared last.

    QU enters the MAAC Tournament having allowed 39, 38, and 37 points over the last three games. It has allowed under 40 points more than twice as many times as it has allowed 60+ in MAAC play.

    2. Fairfield (19-1 MAAC, 25-4 overall)

    You know these women already. Kaety L’Amoreaux and Meghan Anderson — two easy All-MAAC First Team selections. Nellie Brown, Cyanne Coe, Lauren Beach, Sydni Scott. It’s a whole rundown of players that have championship experience under Carly Thibault-DuDonis in building up Fairfield’s program. The Stags took the next step this year, rising 30 spots in Bart Torvik’s rankings all the way to 55, despite losing four regular-season games.

    64-2 in the MAAC over the last three seasons speaks for itself. Fairfield is the No. 6 effective field goal percentage offense in the country, and attempts more threes than any other team in the nation. It also makes 37% of those triples. While only two players average double figures, the amount of Stags that can come onto the floor and hit shots while playing terrific defense is significant.

    It’s a winning program looking for a third MAAC title in a row.

    3. Merrimack (15-5 MAAC, 18-11 overall)

    Kelly Morrone has the clear third-best team in the MAAC. The Warriors went 15-2 against teams not called Fairfield or Quinnipiac and boast some of the best individual defenders in the conference. Paloma Garcia led the league in steals, while Oralye Kiefer led it in blocks. Then there’s Madison Roman, who is averaging a whopping 20.2 points and 11.2 rebounds over her last six games. She led the MAAC with 17 double-doubles on the season.

    4. Iona (12-8 MAAC, 19-11 overall)

    Over her three years at the helm, Ang Szumilo has gone from six MAAC wins to eight, to now 12. It’s incremental progress for the Gaels program, which has gotten stellar production out of Isabellah Middleton and Zoey Ward all season long. Iona entered Atlantic City on a five-game winning streak, and went 11-4 in its final 15 games of the regular season after starting 1-4 in MAAC play.

    5. Siena (11-9 MAAC, 13-16 overall)

    If Francesca Schiro hadn’t injured her wrist in February, the conversation around Siena would be much different. That’s an easy first-team caliber player that hasn’t played in the last five games, and won’t play in Atlantic City. It took a bit of time for the Saints to settle into playing without her, but they have won the last two games. Fellow freshman Kaiya Rain Tucker is a dominant force on the glass, averaging 11.6 rebounds per game over the last five to win back possessions for Siena.

    6. Mount St. Mary’s (11-9 MAAC, 15-14 overall)

    You would’ve been forgiven for leaving the Mount for dead after Gabrielle Kennerly went down in mid-January — the team’s only double-digit scorer — but the group has rallied. Juniors Alana Powell and Amber Bullard have stepped up to become double-digit scorers, and the team has stayed afloat. They are solid on the defensive end and lead the conference in fast-break points and paint points per 100 possessions in that span.

    7. Sacred Heart (10-10 MAAC, 12-17 overall)

    After looking like a shoo-in for a top-four seed over the first month and a half of MAAC play, Sacred Heart completely hit a wall in February, failing to stack up against the more difficult half of its schedule. From 9-3, SHU won just one of its last eight games. They’ve turned it over on at least 30% of their possessions in five of those eight.

    8. Manhattan (10-10 MAAC, 10-19 overall)

    Winners of five of the last six games, Heather Vulin has the Jaspers playing their best basketball at the right time of year. With a senior-heavy group led by Brianna Davis, Colette Mulderig, Hana Muhl, and Elisa Sole Sanchez, this team will control the controllables, and when it wins, it wins via the battle on the glass and toughness.

    9. Marist (8-12 MAAC, 11-19 overall)

    Marist hasn’t beaten a team that ranks ahead of it in the MAAC standings since January 22. The Red Foxes struggled mightily on the glass, failing to create second-chance opportunities, especially in their games against Fairfield and Quinnipiac.

    10. Saint Peter’s (6-14 MAAC, 7-22 overall)

    Jennifer Leedham’s team has lost five in a row and seven of its last eight games heading into the MAAC Tournament. It hasn’t scored more than 62 points in that stretch of games. If the Peacocks are going to make noise, they’ll need more from their non-De’Naya Rippey pieces this week.

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