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Bridgewater, NJ -- A new era of Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s basketball will be making its highly anticipated arrival this year. 
 
The league has been peppered with new members, new coaches and several fresh faces that will inject a new flavor to NEC hoops for the upcoming season. Amongst all the divergence, the squad that boasts the league’s longest tenured coach and most experienced roster has emerged as the team to beat in NEC women’s hoops in 2024-25. 
 

2024-25 NEC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll                      1. FDU (unanimous)                      2. Central Connecticut                      3. Le Moyne                      4. Stonehill                      5. Saint Francis U                      6. Wagner                      7. LIU                      t-8. Mercyhurst                      t-8. Chicago State    First place votes in parentheses

For the first time ever, FDU has been picked as the favorite to win it all in 2025, according to NEC women’s basketball coaches in their annual preseason poll.

Two teams that were picked towards the bottom of the poll a season ago appear at the top portion of this year’s predicted order-of-finish in Central Connecticut and Le Moyne.

Beginning its penultimate season as a reclassifying institution and its third in the NEC, Stonehill is predicted to finish in the top half of the NEC standings for the first time in program history after claiming the fourth spot in the poll. The Skyhawks were followed by 12-time NEC tournament champion Saint Francis U in fifth, an experienced-driven Wagner squad in sixth and a swarming LIU team in seventh.

The NEC’s two newest squads rounded out this year’s preseason polling, as Chicago State and Mercyhurst finished in a tie for eighth place. 

The NEC revealed the results of the poll, along with the five-member Preseason All-Conference team, live on ESPN+ during NEC Basketball Media Day on Wednesday, October 23.

The conference head coaches have correctly forecasted the NEC’s winner five times in the last six years that a champ has been crowned, and FDU head coach Stephanie Gaitley is hoping that trend continues as she enters her second year at the helm of the Knights. 
 
Gaitley, who enters her 10th season in the NEC and her 38th year as a Division I head coach, piloted FDU to its fifth consecutive semifinal appearance last year. Despite regular season titles in two of the past three seasons and an appearance in the NEC Tournament finals two years ago, the Knights are still chasing that elusive NEC championship. FDU, which has developed the reputation of having a dynamic offense and a perennially gritty defense, will rely on a talented and experienced squad to end a 33-year title drought in Hackensack. 
 
One year made a world of difference for the NEC’s lone Nutmeg State squad, who received the highest preseason ranking in program history after coming in second place in the vote of the league’s skippers. Inheriting a team that was picked last in last season’s poll, head coach Way Veney and her Blue Devils exceeded all expectations by finishing third among conference competitors. With two hungry graduate students leading the charge, Central Connecticut has its sights set on bringing the iconic gold basketball trophy to New Britain for the first time ever. 
 
Le Moyne was another squad that turned heads last season. 
 
Each NEC program will once again play a 16-game double round-robin schedule that begins on Thursday, January 2. The 2025 NEC Women’s Basketball Championship will remain an eight-team playoff format with all games taking place at the home of the higher seed. Tournament dates are set for March 10, 13 and 16.
 
For the 18th season in a row, the NEC Women’s Basketball Championship will reach a national audience via ESPNU.
 
All eight eligible teams will participate in this year’s NEC Tournament. Starting in the 2026-27 season, Mercyhurst will be eligible to compete in the NEC postseason.  

If Le Moyne or Stonehill, both reclassifying institutions, wins the NEC Tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC’s automatic qualifier, per current policy. In instances where two reclassifying members reach an NEC final in men’s and women’s basketball, the NEC will stage an “AQ Qualifier” game between the two non-advancing semifinal teams. This will serve as a decisive game to determine the team that will secure the NEC’s spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
FDU 
Predicted NEC Finish: 1st
2023-24 Overall Record: 14-7
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 11-5/3rd
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Teneisia Brown (Gr, F/C, 6-2): 12.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 spg, 27.5 mpg, 48.4 FG%, 62.6 FT%
Abby Conklin (Gr, G, 5-7): 9.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 37.3 mpg, 36.4 FG%, 35.7 3FG%, 71.4 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
The most experienced coach in the NEC brings back a crop of seasoned players who piloted FDU to a top three finish in the conference standings for the third time in as many years, despite a 2023-24 roster that featured no returning starters and nine newcomers. All five of the Knights’ top scorers — a unit that accounted for nearly 80 percent of FDU’s offense — return to the hardwood for Stephanie Gaitley, who has 37 years of Division I head coaching experience under her belt, including a decade in the NEC. With 2023 All-NEC first teamer Teneisia Brown (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)) holding down the fort in the post and a deep backcourt littered with threats from three-point range, FDU’s inside-out game will more than likely be a nightmare for opposing defenses this season.
 
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
Predicted NEC Finish: 2nd
2023-24 Overall Record: 9-21
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 7-9/5th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Meghan Kenefick (Gr, F, 6-0): 8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 35.4 mpg, 39. FG%, 58.3 FT%
Belle Lanpher (Gr, G, 5-5): 12.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 spg, 34.9 mpg, 38.1 FG%, 87.8 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
The Blue Devils made a statement in Way Veney’s debut season in New Britain, and in 2024-25, Central Connecticut has several necessary pieces in place to make a run for the program’s first-ever banner-raising campaign. Grad students Belle Lanpher (Princeton, MA/Wachusetts Regional) and Meghan Kenefick (Oakton, VA/Saint Paul VI Catholic) have combined to play 109 games against NEC opponents and are itching to make history in their final seasons donning the Blue and White. The Blue Devils’ punch goes beyond that experienced guard/forward tandem, though, as junior guard Amaya Williams (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) and senior forward Alonna Sellers (Hampton, VA/Hampton (UNC Asheville)) elevated their scoring during league play, contributing 7.1 and 8.7 points per game, respectively, to an efficient Central Connecticut offense that led the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2023-24.
 
LE MOYNE
Predicted NEC Finish: 3rd
2023-24 Overall Record: 18-15
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 14-2/2nd
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/6
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Sierra Linnin (Jr, G, 5-8): 8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 27.2 mpg, 29.5 FG%, 28.4 3FG%, 87.8 FG%
Haedyn Roberts (Gr, F, 6-1): 6.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.61 bpg, 19.4 mpg, 45.3 FG%, 43.3 3FG%, 83.1 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
Le Moyne’s defiant run to the 2024 NEC title game was one for the history books, as the Dolphins became the first team since Mount St. Mary’s (1990) to play for the conference title in its inaugural season as an NEC member. With the graduation of two back court mainstays in Lytoya Baker and Sydney Lusher, it’ll be a whole new look and an entirely different brand of basketball for the Upstate New York squad, which begins a new era under the direction of former FDU player Nick DiPillo. In addition to seven returning players that earned the Dolphins an automatic berth to the WNIT, DiPillo has bolstered his guard-driven roster with four transfer wing players, including redshirt freshman Amya McLeod (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy (Youngstown State)), sophomore Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, Ontario/Capital Courts Academy (Buffalo)), senior Mia Yanogacio (Somerset, NJ/Rutgers Prep (Delaware)) and graduate student Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, RI/St. Andrew’s School (Fordham/Bryant)).
 
STONEHILL
Predicted NEC Finish: 4th
2023-24 Overall Record: 4-26
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 4-12/t-7th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Sharn Hayward (Sr, G, 5-6): 9.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 34.7 mpg, 36.0 FG%, 35.8 3FG%, 85.7 FT%
Maureen Stapleton (Sr, F, 6-0): 3.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.9 bpg, 27.6 mpg, 39.3 FG%, 50.0 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
With the departure of three of the squad’s top scorers to graduation, including NEC all-star Jada Thornton, a tall task lies in front of Trisha Brown and her Skyhawks as the longtime head coach is set to incorporate six newcomers and a pair of grad transfers into the mix. Stonehill had its share of struggles on both ends of the court last season, but with the return of seniors Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania/Marist Regional College) and Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/St. Rose), who ranked first and third, respectively, in minutes played, along with an emerging star in sophomore Brooke Paquette (Hudson, NH/Bishop Guertin), there is potential for an upswing in Easton. Stapleton and Paquette both appeared in every game for the Skyhawks last season and combined to contribute 9.7 points per game in the frontcourt, while long-range bomber Hayward, who went off for an NEC-record-tying 11 three-pointers on 73.3 percent shooting against Wagner on January 8, is expected to carry what will be a youthful Stonehill backcourt in 2024-25.
 
SAINT FRANCIS U
Predicted NEC Finish: 5th
2023-24 Overall Record: 5-25
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 4-12/t-7th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Yanessa Boyd (So, G, 5-9): 7.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 25.2 mpg, 32.4 FG%, 82.5 FT%
Julianna Gibson (Jr, F, 6-2): 5.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 25.9 mpg, 41.8 FG%, 60.7 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview:
There is plenty of optimism in Loretto for head coach Keila Whittington and her Red Flash as 12-time tournament champion Saint Francis U looks to work its way back to the pinnacle of the NEC for the first time in six years. With five of their 12 league setbacks being decided by 10 points or fewer, an injury-riddled Red Flash squad that was down two starters for most of the league slate managed to pull off what was arguably the biggest upset of the conference season against Le Moyne. Anchoring a quartet of experienced players who averaged 24 or more minutes per game last year is 5-foot-9 guard Yanessa Boyd (Frederick, MD/Riverdale Baptist), who could be set for a breakout year after she put up double figures nine times for 7.1 points per contest.
 
WAGNER
Predicted NEC Finish: 6th
2023-24 Overall Record: 7-21
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 4-12/t-7th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/9
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Julia Fabozzi (Gr, G, 6-1): 7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 22.0 mpg, 38.8 FG%, 55.7 FT%*
Taleah Washington (Gr, G, 5-7): 9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 34.9 mpg, 30.6 FG%, 60.5 FT%
* - Stats from last full season in 2022-23 
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
It’s been two years since Wagner has finished in the top half of the standings, but an NEC-leading four graduate students — including guards Taleah Washington (District Heights, MD/Forestville & Rock Creek (Old Dominion)) and Julia Fabozzi (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian (Providence)) — will look to change the conversation and bring the Seahawks back into the upper echelon of the NEC in their final season on Grymes Hill. Washington, a creative playmaker who ranked second in the NEC with 3.8 apg and netted double figures nine times in her debut season with the Seahawks, will be joined in the backcourt by Fabozzi, who worked her way into the lineup for the final seven games last year after suffering a preseason injury. There were offensive struggles for Wagner a year ago, however the squad proved to be one of the most tenacious defensive squads in the NEC under fourth-year head coach Terrell Coburn, forcing a league-leading 19.1 miscues per contest while also pacing the circuit with 9.68 steals per night.
 
LIU
Predicted NEC Finish: 7th
2023-24 Overall Record: 8-22
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: 5-11/6th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/9
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/4
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Amaya Dowdy (Sr, F, 6-0): 7.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 spg, 1.8 bpg, 22.3 mpg, 46.9 FG%, 67.6 FT%
Nigeria Harkless (Sr, F, 6-2): 6.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 20.4 mpg, 45.0 FG%, 79.4 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
LIU won five NEC games last year but was on the brink of doing even more damage, with five of its defeats being decided by 10 points or fewer, including two contests that were one possession games. It will be a new look squad for the Sharks under fifth-year head coach Rene Haynes following the graduation of Ashley Austin and Mariah Elohim, who accounted for 45 percent of LIU’s offense in 2023-24. Showing great rebounding prowess and rim-protecting ability as the league’s top shot blocker in her debut season in Brooklyn, senior Amaya Dowdy (Woonsocket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy (UMass Lowell)) also showed glimpses of dominance in the post against NEC competitors and will be a key factor in LIU’s success both on offense and defense.    
 
CHICAGO STATE
Predicted NEC Finish: t-8th
2023-24 Overall Record: 1-26
2023-24 NEC Record/NEC Finish: N/A (Division I Independent)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Ja’Cia Cunningham (Jr, G, 5-8): 13.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 28.2 mpg, 36.8 FG%, 72.0 FT%
Josie Hill (Jr, C, 6-1): 9.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.8 bpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 29.6 mpg, 44.2 FG%, 83.1 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
One of the league’s brand new teams will be playing for a chance to hoist a conference championship trophy for the first time since the 2020-21 season. It will be a year of debuts for the Chicago State, as a brand-new coach in Corry Irvin will navigate the sidelines for the Cougars as they embark on their inaugural campaign as a first-year member of the NEC. Despite nine new faces on the roster — including six true freshman and transfers from IUPUI, Kennesaw State and Stanislaus State — Irvin has a solid foundation to work with, as four of the team’s top-five scorers return to the Windy City in 2024-25, including junior guard Ja'Cia Cunningham (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee School of Languages), who paced CSU with 13.6 ppg
 
MERCYHURST
Predicted NEC Finish: t-8th
2023-24 Overall Record: 18-11*
2023-24 PSAC Record/PSAC Finish: 14-8/5th (West Division)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/6
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/4
* - Division II member
 
Returning Players to Watch:
Bailey Kuhns (Jr, F, 5-11): 14.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 26.8 mpg, 50.0 FG%, 75.6 FT%
Jenna Van Schaik (Jr, G, 5-7): 4.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 17.0 mpg, 40.0 FG%, 34.6 3FG%, 83.3 FT%
 
Three-Sentence Preview: 
The NEC welcomes a Mercyhurst program that concluded its Division II tenure with an 18-win slate for the fifth-most victories in 40 years of Lakers’ basketball. Coming off a promising sophomore campaign for sixth-year head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim is forward Bailey Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic), who emerged as Mercyhurst’s top scoring threat after averaging 14.3 points per night on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor to grab a spot on the PSAC West second team. Kohlheim spent the offseason bolstering the roster with six true freshmen to help the Lakers emerge in their maiden Division I voyage in 2024-25.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#34) and Syracuse (#85). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.