CLEVELAND, Ohio – Below is a team-by-team preview for the 2025-26 MAC Women's Basketball season.

The MAC women’s basketball season begins today, Nov. 3 with the MAC-SBC Challenge. The conference season is set to tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. 

The women's basketball regular season will conclude on Saturday, March 7 with the top eight teams in the conference moving on to Cleveland’s Rocket Arena for the MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 11-14.



MAC-SBC Challenge Women’s Basketball Matchups
Buffalo at Marshall, 6PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Georgia Southern, 6PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Kent State at Jams Madison, 6PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Miami at Coastal Carolina, 6PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
UMass at Old Dominion, 6:30PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Western Michigan at App State, 6:30PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Toledo at Troy, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Northern Illinois at Southern Mississippi, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Bowling Green at Louisiana, 7PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Eastern Michigan at Louisiana Monroe, 7:30 PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Akron at South Alabama, 8PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Ohio at Texas State, 8PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)
Ball State at Arkansas State, 8PM ET (Live Stats | ESPN+)

Team-By-Team Previews (In Preseason Coaches Poll Predicted Order)
1. Kent State 
Two elite mid-major programs will battle in a rematch from the season opener a year ago on Monday night as Kent State travels to James Madison for a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge contest to begin the 2025-26 campaign.

Both teams were voted as the preseason favorite in their respective conference and are top-10 in the Mid-Major Top 25, with the Golden Flashes at No. 10 and the Dukes at No. 3. Led by 10th-year head coach Todd Starkey, Kent State was picked first in the Preseason Mid-American Conference Coaches' Poll for the first time since divisions were eliminated.

Preseason All-MAC selections Janae Tyler and Mya Babbitt headline the return of three starters and seven players who logged at least 10 minutes per games during a 21-win campaign in 2024-25. Tyler earned All-MAC honorable mention accolades with averages of 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Babbitt is the top scorer back from last season at 11.8 points per contest. The sharpshooter made a program record 83 three-point field goals and led the conference with 41.3% accuracy from behind the arc.

In her first full season as starting point guard, Dionna Gray averaged 8.5 points and 4.9 assists per contest, which ranked third in the MAC. The return of Corynne Hauser to action for the first time since Feb. 7, 2024 bolsters the backcourt. Hauser has started 45 games during her career at Kent State and averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 assists over the first 20 games of her sophomore campaign.

Forwards Riley Rismiller (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Tatiana Thomas (5.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) showed much improvement last season and join Tyler as returners on the inside.

2. Toledo
The Rockets will begin their second season under Head Coach Ginny Boggess. Toledo finished second in the MAC (13-5) with an overall record of 24-9, reaching the MAC Tournament championship game and the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. Troy finished 24-14 (13-5 SBC) and reached the WNIT championship.
 
Toledo and Troy will begin the third season of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The Rockets hold a 4-0 record overall in the challenge, with victories over James Madison, ULM, Marshall and Old Dominion.

Toledo was picked second in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, receiving two first-place votes and three votes to win the MAC Tournament.

Junior Kendall Carruthers earned a Preseason First Team All-MAC pick, having averaged 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season.

The Rockets feature seven newcomers and seven returners on the 2025-26 roster. Carruthers (Honorable Mention) and sophomore Faith Fedd-Robinson (All-Freshman Team) earned MAC postseason awards last season.

Toledo received 44 points in the College Insider Mid Major Top 25 poll, while Troy was ranked 21st in the poll. The Rockets' home opener opponent, Gonzaga, was ranked seventh.

3. UMass 
The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program kicks off the 2025-26 campaign as it competes against Old Dominion in inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3 in Norfolk, Virginia, on ESPN+. It will be the first time the two teams meet in program history.

The Minutewomen welcome six newcomers, featuring four freshmen.

Massachusetts brings freshmen Anya George, Eva Hannon, Aiyanna Perkins and Brooke Pulpi into the mix for the 2025-26 season.

Rhode Island transfer Ayanna Franks arrives to Amherst off a 3.1 points per game season, adding 1.6 rebounds in 10.7 minutes.

Leah Bullard spent her first season at Oakland, averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.4 minutes of action.

Senior Megan Olbrys is coming off an impressive season in the Atlantic 10 last year, leading the team with career-best averages in points (14.0), rebounds (8.2), and free throws per game (.786). Olbrys posted eight double-doubles during the 2024-25 campaign and recorded a season-best 23 points against Loyola Chicago (2/9). The Norwood, Mass. native earned the A-10 Third Team All-Conference honors at the end of the 2024-25 season and received the 25-player watchlist for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award to start the 2025-26 season.

Allie Palmieri and Yahmani McKayle are expected to have strong campaigns for the 2025-26 season. Palmieri had a competitive season, averaging 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, and leading the Minutewomen with 32.8 minutes.  McKayle is coming off an A-10 Rookie of the Year season. She led the Minutewomen with 110 assists, contributing an average 13.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. With the guard duo's explosive 2024-25 UMass debuts, the Maroon and White look for them to be large contributors.

4. Ball State 
Ball State will officially open its season on the road at Arkansas State on Nov. 3 at 8 pm ET for the first of two games in the MAC-SBC Challenge. This is the third year for the event between the two leagues with Ball State owning a 3-1 record.

Head coach Brady Sallee, who begins his 14th year, returns junior Tessa Towers, along with sophomores Zuri Ransom and Grace Kingery from the 2024-25 historic season that saw Ball State women's basketball earn the regular season and tournament title along with the programs' second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. All three logged minutes to help last year's championship team achieve their goals. Junior Ashlynn Brooke will re-enter the lineup as well after recovering from an injury that occurred in 2024. 

Our fans will see a lot of new faces as well this season with the additions of transfers Karsyn Norman (Butler) and Bree Salenbien (Gonzaga). The Cardinals also bring in true freshmen Zhen Verburgt, Violeta Rojas, Alba Caballero, Giorgia Gorini, Brooke Winchester, Aniss Tagayi and Laura Martinez. 

5. Central Michigan
The 2025-26 Central Michigan Women's Basketball season officially begins Monday night (Nov. 3; 6 p.m. ET) at Georgia Southern in the first of two matchups for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge's third season. The Chippewas open McGuirk Arena Sunday (Nov. 9, 1 p.m. ET) against Davenport.

The Central Michigan women's basketball team made its first Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance in four years last season, taking a big step in its resurgence under coach Kristin Haynie.

Haynie led CMU to six wins in her first season, 14 a year ago when Madi Morson was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and was joined on the MAC All-Freshman Team by Ayanna-Sarai Darrington.

Morson, who set a program freshman record by scoring 511 points last season, ranked fifth in the MAC in scoring a year ago and was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team.

The 6-foot-2 Darrington ranked sixth in the MAC with 7.3 rebounds per game and was second with a 56.5 field goal percentage in 2024-25.

Among the other returnees who saw ample playing time last season are Demetria Prewitt, Jayda Mosley, Taylor Anderson and Taylor Johnson, while newcomers Nekhu Mitchell and Zareia Chevre, both seniors, should contribute immediately.

Last season, the 6-foot Mitchell averaged 5.6 points and hit 46.2 percent of her 3-pointers in 17 minutes per game in helping George Mason to the Atlantic 10 championship while the 5-10 Chevre scored a team-high 18.8 points per game while earning All-America honors in leading Governors State to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and the Elite Eight of the NAIA Tournament.

6. Bowling Green
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team begins the 2025-26 regular-season schedule with a trip to the Bayou State. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Monday night (Nov. 3), in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Cajundome.

The Falcons will be racking up the frequent flyer miles during the month of November, as BGSU opens the 2025-26 season with six consecutive games away from home.

The Falcons travel to the states of Louisiana, South Carolina and Wisconsin for a total of four games in the next two weeks. Then, the Orange and Brown will end the road odyssey with a trip to Alaska for the Great Alaskan Shootout.

ead coach Fred Chmiel and his staff return a total of nine players, including eight letterwinners, from last season's roster. The Falcons went 18-13 overall last season, finishing with an 11-7 record in Mid-American Conference play. BGSU ended the 2024-25 regular-season schedule by winning nine of 11 games.

The list of returnees includes junior Paige Kohler, who (as we just mentioned) was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team. Kohler finished second on the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding, with 13.6 points and 4.6 boards per game a year ago.

Sophomore Johnea Donahue also returns after starting 17 contests last season. Donahue was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team last season, and also was chosen to the MAC All-Defensive Team in her first year in the Orange and Brown. She led the entire conference in steals per game (2.46 spg).

Other returnees include a pair of fourth-year Falcons in senior Emily Siesel and redshirt junior Jasmine Fearne. Siesel and Fearne each played in 28 of BGSU's 31 games off the bench, and Fearne finished fourth on the team with 20 three-point field goals made. Another senior, Kendal Moxey, is back for her second season in the Orange and Brown. She shot an even 50 percent from the field last winter.

Junior Taya Ellis started five games last year, averaging nearly four points and leading the Falcons in blocked shots, while sophomore Laila Harrison was penciled into the starting lineup four times in her freshman campaign. Another sophomore, Lauren Gerken, returns after averaging 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest in 10 games last year. Gerken had a 20-point game in a win over Stetson, and started her final five games before suffering an injury in December and missing the remainder of the season.

Redshirt freshman Sofia Moschen is back after joining the team for the Spring 2025 semester. She did not see game action in '24-25.

BGSU's four newcomers include three transfers and a freshman. Senior Kaia Woods began her career at Washington State, and played for fellow MAC member Akron two years ago. Junior Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick spent the last two seasons at Seton Hall, playing in a total of 37 games for the Pirates, while fellow junior Jaedyn Cook spent the 2024-25 season at Odessa (Texas) College after beginning her career at East Carolina.

7. Miami
The Miami University women's basketball team opens the season Monday, Nov. 3 at Coastal Carolina. Opening tip is slated for 6 p.m. in the first of two MAC versus Sun Belt Challenge contests this season.

Last season Miami averaged 66.5 points per game, up 12.6 points/game from the 2023-24 season. Miami had the top scoring defense in the MAC, allowing 59.1 points/game. The 19-win season last year was Miami's best since the 2017-18 RedHawks won 21 contests. Miami's 10-win improvement from the previous year was the second-best single season turnaround in program history.

Amber Tretter has recorded 20 double-doubles in her career, including 10 last season. Throughout her career she has averaged 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds and has 508 rebounds through her first two seasons with Miami. She is currently on pace to become just the second RedHawk in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds.

Miami returns four players (Amber Tretter, Núria Jurjo, Ilse de Vries and Tamar Singer) from last season's 19-12 campaign. In all, they return 35.7% (735/2060) of the team's scoring, 65.2% (496/761) in rebounding and 43.3% (177/409) of the assists entering 2025-26.

Miami has eight new players this season, which includes five transfers, two freshmen and a red-shirt freshman. Joining the RedHawks via the portal include Amber Scalia (St. Thomas), Clara Gonzalez Planella (Jacksonville State), Macie Taylor (Wright State), Ashton Elley (UAB), and Brooke Blumenfeld (NIU). Coach Box also added two freshmen (Mio Sakano and Anna Hurst) and Emily VanTimmeren, who technically joined the RedHawks last December, has yet to see action with the Red and White.

8. Akron
 The 2024-25 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll included Akron, who under head coach Ryan Gensler earned special mention nods for having a 3.225 overall team GPA for the 2024-25 academic year.

Akron rated second in the Mid-American Conference in offensive rebounds (12.30) and fourth in rebounding (37.3), blocked shots (2.77) and in rebounding margin (4.0).
Individually, Shelbee Brown was third in steals (2.3), fourth in offensive rebounds (2.9) and in defensive rebounds (6.0) and fifth in rebounding (8.9), Taponen was ninth in offensive rebounds (2.1), while Clark was fifth in blocked shots (1.00).

In league-only games, Akron ranked second in the MAC in offensive rebounding (12.7) and third in rebounding margin (5.76) and in rebounding (36.7).

In conference-only tilts, Clark rated fourth in the league in blocked shots (1.0). Additionally, Emily Hall was fifth in minutes played (35.4) and Shelbee Brown was third in offensive rebounding (3.4), steals (2.3) and in rebounding (9.4), sixth in defensive rebounding (6.1) and seventh in scoring (16.4).

The Zips have posted 13 20+ scoring games last season. Shelbee Brown tallied 32, 27, 24, 24, 22, 21 and 20 points, respectively, versus Western Michigan (Feb. 5), Eastern Michigan (March 5), Miami (Feb. 19), Central Michigan (March 8), Bowling Green (Jan. 29), Buffalo (Jan. 25) and Central Michigan (Jan. 15). Junior Teniesha Clarke (Burlington, Ontario) poured in 20 against both Ohio (Jan. 1) and Cleveland State (Nov. 16), while Alexus Mobley added 30 and 23 versus Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28) and Toledo (Jan. 4). Zakia Rasheed posted 21 against Northern Illinois (Jan. 8) and senior Kam'Ren Rhodes (Chandler, Ariz.) tallied 26 points against Georgia State (Nov. 4).

9. Western Michigan 
The Broncos tipoff the season Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. from the Holmes Convocation Center. The game will be available on ESPN+ and you can follow along with live stats at wmubroncos.com.

The roster consists of seniors De'Ahna Richardson, Alli Carlson and Ariana Wilkes. The junior is Nile Muguira Orbe. The sophomores are Alli Harness, D'Myiah Bolds and Kailey Starks and the freshmen are Olivia Flynn, Emma Dibarboure and Irene Truillo. Another junior, Adelina Urtane, will redshirt this season. Carlson, Bolds, Harness and Richardson are the only returning players who saw floor action last season.

10. Ohio 
The Ohio women's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 MAC) will kick off the 2025-26 season on the road at Texas State (0-0, 0-0 SBC), its first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge, on Monday, Nov. 3. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+.

Ohio conclude the 2024-25 season with a 6-23 overall and 4-14 conference record. The Bobcats enter the season with nine returners and five newcomers including two freshmen and three transfers.
 
Last season, Ohio averaged 58.2 PPG; shooting 36.9 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from the arc and 68.2 percent from the line. The team averaged 31.1 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 8.7 steals per game. Ohio forced 16.7 turnovers per game and averaged 12.3 points off turnovers.
 
Last season, Ohio's opponents averaged 73.2 PPG; shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 33.0 percent from the arc and 71.1 percent from the line. Opponents averaged 42.7 rebounds, 17.6 assists and 9.0 steals per game. Opponents forced Ohio to give up 18.0 turnovers per game and averaged 18.0 points off turnovers.

The Ohio women's basketball team has nine players returning for the 2025-26 season.
 
Among Ohio's returners is standout Bailey Tabeling, a junior guard who led the Bobcats in almost all statistical categories last season. Tabeling played and started in all 29 games, compiled 897 minutes played and averaged 30.9 minutes per game. Last season, Tabeling finished with a team-high 121 rebounds (4.2), 68 assists and 57 steals. She also ranked second on the team for points with 361 points total. Tabeling averaged 12.4 PPG; shooting 35.8 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from the arc and 76.1 percent from the line.
 
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Tabeling recorded 18 double-figure point games and her first-career double-double. She also led the team in scoring in nine games, led the team in rebounds in seven games, led the team in assists in 14 games and led the team in steals in 11 games.
 
Graduate student Aliah McWhorter is another important returner for Ohio this season. With the departure of talented leaders, McWhorter is one of the most experienced players on the team. Last season, McWhorter played in 27 games, making four starts, playing 682 minutes and averaging 25.3 minutes per game. The graduate student finished with 175 points (6.5 PG), 67 rebounds (2.5 PG), 52 assists, 32 steals and nine blocks. She averaged 6.5 PPG; shooting 42.4 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from the arc and 67.1 percent form the line. McWhorter also ranked second on the team for assists.
 
After experiencing a season-ending injury in the beginning of last season, redshirt sophomore Monica Williams returns to the court for the Bobcats. In only six games, Williams recorded 45 points (7.5 PG), 34 rebounds (45.7 PG), 14 assists, 10 steals and one block.
 
Other notable returners that earned spots in the starting lineup last season includes junior Asiah Baxter and sophomore Gigi Bower. Baxter appeared in 29 games, making 26 starts and amassing 604 minutes (20.8 PG). She finished with 91 points, 99 rebounds (3.4 PG), 34 assists, 24 steals and three blocks. Baxter averaged 3.1 PPG; shooting 28.9 percent from he field, 26.3 percent from the arc and 60.6 percent from the line. Baxter also led the team in rebounds in four games, in assists in five games and in steals in two games.
 
Bower appeared in 26 games and made 11 starts during her freshman season. She amassed 509 minutes played and averaged 19.6 minutes per game. Bower finished with 106 points, 52 (2.0 PG), 32 assists, 16 steals and two blocks. Bower averaged 4.1 PPG; shooting 31.1 percent from the field, 26.0 percent from the arc and 69.0 percent from the line. She recorded the first 20-point game of her career against Ohio Christian with a career-high 21 points. 
 
Coming off the bench for Ohio is sophomore Danni Scully and senior Cassidy Lafler. In her debut season with Ohio, Scully appeared in 26 games, amassed 429 minutes played and averaged 16.5 minutes per game. She finished the season with 64 points, 61 rebounds, 16 assists, 13 steals and four blocks.
 
After missing most of the 2023-24 season due to injury, Lafler appeared in 21 games and amassed 265 minutes player (12.6 PG). She finished with 61 points, 37 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals and six blocks.

11. Buffalo
The University at Buffalo women's basketball team will open the 2025-26 season, the first in the Kristen Sharkey era, on Monday night as they travel to West Virginia to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd at 6pm in the first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Mark Martin (play-by-play) and Bobby Iddings (color) announcing and can be heard online through the Varsity Network with Vinnie Christiano III on the call.

This is the 14th overall meeting between the two programs, with Marshall owning a slim 8-5 series advantage. Buffalo and Marshall last played in 2004 when the Thundering Herd were members of the Mid-American Conference.

The Bulls have had success in their regular season openers since joining Division I in 1991-92 as they own a 24-10 record in the first game of the season. Buffalo is 9-1 in their last 10 season openers.

Buffalo defeated Canisius 69-63 in an exhibition contest at Alumni Arena on October 26. Four players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Paula Lopez who scored a game-high 26 points. The Bulls returned just two players from last year's squad that won the WNIT Championship for the first time in program history. UB added seven transfers and five true freshmen to the roster.

12. Eastern Michigan 
The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is set to begin the 2025-26 campaign as it will travel to Monroe, La., to face the University of Louisiana Monroe WarHawks in the first leg of the 2025-26 Mid-American Conference - Sun Belt Conference Challenge Monday, Nov. 3, at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. ET) and fans can stream the game live on ESPN+ and keep up with live stats on emueagles.statbroadcast.com. A post-game recap will be posted to EMUEagles.com and fans can stay posted to EMU women's basketball social medias @EMUWBB on X, @emuwbb on Instagram, and EMU Women's Basketball on Facebook.

Eastern is entering the second year of the Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh era. EMU posted a 2-27 (1-17 MAC) record in 2024-25.

Senior Sisi Eleko was named Preseason All-MAC First Team after earning second-team honors following the 2024-25 regular season that saw her lead the MAC in double-doubles (14) and rebounds per game (10.1) while ranking second with 17.9 points per game.

Eastern and ULM are meeting for the first time as EMU holds a 10-9 all-time record against the Sun Belt Conference and a 1-3 clip in the MAC-SBC Challenge, including an 0-2 mark in road contests.

EMU aims to win its first road contest against a current SBC member since it beat Marshall, 66-57, in Huntington, W.Va., for its first win of the century, Jan. 2, 2000. 

Eastern returns just Sisi Eleko and Brooklyn Thrash from the 2024-25 squad as it totals 13 newcomers, six of which came via the transfer portal.

Eastern has nine international players on the roster, tying for the fourth-most in the nation and most in the MAC. Wagner has the most with 13.

13. Northern Illinois 
The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team opens its 2025-26 season on Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum against the Southern Miss Lady Eagles in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT with the game broadcast on ESPN+ and the radio call on NIUHuskies.com.
 
The Huskies made a solid first impression in new head coach Jacey Brooks' first game at the NIU Convocation Center Wednesday night, defeating Benedictine 74-47 in exhibition action. NIU ran out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and held the Eagles without a field goal for the first 8:27 of the game. The Huskies forced 29 turnovers, 24 of which were steals, which led to 25 points.
 
Junior transfer Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) led all scorers with 19 points and nine rebounds, adding five steals. Freshman guard Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) scored 14 points off the bench, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Senior forward Teresa Mbemba (Benguela, Angola/Presbyterian) had 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
This is the third year of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. NIU is 3-1 in the event, winning both of its games last season. The Huskies won 57-55 over Louisiana at the Convocation Center to start the year, erasing an 11-point third quarter deficit. Reagan Barkema (Story City, Iowa/Bradley) scored 12 points off the bench with three three-pointers to help NIU start the year 1-0. Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) led all scorers with 22 points in the Huskies' 75-62 at Appalachian State on Feb. 8.