Division 3 women’s basketball teams in New England made up a fair share of the 2025 NCAA Tournament field, and the region will continue to produce high-level basketball that could compete on the national stage this season.
New York University secured its second straight national championship to cap off the 2024-25 season with a second consecutive victory against Smith. Smith knocked off a pair of New England teams, including Amherst and top-seeded Bowdoin, en route to its second straight national championship appearance.
A New England team has not won the national championship since Amherst beat Bowdoin in 2017-18 to secure its second straight title, but a New England team has played in the national championship game in all but two years since then.
It's a new season and several top programs have already gotten started. Here are 10 teams we expect to contend on a regional and national level, and maybe secure the region’s first NCAA title in eight years.
Amherst
Head coach: G.P. Gromacki (18th season)
Last year: 20-8, reached NESCAC semifinals, lost to Smith in NCAA Tournament second round
Amherst reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, where the Mammoths fell to Smith on a buzzer-beater after Amherst battled back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter and tied the game with 10 seconds left.
The Mammoths graduated both Kori Barach and Maya Cwalina, who led Amherst in minutes and points. Senior Laura Mendell (Westport, Mass.) returns alongside junior Reagan Pahl, who will need to fill the roles of Barach and Cwalina. With Gromacki — the fastest women’s basketball coach to reach 600 wins — at the helm, Amherst should expect to build on its 20-win season.
Bates
Head coach: Alison Montgomery (11th season)
Last year: 17-10, reached NESCAC Quarterfinals, lost to Scranton in NCAA Tournament second round
The leading scorer for Bates, Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine), will return for her senior season. In addition to her team-high 14.7 points per game, the center also led the Bobcats in blocks (47), offensive rebounds (73) and defensive rebounds (169). Alongside Daulerio, junior guard Sarah Hughes boasted a team-best 40.4 percent 3-point mark.
Bates lost twice to Bowdoin last season, but only by a five-point margin in each contest. The Bobcats are slated to host the Polar Bears on Dec. 4 and then visit Bowdoin on Jan. 16, which are set to be among the toughest games during the upcoming season.
Bowdoin
Head coach: Megan Phelps (4th season)
Last year: 29-1, won NESCAC championship, lost to Smith in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Bowdoin graduated the only back-to-back NESCAC Player of the Year in conference history, Sydney Jones (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), who ended her career as the fourth-leading scorer in Bowdoin history with 1,595 points. With Jones’ departure, players like junior Abbie Quinn (Bangor, Maine), sophomore Grace Kinum and senior Carly Davey (Westford, Mass.), who were the next three top scorers last season, return as a core starting trio. The Polar Bears will look for their third-straight conference championship. Bowdoin ranked among the top 10 best scoring defenses across the nation last season.
Colby
Head coach: Chenel Harris-Smith (7th season)
Last year: 15-11, lost in NESCAC final
Colby’s season ended in a tough 62-59 defeat in the NESCAC conference final against Bowdoin, but the Mules are returning their full starting lineup after graduating no seniors. In addition to the returning roster of 10, Colby added four freshmen to the squad that is set to have some great chemistry.
Headlining the returners is junior Kate Olenik (Medfield, Mass.), who led the Mules in points (19.6 per game) and dished out a team-high 62 assists. Junior Amelia Hanscom (Andover, Mass.) dominated rebounding for Colby with 6.9 per game.
Rhode Island College
Head coach: Jenna Cosgrove (8th season)
Last year: 19-7, lost in Little East semifinal
Rhode Island College graduated four seniors and lost its only junior in the transfer portal, so the Anchorwomen have a sophomore and junior-heavy roster to work with this year. They welcomed just one freshman, Eva Monahan (Woodstock, Conn.). The Anchorwomen will look to build upon the 2024-25 season that followed a 29-1 performance the year prior.
Leading RIC will be Meagan Schuermann and Shalyn Smith (Middletown, Conn.), who each saw plenty of game time in the 2024-25 season. Schuermann averaged 11.2 points in 24.5 minutes per game, and Smith averaged 5.3 in just under 20 minutes per game and had 26 assists.
Smith
Head coach: Lynn Hersey (19th season)
Last year: 31-3, won NEWMAC championship, lost to NYU in NCAA Tournament championship
Smith finished last season with a perfect conference record and secured its fifth straight NEWMAC conference championship, but fell in its second consecutive national title game. The Pioneers are expected to top the NEWMAC once again and received 11 first-place votes in the NEWMAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. They actually started their season already, earning two commanding wins against Albertus Magnus and Hartford in the Tyler Tip-Off tournament this past weekend.
Smith set a program record for wins (31) in the 2024-25 season, but the Pioneers lost their top scorer (Ally Landau) from last year’s team. Hannah Martin (Haverhill, Mass.) stepped up after her 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign and played a key role, starting all 34 games as a sophomore in 2024-25 and averaging 12.6 points alongside 3.6 rebounds per game.
Southern Maine
Head coach: David Chadbourne (3rd season)
Last year: 18-10, lost in Little East conference final
Southern Maine will look to build off the standout freshman season from now-sophomore Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine), which earned her Rookie of the Year honors from the Little East Conference, Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and New England Women’s Basketball Association. Wiles led the Huskies in points per game (13.0), assists (84) and steals (43).
Alongside Wiles, Liz Cote (Conway, N.H.) returns as a graduate student. Cote averaged 10.7 points per game and she averaged more than three rebounds and at least an assist and a steal per game.
Trinity
Head coach: Maria Williamson (2nd season)
Last year: 19-9, reached NESCAC semifinals, lost to NYU in NCAA Tournament second round
Trinity will look to build off Williamson’s strong first season, which saw the Bantams lead their league in scoring (69.2 points per game), 3-point field goals (6.4 per game) and rebounding (41.8 boards per game).
Trinity graduated Olivia Vick, the team leader in minutes (26.0 per game), points (16.3 per game) and 3-point percentage (44.8%). Fortunately for the Bantams, they return a solid core including junior Avery Marzo (Shrewsbury, Mass.), junior Madi Forman (Natick, Mass.), senior Melissa Whitmore (Hanover, N.H.), and senior Samantha Slofkiss, who will each look to build on the previous season.
UMass Dartmouth
Head coach: Matt Ducharme (12th season)
Last year: 23-5, won Little East championship, lost to Trinity in NCAA Tournament first round
UMass Dartmouth made history in 2024-25 with its first Little East Championship. The Corsairs dominated Southern Maine with a 94-50 win to finish 23-5 overall and 14-2 within the Little East.
However, the Corsairs primarily relied on a handful of fifth-years and graduate students, which made up six of 12 players on the UMass Dartmouth roster. Senior Melanie DeMeo will have the chance to play a bigger role in the upcoming season for the Corsairs. She played in all 28 games last season, scoring 5.6 points per game and leading the team in assists (74).
Western New England
Head coach: Nicole Chaszar (21st season)
Last year: 25-4, lost in CNE championship, lost to Gettysburg in NCAA Tournament second round
The Golden Bears are coming off their most successful season in program history after winning their first NCAA Tournament game. The now-graduated Lilly Hedge (Guilford, Conn.) was named the Conference of New England Player of the Year after leading Western New England in points (11.1 per game), rebounds (8.0) assists (78), steals (47) and blocks (30).
While Lilly graduated, her younger sister, junior guard Sophie Hedge, boasted a team-best 38.4 percent 3-point clip and can make an impact in a larger role this year.
