Women's NCAA Tournament preview

More news about: New York University | Scranton | UW-Oshkosh | Washington and Lee
Mar 05, 2026
UAA Player of the Year Caroline Peper and the NYU Violets are shooting for their third consecutive unbeaten NCAA Division III basketball championship.
NYU athletics photo
 

By Gordon Mann
D3hoops.com

No. 1 New York University enters the 2026 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament in search of its third straight undefeated season, and its third straight national championship. Even if the Violets fall short of that feat, they've already etched their names in history by setting a new Division III record for consecutive wins.

On February 8, NYU beat Carnegie Mellon for its 82nd straight win, breaking the record that UAA rival Washington U. set a quarter century ago.

Like last season -- and the season before that -- the framing question for the 2025-26 campaign has been, "Can anyone beat NYU? When will the Violets' run end?"

The most dramatic way for NYU's streak to end would be with a loss in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

You can envision a Hollywood-style, storybook ending where an equally talented team that has been on the doorstep of greatness -- say, Scranton which lost to NYU in the Elite 8 two seasons ago -- finally breaks through and downs the Violets on their way to glory.

But, most often, the longest runs don't end with a bang.

  • Led by head coach Nancy Fahey, Washington U. won 81 straight games (and three national championships) from February 1998 through January 2001 before having its streak end in surprising fashion. One of the biggest threats to Washington U. was a very talented New York U team led by guard Meg Barber, who's coincidentally the head coach and architect of NYU's current streak. But NYU didn't get a chance to end WashU's streak because Fontbonne beat them to it. The Gryphons 79-68 midweek upset ended the longest winning streak to that point in Division III basketball history. Fontbonne itself is now history -- the school closed last year -- and that game is arguably the athletic program's most notable achievement. And while that ended WashU's streak, it didn't end their dynasty. The Bears won the national championship that season, too.
  • Part of GP Gromacki's legacy at Amherst is the 68-game winning streak that his Mammoths had from March 2016 through November 2018. Amherst's streak started after the Mammoths lost to Thomas More (another former D3 member) in the 2016 Final Four, and the run included back-to-back national championships in 2017 and 2018. When the Mammoths were finally beaten, it wasn't in the NCAA Tournament or in their ultratough NESCAC. It was a midweek, non-conference loss to Eastern Connecticut. Amherst didn't fade away after that loss. The Mammoths won their next 14 games, lost the conference title game by one, and then lost in the Elite 8 on the road in overtime. And then they returned to the Final Four in 2022, the next year it was held.
  • The fifth longest winning streak in Division III women's basketball belongs to Hope, which won 61 straight games under Brian Morehouse from November 2019 through January 2022. That streak was especially long in terms of days because it included the 2020 NCAA Tournament that ended prematurely due to COVID and the 2021 season that didn't have a tournament for the same reason. When Trine beat the Flying Dutch and ended their long streak, that wasn't the end of Hope. The Flying Dutch went on beat Trine in an epic Final Four matchup and then win the 2022 national championship.

History suggests that historic runs don't usually end with a bang, but with a sigh and a shrug. They are a road bump on the way to continued success.

NYU has avoided a similar rate to this point. Instead of a momentary, midweek lapse in excellence, The Violets ran the table again this season, often while running past and over their opponents. They lost two-time Player of the Year Natalie Bruns and multiple time All-American Belle Pellecchia, but they haven't lost a step.

Can anyone beat NYU? When will the Violets' run end?

This preview will get you ready for the NCAA Tournament, where we'll aswer that question and see how 63 other teams conclude their great seasons.

For each quadrant, I’ll highlight a marquee first round matchup; a team that could win two games on the road this weekend; and three names to know. Then I’ll try to pick the quadrant winner, likely with very mixed success.

NYU quadrant (Upper Left)

Brooke Batchelor, who is the UAA Defensive Player of the Year is also a threat on offense for the Violets.
 Photo by Matt Durisko for D3sports.com
 

No. 16 Maine-Farmington (21-7) at No. 1 NYU (25-0); No. 7 Messiah (23-4) vs No. 8 Cortland (23-4)
No. 15 Austin (15-11) at No. 9 Hardin-Simmons (22-5); No. 11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (20-7) vs No. 12 Whitman (20-7)
No. 14 Emmanuel (21-7) at No. 2 Bowdoin (24-2); No. 6 Southern Maine (24-2) vs No. 10 Johnson and Wales (22-4)
No. 5 DePauw (19-9) at No. 4 Carroll (22-5); No. 13 LaGrange (20-9) vs No. 3 UW-La Crosse (18-9)

Best first round matchup: The DePauw/Carroll game is a contrast in styles. Homestanding Carroll is led by CCIW Player of the Year Natalie Gricius, who’s the Pioneers’ top rebounder, an outstanding scorer, and a dangerous three-point shooter. As a team, Carroll is in the Top 10 percent of Division III schools in three-point percentage. DePauw shoots fewer threes than the average Division III team, but the Tigers are excellent rebounders, starting with junior forward Olivia Hart.

This game is also a test of how much momentum matters. DePauw has a lot of it. Not only have the Tigers won eight in a row, they’ve beaten three national ranked teams in the last three weeks, two back-to-back on their way to their 10th NCAC tournament title. The growing strength at the top of the NCAC has made DePauw’s road to the Tournament much harder, but it also should make them more battle tested. While Carroll is no slouch – the Pioneers won 14 straight before their overtime loss to Illinois Wesleyan in the CCIW championship game – their best wins are more than a month ago.

Most likely to surprise: Whitman heads to Abilene, Texas as the second lowest ranked team in the Texas pod that was created by geographic and financial constraints. That’s a familiar trip for the Blues who opened the season with two wins in Texas. Coach Michelle Ferenz’s staff are familiar with host Hardin-Simmons since the Blues played at their place in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Blues don’t get an easy first round draw in SCIAC champions Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. But they've played very good defense recently, and they are excellent free throw shooters, both of which help in close road games. Whitman is led by sophomore forward Emma Lena Baker whose older sister Korin was a three-time All-American for the Blues. If she, Molly Morgan and Briana Andrade can control the glass, the Blues could leave Texas with plans to fly somewhere else for the Tournament’s second weekend.

Three names to know: We already mentioned Carroll forward Natalie Gricius, who is fifth in Division III with 22.2 points per game. Johnson and Wales sophomore forward Grace Jaffray is second in the country at 23.7 ppg. She has scored 30 points six times (including in the CNE title game) and 41 once. NYU senior swing Caroline Peper is the latest Violet to take home UAA Player of the Year honors. She needs one more three to set the program single-season record, and she’s the Violets’ only senior (scary!). Speaking of record holders, we tip our cap to Emmanuel head coach Andy Yosinoff who once again has his Saints in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Yosinoff has 951 career victories in 48 seasons at Emmanuel, more than anyone else in Division III history, and he just keeps winning.

And the winner is…NYU is the top ranked and top seeded team for good reason. The Violets will advance to another Final Four.

 

Scranton Quadrant (Lower Left)

Kaeli Romanowski was one of seven Scranton team members to receive Landmark Conference honors, including Coach of the Year Ben O'Brien and Rookie of the Year Sophia Talutto.
Photo by University of Scranton athletics
 

No. 15 Framingham State (17-10) at No. 1 Scranton (27-0); No. 9 Otterbein (22-5) vs. No. 10 Randolph-Macon (21-7)
No. 13 Merchant Marine (22-4) at No. 4 Bates (24-3); No. 5 Smith (27-1) vs. No. 12 Union (22-5)
No. 14 Hunter (20-7) at No. 2 Johns Hopkins (25-1); No. 7 Baldwin Wallace (24-3) vs. No. 11 William Paterson (25-2)
No. 16 UW-Superior (12-16) at No. 3 Concordia-Moorhead (23-5); No. 6 Ripon (25-3) vs. No. 8 UW-River Falls (16-11)

Best first round matchup: If you were predicting results based on conference membership, Ripon vs. UW-River Falls looks like David versus Goliath. Ripon represents the MWC, whose teams have not won an NCAA Tournament game in over a decade. UW-River Falls hails from the WIAC, which has 38 Tournament wins in the last 10 years and accounted for half of last season’s Final Four. But Ripon has showed that it can play with – and beat – WIAC teams, going 3-0 against their state school rivals, including a win over NCAA Tournament participant UW-Platteville. The Red Hawks are feisty and balanced with four players averaging double figures led by first-team All-MWC performers Laney Havlovitz and Natalie Rauwolf. River Falls floor general Zoey Buchan, who plays a similar style, has five 20-point games this year already against NCAA Tournament participants.

Most likely to surprise: March is traditionally Smith’s time to shine. The Pioneers-turned-Bears have reached the last three Final Fours and the national championship game twice. Last season, Smith went to undefeated Bowdoin and beat the Polar Bears in the Sweet 16. For the Bears to reach a fourth consecutive Final Four – a feat only achieved by Washington U, Amherst and Tufts -- they will likely have to get past Bowdoin’s CBB rival Bates. After missing most of the first semester, All-American Hannah Martin is rounding into shape, scoring double figures in seven of Smith’s last eight games, including 25 points in the NEWMAC title clincher. Couple that with Virginia Johnson’s emergence as the Bears’ top scorer and Coach Lynn Hersey’s preparation, and Smith is the most likely to win two road games this weekend.  

Three names to know: All-American Kaci Kranson is a Scranton native who is very familiar with the Royals’ rich history but she originally enrolled at the university to play softball. She decided to play basketball and will graduate as the Landmark Conference’s all-time leading scorer. ... Bates All-American post Elsa Daulerio has championship pedigree. Her mother Adrienne Shibles coached rival Bowdoin to two national semifinals. Daulerio was named the NESCAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and is just third player to receive both awards in the last 26 seasons. ... Johns Hopkins senior guard Macie Feldman, who was named first-team All-Centennial, also excels off the court as a neuroscience major studying potential treatments for infants born with brain injuries.

And the winner is: Scranton is the only team besides NYU to receive multiple No. 1 votes multiple weeks during the season. It’s been so long, and the Royals have been so utterly dominant in conference, that it’s easy to forget this team beat D-I Pittsburgh earlier this year. Kranson and other upperclassmen on Scranton's roster have come up one win short of the national semifinals the last two years. This year they break through to Salem.

UW-Oshkosh quadrant (Upper right)

Paige Seckar, who is just a sophomore, leads UW-Oshkosh in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and free throws.
 UW-Oshkosh athletics photo by Steve Frommell
 

No. 16 Webster (19-8) at No. 1 UW-Oshkosh (24-3); No. 8 Wisconsin Lutheran (22-5) vs. No. 10 St. Mary’s (Minn.) (20-8)
No. 13 DeSales (19-8) at No. 5 Ohio Wesleyan (20-5); No. 4 Washington U. (19-6) vs. No. 14 SUNY Geneseo (20-10)
No. 15 Penn State-Behrend (22-5) at No. 2 Hope (24-3); No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan (22-5) vs. No. 12 Washington and Jefferson (22-6)
No. 11 Transylvania (24-5) at No. 3 UW-Whitewater (19-8); No. 7 Chicago (17-7) vs. No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus (18-8)

Best first round matchup: St. Mary’s (Minn.) and Wisconsin Lutheran took divergent then intertwined paths into their first-round matchup. St. Mary’s exemplified the highs and lows of championship week, first pulling off a stunning fourth-quarter comeback in the MIAC tournament first round, and then falling victim to a big rally two days later. We thought the Cardinals’ loss to Concordia-Moorhead marked the end of their NCAA Tournament hopes, but the NPI calculations – and a relative lack of bid thieves – gave St. Mary’s second life. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Lutheran entered its conference tournament as the favorite and was in line for an at-large bid if needed. The Warriors cruised to victory in the NACC final, which preserved the last at-large spot for St. Mary’s. The MIAC is much deeper than the NACC, but the Wisconsin Lutheran plays a very challenging non-conference schedule, so the Warriors will be ready for battle.

Most likely to surprise: Home teams don’t often lose in the first weekend, but three teams in this quadrant could win two games on the road this weekend. Washington U. would’ve hosted this weekend’s games, if the Bears’ men’s team didn’t have hosting priority. So WashU would not be a true road underdog against Ohio Wesleyan. Illinois Wesleyan already played at Hope once this season and lost an overtime thriller, so an IWU win wouldn’t be a shock. And Chicago is ranked higher than UW-Whitewater and has played better over the last couple weeks, so the Maroons might be the favorite against the Warhawks, if they can get past Gustavus first. I think WashU is the most likely to win in what would be a fun clash between Bears All-American Lexy Harris and OWU All-American Macy Miller, and  but this is a three-sided toss-up.

Three names to know: UW-Oshkosh sophomore forward Paige Seckar is on her way to a very special career. She followed up her Rookie of the Year (conference and region) campaign with being named the top player in the WIAC, which is Division III’s best conference. ... Illinois Wesleyan senior guard Ava Bardic started her career at D-II Illinois-Springfield where she was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team. Since transferring to Bloomington, she’s been a three-time All-Conference honoree. ... Washington and Jefferson head coach Jina DeRubbo and daughter Riley have one more chance to make special memories together on the court. Riley, who was first team all-conference this season, previously played for American when the Eagles reached the 2022 Division I NCAA Tournament.

And the winner is…This is the hardest of the four brackets to pick because teams like WashU or IWU could win the quadrant, or they could lose this weekend. Hope is very difficult to beat, especially if the Flying Dutch get hot from three. OWU, Chicago and UW-Whitewater have beaten top teams in this bracket. UW-Oshkosh has the best chance among the four hosts to make it out of this weekend, and then the Titans’ March pedigree, ultra efficient offense (fewest turnovers per game in the country) and soul-crushing defense (2nd fewest points allowed behind only Scranton) carry them back to the national semifinals.

Washington and Lee quadrant (Lower right)

Generally speaking, Mary Schleusner is one of the most dominant players in Division III women's basketball history.
 Photo by Erik Drost
 

No. 15 St. Mary’s (Md.) (23-5) at No. 1 Washington and Lee (27-0); No. 8 Gettysburg (21-6) vs. No. 9 Christopher Newport (23-5)
No. 13 Millsaps (21-7) at No. 4 Bethel (22-8); No. 5 UW-Platteville (18-8) vs. No. 11 Coe (21-6)
No. 14 Southern Virginia (21-7) at No. 2 Denison (24-2); No. 7 Trine (22-5) vs. No. 10 Shenandoah (20-7)
No. 16 TCNJ (16-10) at No. 3 John Carroll (24-4); No. 6 SUNY New Paltz (25-2) vs. No. 12 Immaculata (24-3)

Best first round matchup: The Gettysburg/Christopher Newport game pits two great coaches with very different styles against each other. Nate Davis has taken a Gettysburg team that lost two players off its anticipated roster, battled through some early season losses, and overcome Johns Hopkins yet again for the Bullets’ fifth consecutive Centennial Conference title. His team is versatile, deep, and balanced. On the other side line, Bill Broderick is the fiery leader of a CNU team that thrives on its Captains’ Chaos defense. They want to play up-tempo, turn their opponents over, and dominate the glass. Come for the contrast in coaching styles, stay for the battle of Tournament stalwarts.

Most likely to surprise: Coe started the season just outside the Top 25, entered the rankings for a week before dropping out, rebuilt its stature with two close losses to ranked teams (UW-Oshkosh and Bethel), fell off the radar by losing its final two regular season games, and then beat Wartburg for the ARC title. Led by Conference Player of the Year Caydee Kirkham and head coach Kayla Waskow (who was the Kohawks’ top player in their last Tournament run), Coe is better than its seeding indicates. The Kohawks are probably not favorites in either game this weekend because they’ve stumbled on their way to March. But why do we fall? So, we can win in March.

Three names to know: We’ve made it this far into the Tournament preview without mentioning the best player in Division III women’s basketball this season, and one of the best ever at this level. Washington and Lee wunderkind Mary Schleusner is Division III’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles. She has 26 double-doubles this season alone. She can shoot, rebound, and block shots. She came to W&L to run cross country, so she can probably beat everyone in the gym in a 5k race. If you have a chance to go watch her in her final season, please do it…Shout out to SUNY New Paltz’s Brianna Fitzgerald who, within the span of 30 minutes in Fall 2024, learned she was preseason All-American and that her season was over due to a torn ACL. She enthusiastically cheered her team on last season, and emphatically led them back to the NCAA Tournament this year…Finally, we love celebrating teams making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. This season’s sole tournament rookie is UW-Platteville, which has persevered game after game, year after year through the WIAC gantlet. Congratulations to head coach Kelly McNiff, senior guard Ella Mackiewicz on their first chance to Dance.

And the winner is…: Picking the top seed to advance to the Division III women's basketball semifinals is usually safe and smart, but it's not much fun. Let's go out on limb and pick a team having a historic season to advance farther than they ever have been. No, not Washington and Lee, but rather Denison. The Big Red overcome the Generals in the Elite 8 and book a return trip to Virginia for the following weekend's Final Four.

National semifinals

If the bracket follows my projections (and it won’t), we would have UW-Oshkosh versus Denison in one semifinal, and NYU versus Scranton in the other. The Titans' efficiency and battle-tested resume carries them into the national championship game in a small-margin win for UWO over the Big Red. 

NYU/Scranton would give us a rare No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup.

The last time that happened also involved NYU, and coincidentally it involved the fourth longest winning streak in Division III women's basketball history. In the 2024 national semifinals, NYU beat Juli Fulks' Transylvania team, ending the Pioneers' 64-game winning streak that included the 2023 national championship. NYU avenged its loss to the Pioneers in the Elite 8 during the previous season, and then the Violets won the national championship the next night. Transy's run ended with a bang, and the Violets' winning streak reached 30 games. Two years and two national championships later, the streak is still going.

NYU's win over Scranton in the semifinals would be their 92nd straight, and then a victory over UWO in the title game would be their 93rd.

With only one senior on their roster, who knows when NYU's indomitable run will end. But it won't be this season.