BOSTON – The 2025 Jersey Mike’s America East Women’s Basketball Playoffs commence on Thursday evening with quarterfinal action, beginning at 5 p.m. when No. 2 Vermont hosts No. 7 UMBC
All games will be on ESPN+ and for the complete bracket visit Championship Central or our Playoffs Digital Program.
No. 8 New Hampshire at No. 1 UAlbany – 6:30 PM
- The Great Danes have won five straight and 8 of 9 to conclude the regular season. They also finished a perfect 8-0 at home during the regular season.
- This year UAlbany leads the league in scoring (64.6), scoring margin (+10.6) and three-point shooting (33.3%), while ranking second in field goal percentage (45.7%) and scoring defense (53.6).
- Kayla Cooper took home Player of the Year honors as she does everything for UAlbany to the tune of 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Jessica Tomasetti (9.1 ppg) and Kaci Donovan (11.6 ppg) both earned All-Conference honors as well
- New Hampshire is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and is 2-2 over its last four contests. The Wildcats are 4-12, but 4-1 in league play this year when they score at least 55 points.
- Newcomer of the Year Eva DeChent anchors the UNH offense with 17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. As a team, the Wildcats rank eighth in the league in scoring (53.3), but fourth in scoring defense (58.2).
- UAlbany swept UNH this year, beating them 59-32 at home and then 67-49 at home.
No. 7 UMBC at No. 2 Vermont – 5:00 PM
- Vermont has won three straight games and 6 of 7 overall. This year they won nine conference games by at least 20 points, while finishing allowing a league low 47.0 points per game in AE contests and winning by an average of 15.0 points per game.
- First-Team All-Conference honoree Anna Olson leads a balanced scoring attack at 13.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Defensive Player of the Year Bella Vito does a bit of everything with 7.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists per game.
- UMBC is coming off a 20-point loss to UVM and has dropped three straight overall. The team is 3-3 against the top three seeds this year and finished 7-9 in conference play while ranking seventh in scoring (55.8) and scoring defense (60.7) in league action.
- Second-Team All-Conference selection Jordon Lewis is averaging 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while Jordan Walker is at 9.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game.
- Vermont swept the Retrievers this season, winning 67-44on the road and 79-59 at home on Saturday.
No. 6 Binghamton at No. 3 Bryant – 6 PM
- The Bulldogs finished league play at 9-7 and have won three straight after a two-game losing streak. They have averaged 58.1 points per game while pulling down 35.3 rebounds and 6.2 steals per game.
- Mia Mancini has been a key player in her second year as a Bulldog, averaging 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Breezie Williams has also been a solid, averaging 10 points and 3.2 rebounds per game
- Binghamton has won four of its last seven contests and enters the playoffs at 7-9, securing the sixth seed. In her first year as Head Coach, Mary Grimes led Binghamton to a winning record (15-14) for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
- Guard Jadyn Weltz and sophomore guard Bella Pucci were each named third-team all-conference by America East. Weltz is tied for seventh in the conference for assists (2.7 apg.), tied for third in steals (1.8 spg.), and ranked 16th in scoring (9.6 ppg.). Bella Pucci is also having a breakout season, averaging 9.2 points per game and 5.4 rebounds while earning All-Defensive team honors.
- Bryant defeated Binghamton twice during the regular season. The Bulldogs defeated Binghamton on the road 68-54 but the second match-up on February 8th ended in a closer score of 68-62.
No. 5 NJIT at No. 4 Maine – 6 PM
- The Black Bears earned the No. 4 seed last weekend. This will be the 12th straight-year that Maine has earned a top-4 seed in the upcoming #AEPlayoffs. Coming off a championship in 2024, Maine is 18-7 all-time in quarterfinal action and has only missed one championship game in the last nine seasons.
- Maine finished 9-7 in conference play and have been led by multiple standout athletes this season. Caroline Bornemann, who was selected first team all-conference, averages 12.2 points per game, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Sophomore Caroline Dotsey has come off the bench to contribute 10.1 points per game, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Black Bears on the way to Sixth Player of the Year honors.
- NJIT secured the No. 5 seed and reached the America East Conference Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Highlanders finished conference play 8-8 after winning four of their last seven games.
- The team has been led by Alejandra Zuniga and Olivia Kulyk over the stretch. Zuniga has averaged 16.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Rookie of the Year, Olivia Kulyk, averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Highlanders.
- NJIT and Maine split the season series. The Black Bears beat NJIT 71-58 at home but the Highlanders returned the favor with a 61-56 victory at NJIT.
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Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
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