2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Set to Tip-Off
Atlantic City, N.J. (March 9, 2021) – The 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship tips off today with two first round games. The event will return to the historic Atlantic City’s Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
No. 1 Marist College (15-3, 13-3 MAAC)
Marist College enters the tournament as the number one seed and regular season champions after clinching their 13
th MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Red Foxes have seen major contributions across the entire team all season. Senior captain Willow Duffell received All-MAAC First Team accolades. Junior guard Sarah Barcello and sophomore guard Trinasia Kennedy were selected to the All-MAAC Third Team andFreshman forward Caitlin Weimar was a unanimous pick for the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Marist's four All-MAAC nominees are the most in the conference. The Red Foxes begin their campaign for the program’s 11
th MAAC title on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m., where they will face either No. 8 Niagara or No. 9 Siena.
No. 2 Quinnipiac University (13-7, 8-4)
Quinnipiac University has won four of the last five MAAC championships, including the last three-straight. The Bobcats were led by a trio of All-MAAC team members. Mackenzie DeWees and sophomore Mikala Morris were both selected to the 2020-21 All-MAAC First Team. Junior Rose Caverly also garnered Third Team All-MAAC selections after her first season with Quinnipiac. DeWees and Morris become just the fourth and fifth Quinnipiac players to garner All-MAAC First Team recognition and 10th and 11th in the program's DI history to earn First Team honors in any conference.
No. 3 Saint Peter’s (11-14, 10-9)
Saint Peter’s tremendous turnaround continues as they face off against Iona in the Quarterfinals of the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship. Saint Peter’s jumped from 6 league wins in 2019-20 to ten league wins this season, as Coach Marc Mitchell continues to turn the Peacocks around. Three Saint Peter's University women's basketball players have earned All-MAAC honors. Redshirt-senior Taiah Thornton leads the way, earning All-MAAC First Team honors, while classmate Kendrea Williams received her first all-conference and Freshman Ajia James rounds out the group, earning a unanimous selection to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
No. 4 Fairfield University (10-4, 4-2)
The No. 4 seed in the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship belongs to Fairfield University. The Stags continue to be led by Junior Lou Lopez-Senechal who was unanimously voted to the All-MAAC First Team. Lopez-Senechal was the only one of the five All-MAAC First Team selections who was unanimously chosen by the league's 11 head coaches. The junior ranks in the top-five in the conference in most offensive categories, highlighted by her 17.0 points per game average, the second best in the MAAC. She also ranks second in field goal percentage (.428) and 3-point field goal percentage (.415). Also providing major contributions throughout the season was graduate student Katie Armstrong who was selected to the All-MAAC Second Team. The first game for the Stags will be Thursday at 2:30 p.m. where they will tip off against Manhattan.
No. 5 Manhattan College (10-6, 6-3)
Manhattan College enters the 2021 championship as the No. 5 seed. The Jaspers will face off against Fairfield on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Jaspers will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 with the help of All-MAAC Second Team selections Courtney Warley and Dee Dee Davis. Davis bounced back from injury in a big way this past season, and led Manhattan in scoring, ranking seventh in the MAAC with 12.9 points per game while also ranking 11th in three-point percentage (.330) and 12th in free throw percentage (.717). Warley, who becomes the sixth Jasper to earn three All-MAAC honors for her career, continued her dominant play this past season, averaging a double-double with 11.3 points (13th MAAC) and 10.6 rebounds (2nd MAAC) per game. She
No. 6 Iona College (6-8, 5-6)
Iona starts its postseason run against No. 3 Saint Peter’s at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the first round. The Gaels will look for the team’s second MAAC title in school history when they begin their 2021 postseason. Iona has had major contributions all year from Juana Camilion, who was selected to the All-MAAC Third Team. Juana finished ninth in the league in scoring average (12.6), tenth in assists per game (2.9) and boasted the best steals per game (3.5) average in the conference, which was also the fourth-best mark in the nation. Camilion played in and started all 14 of Iona's contests, averaging 33.5 minutes per game, ranking tenth amongst her counterparts in the league.
No. 7 Rider University (6-17, 3-9)
Rider University looks for a season sweep against Monmouth as they picked up two victories in their regular season contests. Monmouth owns a 29-22 lead in the all-time series with Rider. However, the Broncs have won the last six meetings. The Broncs and Hawks have met just once in MAAC Championships, with Rider taking a 2017 quarterfinal victory. Rider has won at least one game in the MAAC Championships in four-straight years. The Broncs have been led by two key freshman contributors in Makayla Firebaugh and Raphaela Toussaint who were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Firebaugh is the Broncs' leading scorer this season at 11.2 points per game, and has scored in double figures a team-high 15 times in 22 games played. Toussaint has averaged 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and has posted a team-best four double-doubles this season.
No. 8 Niagara University (4-6, 3-5)
The first game of the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship will feature No. 8 Niagara taking on No. 9 Siena on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. Niagara leads the conference in free throw percentage, sinking 73.7 percent of its shots from the charity stripe. The Purple Eagles also lead the MAAC in steals; they are averaging 10.2 steals per game. Sophomore guard Angel Parker was selected to the All-MAAC Second Team. Parker has had a impressive season for the Purple Eagles. She leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game, and in rebounding, averaging 6.9 rebounds per game. She is also averaging a team-best 5.9 assists per game.
No. 9 Siena College (3-8, 2-4)
The 9th seeded Saints kick off the Women’s Tournament when they battle No. 8 seed Niagara Purple Eagles in the First Round. Siena (3-8) and Niagara (4-6) meet for the sixth time in postseason play, as the two teams did not face each other in the regular season. Their last postseason meeting came in 2017 at the Times Union Center in Albany, where the Saints took a 71-60 victory. Siena is led by All-MAAC Second Team member Isis Young. Young leads the MAAC in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game. She has scored more than 20 points on four occasions, including an outburst of 28 points with a career-high six three pointers at Monmouth on Feb. 3.
No. 10 Monmouth University (2-15, 2-11)
Monmouth is set to make the short drive from West Long Branch to Atlantic City to take on their in-state rival No. 7 Rider on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The Hawks have received major contributions from Freshman Belle Kranbuhl, who was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Kranbuhl played in all 17 games during the regular season, earning 16 starts. She compiled 6.8 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and a MAAC-leading 2.6 blocks per game in her first campaign.
All games of the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship will be broadcasted on ESPN+, with the exception of the championship game on Saturday, March 13 at 11:00 a.m., which will be broadcasted on ESPNews.
See below for the full schedule and matchups:
| Round |
Game |
Matchup |
Date |
Times |
Network |
| First Round |
Game 1 |
No. 8 Niagara vs No. 9 Siena |
March 9 |
12:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| First Round |
Game 2 |
No. 7 Rider vs No. 10 Monmouth |
March 9 |
2:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 3 |
No. 1 Marist vs Game 1 Winner |
March 10 |
12:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 4 |
No. 2 Quinnipiac vs Game 2 Winner |
March 10 |
2:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 5 |
No. 3 Saint Peter’s vs No. 6 Iona |
March 11 |
12:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 6 |
No. 4 Fairfield vs No. 5 Manhattan |
March 11 |
2:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal |
Game 7 |
Winner Game 3 vs Game Winner Game 6 |
March 12 |
11:00 AM |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal |
Game 8 |
Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 5 |
March 12 |
1:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Championship |
Game 9 |
Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 8 |
March 13 |
11:00 AM |
ESPNews |
To keep up with the postseason action, follow @MAACHoops on Twitter and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #maAChoops21.
About the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 8-13, 2021 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit
http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow
@MAACHoops on Twitter.
About Time Out for Black Lives
Time Out for Black Lives aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. The initiative has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children’s books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The program comes as part of the MAAC’s
United for Justice campaign that was announced over the summer. For more information, visit
timeoutforblacklives.com.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.