NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut women's basketball was picked second in the 2025-26 Northeast 10 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the NE10 on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
Southern Connecticut received a first-place vote and trailed Bentley, in the poll. The Owls were placed ahead of Saint Anselm, Assumption, American International, Saint Michael's, Adelphi, Southern New Hampshire, Pace and Franklin Pierce, to round out the 10-team conference.
Last season, Southern Connecticut had an overall record of 19-11. The Owls had a great season in which they started with a seven-game win streak and broke several records in that span. Southern broke the record for most points scored in a single-game (112 points), the largest win margin in program history (73 points) and tied the single-game team assists record of 34 assists. The Owls made it all the way to the NE10 Semifinals before falling to Bentley. Southern Connecticut received an At-Large Bid to the NCAA East Regional, to make their seventh tournament appearance in program history, where they fell to Saint Anselm.
The Owls will return majority of their players from the 2025-26 season. Graduate student
Jillian Martin, who earned CSC Academic All-District Team Honors, led the team in assists with 110 assists and ranked fourth in the NE10 with an average of 3.7 assists per game. Senior
Hope Fox, who earned CSC Academic All-District Team Honors, led the Owls and ranked third in the NE10 in free-throw percentage with 85%, in rebounds with a total of 180 rebounds and ranked third in the NE10 in steals, with 67 steals.
Senior
Rheyna Steinauer grabbed 168 rebounds and totaled 25 three-pointers for the Owls last season. Senior
Ally Sentance recorded 110 rebounds, 46 assists, 34 steals and 24 three-pointers for Southern. The Owls have added a talented group of transfers and freshmen to their roster for the 2025-26 season.
The Owls will play an exhibition against the University of Connecticut, on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. at PeoplesBank Arena (formerly XL Center) in Hartford, Connecticut. Southern Connecticut will open the 2025-26 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m. against Georgian Court in the James Moore Field House.
2025-25 NE10 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll Results
1. Bentley – 81 (9)
2. SCSU – 67 (1)
3. Saint Anselm - 62
4. Assumption - 51
5. AIC - 47
6. Saint Michael's - 42
7. Adelphi - 31
7. SNHU - 31
9. Pace - 26
10. Franklin Pierce - 12
