NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut women's basketball is ranked second in East Region, in the second week of the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, as announced on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. In the second week, it is the first week that teams are ranked numerically, based on season and In-Region record. The Owls are one of six NE10 teams to be featured in the Rankings and it is the highest ranking that Southern has had in the NCAA Regional Rankings since the 2011-2012 season.
Southern Connecticut finished the regular season with an impressive overall and in-region record of 21-5 and an NE10 record of 16-2. It is the most wins that the Owls have recorded since the 2011-2012 season. In addition, Southern finished the regular season, winning 15 of their last 16 games, with 12 of those games won by double-digit margins. Looking to the postseason, the Owls will enter the 2026 NE10 Championship Tournament as the #2 seed and will make their fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
In all of Division II, Southern is ranked second in assist/turnover ratio with a ratio of 1.31 and is ranked sixth in DII in assists with an average of 18 assists per game.
In the Northeast 10 Conference, Southern is ranked first in offense and scoring margin, with an average of 68.6 points and an average margin of 14.7 points. The Owls lead the NE10 in team free-throw percentage with 75%. They also rank first in assist/turnover ratio and in assists in the conference.
Individually,
Rheyna Steinauer is ranked fourth in the NE10 in scoring with an average of 15.8 points per game.
Tish Blackwood leads the NE10 in rebounding with an average of 9.3 boards per game. In field-goal percentage, Blackwood is ranked second with 47%.
Hope Fox is ranked second in free-throw percentage with 87% and
Rheyna Steinauer is ranked third with 81%.
Ally Sentance is ranked second in three-point field-goal percentage with 40%, while
Rheyna Steinauer is ranked fifth with 37% from beyond the arc. Sentance is sixth in the NE10 in three-point field goals per game with an average of 1.8 three-pointers per game, while
Rheyna Steinauer is ninth with an average of 1.7 three-pointers per game.
Jillian Martin is ranked third in assists with an average of 4.4 assists per game.
Hope Fox is ranked third in steals with an average of 2.4 steals per game and
Taeya Steinauer is ranked seventh in steals with an average of 2.1 steals per game. Blackwood is ranked sixth in blocks with an average of 0.8 blocks per game while
Taeya Steinauer is ranked seventh with an average of 0.8 blocks per game.
The Owls enter the 2026 NE10 Women's Basketball Championship Tournament as the #2 seed and will face the #7 seed, Adelphi, in the James Moore Field House on Sunday, March 1 at 1:30 pm.
2026 SCSU Women's Basketball NCAA Regional Rankings:
Week 1: Featured in the Top 10 of the East Region
Week 2: Second (first numerical ranking of the season and highest NCAA Regional Ranking since the 2011-2012 season)
