What you need to know about the CIAA women's tournament

Winston-Salem State (14-2 CIAA)

Coach: Tierra Terry (1st season)
Player to Watch: Maia Charles was the 2025 CIAA Rookie of the Year and came over with Terry from Virginia Union.
Trending: It’s tough to overreact to one game, but a loss to 8-18 Livingstone was a tough way to wrap the regular season. That being said, the Rams had won seven straight beforehand, so the result could have been a one-off with the team eyeing the upcoming tournament.
Key Note: Makayla Waleed, Marlboro native and former Emerge Academy star, is in the CIAA after three years at Temple University, and she’s one of four players averaging 10-plus points for the Rams.
2025: Lost in opening round.

Coach: Tyreece Brown (3rd season)
Player to Watch: Talia Trotter, a four-year starter from Ellicott City, is aiming to lead the Broncos to a third straight CIAA title. She leads the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Trending: The Broncos are 11-2 in the calendar year, with every win by at least nine points. A late-season loss to Claflin stalled momentum, but the Broncos are the de facto favorites as two-time defending champions.
Key Note: Fayetteville has responded to every loss this year with at least three straight wins and never has lost at the CIAA tournament under Brown.
2025: Champion

Coach: Millette Green (1st Season)
Player to Watch: Kendahl Spearman has started only five games, but she leads the team with 13.4 points per game, in the top five in the CIAA.
Trending: The Trojans ended with blowout losses to Bowie State (73-57) and Virginia Union (74-55).
Key Note: Virginia State averages 64.5 points per game and is 13-1 when it exceeds that mark. In four of five CIAA losses, it failed to score more than 57.
2025: Lost in final.

Coach: Shadae Swan (11th season)
Player to Watch: Malaka Cobb leads in assists and is second in scoring on a deep squad that has 10 players averaging over 14 minutes per game.
Trending: The Bulldogs enter with eight straight wins that included victories over Virginia Union (twice) and Virginia State.
Key Note: Look for the Bulldogs to make an impact with their depth; Jada Bouknight, who averages just over 14 minutes per game, ranks second in the conference in blocked shots per game.
2025: Lost in semifinal.

Coach: Terrence Jenkins (4th season)
Player to Watch: Ashari Lewis is in the top five in scoring and field goal percentage and needs to spark an otherwise lackluster offense averaging less than 62 points per game.
Trending: Claflin has won six of seven, including a huge win over Fayetteville State this past week.
Key Note: If Claflin finds an upset or two, it’ll be on the strength of the defense. It led the CIAA in scoring defense, surrendering less than 51 points per game.
2025: Lost in quarterfinal.

Coach: Alico Dunk (1st season)
Player to Watch: Bruni Martinez is in the top three in the CIAA in scoring and field goal percentage.
Trending: Winners of four of five, Virginia Union ended the regular season with a 19-point thrashing of Virginia State, with the recent hot streak calming concerns from an up-and-down second half.
Key Note: Virginia Union is the best 3-point-shooting team in the conference at 32.4%.
2025: Lost in semifinal.

Coach: Paul Davis (5th season)
Player to Watch: Jasmine Jenkins leads the CIAA in scoring at over 15 points per contest.
Trending: Bluefield State lost four of six to end the regular season, with two losses to Bowie State and one each to Virginia Union and Virginia State.
Key Note: This is the best offense in the conference by a large margin. The Big Blue average over 78 points per game, but their 11th-ranked defense keeps games high scoring.
2025: Lost in quarterfinal.

Coach: Queen Smith (3rd season)
Player to Watch: Breasia Coit, a Baltimore product out of Western High School, leads the conference in rebounds with over 12 per game, while notching over 13 points and two blocks.
Trending: The Blue Bears won their final two games of the regular season, including a shocking win over top-seeded Winston-Salem. They’ll bring underdog energy into CFG Bank Arena.
Key Note: Livingstone led the conference in rebounds per game behind Coit’s prowess, and the Blue Bears will lean heavily on their paint presence to find an upset path.
2025: Lost in quarterfinal.

Coach: Louis Hamilton (interim, 1st season)
Player to Watch: Mahogany Collins is a shot-blocking machine, averaging over five (!) per game. No other player in the conference averages more than three.
Trending: Shaw has lost three straight and six of seven, with all six losses by 16-plus points.
Key Note: Behind Collins, Shaw leads the CIAA in blocked shots and ranks well in some defensive categories, but the offense is a pain point, ranking last in scoring and field goal percentage in the conference.
2025: Lost in opening round.

Coach: Vanessa Taylor (1st season, second stint; 12th overall season with Johnson C. Smith)
Player to Watch: La’nya Simes ranks second in the CIAA in rebounds and among the top 10 in scoring.
Trending: Johnson C. Smith lost eight straight games to close the regular season.
Key Note: The Golden Bulls scored 80 in their season opener and never again cracked 70 points. Since that opener, they’re 0-11 when their opponent scores 55-plus points. They rank last in 3-point shooting at 19.3%
2025: Lost in opening round.

Coach: Ebony Tanner (2nd season)
Player to Watch: Karina Scott ranks sixth in minutes per game in the conference and in the top five in 3-pointers. She’ll be on the court for the majority of her team’s tournament run.
Trending: Outside of two conference wins against Lincoln, Elizabeth City State is 0-14 since its last nonconference win Dec. 20.
Key Note: If there’s a chance for the Vikings this week, it would be by getting hot from beyond the arc. At 29.4%, they’re fourth in the CIAA in 3-point percentage.
2025: Lost in opening round.

Coach: Alishia Mosley (interim, 1st season)
Player to Watch: Kaziah Akinniyi leads the team in scoring and minutes, staying on the court for nearly 30 minutes per game and averaging over 13 points.
Trending: The Lions have lost 16 straight games.
Key Note: Lincoln ranks in the bottom two in scoring offense and defense, and it has not won in 2026, playing only two contests decided by fewer than 10 points in that time.
2025: Lost in quarterfinals.