EDISON, NJ (Dec. 18, 2025) – League play commences for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women’s basketball this week with conference action on Friday and Sunday, December 19 and December 21. Both days will feature a full slate of games and all 13 MAAC women’s teams will be in action at least once this week.
The MAAC campaign will begin on Friday with an 11:00 a.m. tipoff between Quinnipiac University and Manhattan University in Hamden, CT. The game will air live regionally on NESN as part of the MAAC
Regional Television agreement that was announced in early December. The 6:00 p.m. window will include a trio of games, headlined by preseason favorite and two-time defending MAAC Champion, Fairfield University traveling to Rider University for a clash in Lawrenceville, NJ. Opening day will conclude with a top six matchup in Emmitsburg, MD between Mount St. Mary’s University and Marist University, which currently sit in fourth place and sixth place on the MAAC standings, respectively.
Sunday will be an entertaining day, with the docket highlighted by three contests that feature all top six teams facing off. At 2:00 p.m., second ranked Fairfield will host fifth ranked Merrimack College, in a battle between two teams that advanced to final four of the 2025 MAAC Championship, with the Stags winning the title and the Warriors falling in the semifinals. Tipping off at 3:00 p.m. will be first place Iona University traveling to fourth place Mount St. Mary’s. The Gaels (7-3) are off to their best start in over a decade, posting their most non-conference wins since the 2013-14 season, while the Mountaineers are riding a two-game winning streak entering conference play. The final game of the day will be a 5:00 p.m. start, when Marist (No. 6) plays host to Quinnipiac (No. 3) in Poughkeepsie, NY.
All MAAC basketball home games will air on ESPN+, the leading sports streaming service.
For the full 2025-26 MAAC Women’s Basketball schedule visit
maacsports.com.
The 2025-26 campaign culminates with the 2026 Air Force Reserve MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 5-10 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 2026 will be the seventh consecutive year Boardwalk Hall will host the annual championship dating back to 2020. For the second straight season, the championship field will feature the conference's top 10 teams. Additionally, with the shift of the basketball championship schedule to a week earlier, the women’s championship game will be a standalone contest on Monday, March 9, while the men’s championship game will air live nationally on ESPN or ESPN2 on Tuesday, March 10. For all information regarding the 2026 Air Force Reserve MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on X.
Air Force Reserve
The mission of the Air Force Reserve is to provide combat-ready forces to fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace, whenever and wherever needed. As a critical component of the United States Air Force, the Air Force Reserve supports global operations while remaining ready to respond to domestic emergencies and humanitarian efforts. It is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Reserve Citizen Airmen to execute a wide range of missions that contribute to national defense and global security.
The Air Force Reserve offers part-time and full-time service options, enabling individuals to serve while maintaining civilian careers or pursuing higher education. Each year, the Reserve recruits thousands of enlisted and officer personnel across core specialties including Aviation, Maintenance, Intelligence, Cyber, Medical, Security Forces, and Logistics. This flexibility allows members to develop valuable skills, gain leadership experience, and serve their country with pride.
More information about Air Force Reserve careers and opportunities is available at:
https://www.airforce.com/ways-to-serve/air-force-reserve.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
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