Southern Connecticut State University’s women’s basketball team captured the 2026 Northeast-10 Conference Championship on March 8, defeating Bentley University 59–50 in Waltham, Mass., to secure the program’s first conference title since the 2006–07 season.
Graduate student Jillian Martin led the Owls with 15 points, including a clutch 7-for-8 performance from the free-throw line, while Hope Fox and Ally Sentance each added 12 points. Fox was named the NE10 Championship Most Outstanding Player and also earned the Elite24 Award for the highest GPA among student-athletes competing in the championship. Sentance and Martin were also named to the NE10 All-Championship Team.
The game remained tight through three quarters before Southern pulled away in the fourth. The Owls used a decisive 10–0 run, with key contributions from Fox, Martin, Sentance, and Tish Blackwood, to build a late lead and secure the victory.
With the win, Southern earned an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament and was later announced as the No. 1 seed in the East Region, which the Owls will host March 13–14 at Moore Field House in New Haven. Southern will open regional play against No. 8 seed Saint Michael’s, marking the program’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its ninth overall.
Read the full game recap and tournament information from SCSU Athletics: CHAMPIONS! SCSU Women’s Basketball Defeats Bentley For First NE10 Title Since 2006-07
