COLONIA, N.J. – The field is set for the 2026 East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship. Play begins on Wednesday, March 4, and continues Saturday, March 7, with the championship on Sunday, March 8.

First-round games will be held on campus sites, with the semifinals and finals at top-seed Daemen University. The Wildcats, who earned the number one seed by virtue of a tiebreaker, will host the winner of fourth-seeded D’Youville and fifth-seeded Staten Island at noon on Saturday.

D’Youville will host the Dolphins on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in one of two first-round contests. The other one will pit third-seeded Molloy hosting sixth-seeded District of Columbia at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The winner of Molloy-District of Columbia will take on second-seeded Mercy at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Mercy shared the regular-season title with Daemen, as the two split their series.

This marks the seventh straight year that the Wildcats (22-3, 15-1 ECC) have earned a first-round bye and have the top seed for the fifth straight year. They are the four-time defending champions (’25, ’24, ’23, ’22, ’20) while advancing to the title game in 2021.

Daemen went a perfect 4-0 against both D’Youville and Staten Island, defeating the Saints 63-45 and 66-56, while beating the Dolphins 78-75 in overtime and 78-52.

Mercy also went 4-0 against its potential opponents, defeating Molloy 71-54 and 72-57, while besting UDC 73-54 and 75-50.  Mercy is in the tournament for the sixth straight year, advancing to the conference semifinals last season.

Third-seeded Molloy advanced to the semifinals last season, and swept its season series against the Firebirds by scores of 72-66 (OT) and 73-61.

Fourth-seeded D’Youville split its series with Staten Island this season, as the Saints won on the road 68-54, while the Dolphins won in Buffalo by a score of 49-38.  

The 2026 ECC Women's Basketball Championship will air live on FloCollege. Results, recaps, and photos will be posted on our ECC website (eccsports.org) and ECC social media platforms (X, Instagram, and Facebook) throughout and following the conclusion of the event.
 
Seeding
1. Daemen University (22-3, 15-1 ECC)
2. Mercy University (21-6, 15-1 ECC)
3. Molloy University (12-16, 10-6 ECC)
4. D'Youville University (10-14, 7-9 ECC)
5. College of Staten Island (11-17, 7-9 ECC)
6. University of the District of Columbia (11-15, 7-9 ECC)

Schedule
First Round – Wednesday, March 4
5:00 PM – No. 6 University of the District of Columbia at No. 3 Molloy University - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
7:00 PM – No. 5 College of Staten Island at No. 4 D'Youville - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 (@ No. 1 Daemen)
12:00 PM: Winner of No. 5 College of Staten Island/No. 4 D'Youville at No. 1 Daemen University - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS 
2:30 PM: Winner of No. 6 University of the District of Columbia/No. 3 Molloy University vs. No. 2 Mercy University - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS 
 
Final – Sunday, March 8 (@ No. 1 Daemen)
12:00 PM: Saturday's Winners - LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS