William Paterson will open NCAA Tournament play against Baldwin Wallace University on Friday, Mar. 6.
The Pioneers are slotted in a quadrant with Johns Hopkins, whom they faced earlier this season, and Hunter College, which William Paterson met in last year’s ECAC Tournament.
After suffering its first NJAC loss of the season in the conference championship game against The College of New Jersey, William Paterson’s NCAA Tournament hopes were uncertain.
In Division III women’s basketball, 64 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Forty-three programs earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments, while the remaining 21 teams receive at-large selections based on the National Power Index.
The National Power Index, or NPI, evaluates teams using winning percentage, strength of schedule, home and road results, and quality-win bonuses.
William Paterson secured one of the 21 at-large bids, marking the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2012-13 season. The Pioneers finished No. 38 in the final NPI rankings, which extended to No. 39 for at-large consideration, placing them safely inside the cut line.
The Pioneers were positioned just ahead of St. Mary’s (Minn.) of the MIAC, which earned the final at-large bid. Carnegie Mellon and Susquehanna were the first two teams left out of the tournament field.
William Paterson also enters the NCAA Tournament one win shy of tying the school record for victories in a season. The 2010-11 and 2011-12 teams share the record with 26 wins.
The 2025-26 campaign mirrors the 2009-10 season, when the Pioneers fell short in the NJAC Tournament but still received an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Pioneers’ postseason push begins with NJAC Player of the Year Renee Wells. Wells has averaged double figures since her freshman season and is posting a career-high 17.2 points per game as a senior, along with nearly six rebounds and three assists per contest.
Jada Jacobs, a transfer from Division II Georgian Court, has emerged as a key contributor in her second season in Wayne after playing behind a veteran backcourt last year. The NJAC Defensive Player of the Year led the conference in assists and steals, ranked second on the team in rebounds and finished third in scoring.
Senior forward Patty Walsh remains the emotional and physical anchor of the program. After tearing her ACL during her first year, Walsh has developed into one of the conference’s premier players. The second-team All-NJAC selection led the conference in blocks, paced the team in rebounds and ranked second in scoring.
Junior guard Mattison Chiera leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and provides perimeter shooting. Senior guard Luna Kirby is regarded as one of the league’s top on-ball defenders. Senior Megan Sears adds veteran stability, while sophomores Leilani Pinder and Kaelyn Gowdy supply depth across multiple positions.
Head coach Erin Monahan is in her 33rd season at her alma mater and has assembled one of her strongest teams in recent years. Monahan, widely respected throughout Division III, is joined by assistant coaches Michael Gilmore, a former William Paterson men’s basketball player, and Alie Wickersheim, a former collegiate player at Ramapo.
Despite a 23-point loss to TCNJ in the NJAC championship game, William Paterson enters the NCAA Tournament with experience, balance and star power. If the Pioneers can move past that setback, they have the pieces to make a deep postseason run, beginning in Wayne.
