2025–26 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team

2025–26 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball
2025–26 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball
NEC regular season champions; NEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	30–4 (18–0 NEC)
Head coach	Stephanie Gaitley (3rd season);
Associate head coach	Jessica Simmonds
Assistant coaches	Jeremy Thompson; Ty Rozier;
Home arena	Bogota Savings Bank Center

2025–26 Northeast Conference women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Fairleigh Dickinson †	18	–	0	1.000	30	–	4	.882
Mercyhurst*	14	–	4	.778	15	–	17	.469
LIU	14	–	4	.778	21	–	11	.656
Wagner	9	–	9	.500	13	–	17	.433
Le Moyne*	9	–	9	.500	12	–	21	.364
Chicago State	8	–	10	.444	9	–	23	.281
Stonehill	8	–	10	.444	12	–	18	.400
New Haven**	5	–	13	.278	7	–	22	.241
Saint Francis	3	–	15	.167	3	–	27	.100
Central Connecticut	2	–	16	.111	2	–	27	.069

† 2026 NEC tournament winner * ineligible for the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II ** ineligible for both the 2026 NEC tournament and the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II As of March 19, 2026

The 2025–26 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team currently represent Fairleigh Dickinson University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Knights, led by third-year head coach Stephanie Gaitley, play their home games in Hackensack, New Jersey at the Bogota Savings Bank Center as members of the Northeast Conference (NEC).

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2024–25 season 29–4 and 16–0 in NEC play to finish in first place as regular season champions, becoming the first team to go undefeated in the NEC since Quinnipiac in the 2012–13 season (18–0).

As the No. 1 seed in the NEC tournament, they defeated No. 8 LIU, No. 6 Chicago State and No. 2 Stonehill to win the NEC title, their first since 1992, and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. They were seeded as No. 15 in Birmingham Regional 3, where they lost in the first round to No. 2 seed TCU.

Offseason

Departures

Fairleigh Dickinson Departures
Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Staci Williams	1	G	5'8"	Sophomore	Holly Springs, NC	Transferred to UNC Wilmington (student only)
Dominique García Blackwood	10	G	5'10"	Junior	Gran Canaria, Spain	Transferred to Florida Memorial (NAIA)
Abby Conklin	11	G	5'7"	Graduate Student	Irvington, NY	Graduated
Abaigeal Babore	13	G	5'6"	Graduate Student	Merchantville, NJ	Graduated
Teneisia Brown	20	F/C	6'2"	Graduate Student	Montego Bay, Jamaica	Transferred to Providence
Allie McGinn	33	G	5'11"	Senior	Staten Island, NY	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Fairleigh Dickinson Incoming Transfers
Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Madlena Gerke	0	G/F	5'10"	Graduate Student	Riga, Latvia	Evansville

Recruiting class

There was no recruiting class for the class of 2025.

Roster

2025–26 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G/F	0	Madlena Gerke	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	GS	Evansville	Riga, Latvia
G	1	Theresa Biladi	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	Hamilton Girls' High School	Hamilton, New Zealand
F	2	Akeelah Lafleur	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	BCIT	Willingboro, NJ
F	3	Bella Toomey	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Penn Charter School	Philadelphia, PA
G	4	Ava Renninger	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Archbishop Wood High School	Yardley, PA
G	5	Talia Baptiste	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Columbia High School	Maplewood, NJ
F	12	Sydney Stokes	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Mainland Regional High School	Irvington, NY
F	14	Joi Johnson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	So	Ewing High School	Ewing, NJ
F	15	Leah Crosby	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	St. Thomas Aquinas High School	Plainfield, NJ
F	20	Madison Stuart	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Eastern Regional High School	Voorhees, NJ
G	21	Rebecca Osei-Owusu	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Monsignor Scanlan High School	Brooklyn, NY
G	22	Jada Elston	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Jr	Middle Township High School	Woodbine, NJ
F	23	Tyler Edwards	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Sanford School	Townsend, DE
G	24	Kaliee McDonald	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	So	Worcester Academy	Lowell, MA
G	25	Reese Downey	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	Absegami High School	Galloway, NJ
F	45	Lilly Parke	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	Auburn Montgomery	Auckland, New Zealand

Head coach

Stephanie Gaitley (Villanova)

Assistant coach(es)

Jessica Simmonds (George Washington)
Jeremy Thompson (Muhlenberg)
Ty Rozier (Fordham)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		Villanova	L 37–57		14 – McDonald	7 – Renninger	5 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (200) Hackensack, NJ
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., B1G+		at Purdue	L 48–67	0–1	10 – Renninger	10 – Osei-Owusu	4 – Renninger	Mackey Arena (4,726) West Lafayette, IN
November 5, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 15 Notre Dame	L 52–98	0–2	15 – Renninger	4 – Tied	3 – Renninger	Purcell Pavilion (6,156) South Bend, IN
November 10, 2025* 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Bloomfield	W 92–60	1–2	24 – Gerke	9 – Crosby	7 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (479) Hackensack, NJ
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Manhattan	W 65–63	2–2	24 – Gerke	9 – Crosby	7 – Renninger	Draddy Gymnasium (274) Riverdale, NY
November 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., B1G+		at Rutgers	L 49–59	2–3	20 – Renniger	10 – McDonald	5 – McDonald	Jersey Mike's Arena (2,194) Piscataway, NJ
November 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Delaware State	W 72–41	3–3	23 – Gerke	11 – Crosby	7 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (400) Hackensack, NJ
November 25, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at NJIT	W 71–43	4–3	20 – Renninger	9 – Crosby	5 – Renninger	Wellness and Events Center (188) Newark, NJ
November 29, 2025* 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Monmouth	W 63–50	5–3	18 – Renninger	5 – Crosby	6 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (395) Hackensack, NJ
December 4, 2025* 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Lafayette	W 69–61	6–3	23 – McDonald	12 – Osei-Owusu	7 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (279) Hackensack, NJ
December 10, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Saint Peter's	W 57–34	7–3	15 – Renninger	8 – Osei-Owusu	5 – Tied	Yanitelli Center (235) Jersey City, NJ
December 20, 2025* 1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Ursinus	W 85–19	8–3	22 – McDonald	9 – Renninger	5 – Tied	Bogota Savings Bank Center (139) Hackensack, NJ
December 29, 2025* 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Binghamton FDU Christmas Classic	L 51–62	8–4	11 – McDonald	13 – Osei-Owusu	5 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (107) Hackensack, NJ
December 30, 2025* 4:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Maryland Eastern Shore FDU Christmas Classic	W 85–57	9–4	19 – Renninger	6 – Crosby	3 – Tied	Bogota Savings Bank Center (139) Hackensack, NJ
NEC regular season
January 2, 2026 5:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Mercyhurst	W 68–46	10–4 (1–0)	17 – Osei-Owusu	10 – Osei-Owusu	4 – Renninger	Owen McCormick Court (234) Erie, PA
January 4, 2026 1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Saint Francis	W 73–28	11–4 (2–0)	13 – McDonald	8 – Lafleur	6 – Renninger	DeGol Arena (127) Loretto, PA
January 8, 2026 6:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Chicago State	W 91–64	12–4 (3–0)	15 – Renninger	6 – Gerke	5 – Renninger	Jones Convocation Center (79) Chicago, IL
January 10, 2026 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		New Haven	W 65–57	13–4 (4–0)	16 – McDonald	9 – Osei-Owusu	8 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (139) Hackensack, NJ
January 15, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Wagner	W 56–46	14–4 (5–0)	17 – Renninger	8 – McDonald	3 – McDonald	Spiro Sports Center (249) Staten Island, NY
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at LIU	W 59–58	15–4 (6–0)	16 – McDonald	7 – Renninger	5 – Renninger	Steinberg Wellness Center (183) Brooklyn, NY
January 22, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Central Connecticut	W 76–45	16–4 (7–0)	18 – McDonald	6 – Tied	4 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (300) Hackensack, NJ
January 24, 2026 1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Le Moyne	W 56–41	17–4 (8–0)	21 – Gerke	8 – Renninger	5 – Renninger	Ted Grant Court (216) Syracuse, NY
January 29, 2026 5:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Stonehill We Back Pat	W 78–54	18–4 (9–0)	24 – Gerke	10 – Renninger	7 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (275) Hackensack, NJ
January 31, 2026 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Wagner	W 52–45	19–4 (10–0)	12 – Crosby	12 – Osei-Owusu	4 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (439) Hackensack, NJ
February 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Stonehill	W 80–49	20–4 (11–0)	15 – Tied	6 – Renninger	5 – Osei-Owusu	Merkert Gymnasium (112) Easton, MA
February 7, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Mercyhurst Play4Kay	W 84–64	21–4 (12–0)	17 – Crosby	11 – Crosby	4 – Tied	Bogota Savings Bank Center (309) Hackensack, NJ
February 14, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at Central Connecticut	W 77–36	22–4 (13–0)	18 – Gerke	11 – Johnson	7 – Renninger	Detrick Gymnasium (153) New Britain, CT
February 19, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Chicago State	W 66–52	23–4 (14–0)	18 – Gerke	7 – Tied	4 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (314) Hackensack, NJ
February 21, 2026 1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at New Haven	W 69–55	24–4 (15–0)	21 – McDonald	10 – Osei-Owusu	12 – Renninger	The Hazell Center (604) West Haven, CT
February 26, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		Le Moyne	W 66–38	25–4 (16–0)	14 – Gerke	9 – Renninger	4 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (393) Hackensack, NJ
February 28, 2026 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		LIU Senior Day	W 82–49	26–4 (17–0)	18 – McDonald	12 – Renninger	5 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (450) Hackensack, NJ
March 5, 2026 11:00 a.m., NEC Front Row		Saint Francis	W 61–39	27–4 (18–0)	17 – McDonald	6 – Tied	7 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (1,000) Hackensack, NJ
NEC tournament
March 9, 2026 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row	(1)	(8) Saint Francis Quarterfinals	W 81–56	28–4	19 – Renninger	9 – Lafleur	5 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (459) Hackensack, NJ
March 12, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+/NESN	(1)	(5) Le Moyne Semifinals	W 71–51	29–4	21 – Renninger	10 – Renninger	5 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (467) Hackensack, NJ
March 15, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPNU	(1)	(3) LIU Championship	W 79–57	30–4	15 – Lafleur	14 – Crosby	6 – Renninger	Bogota Savings Bank Center (590) Hackensack, NJ
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN	(15 S4)	at (2 S4) No. 7 Iowa First Round						Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Sacramento 4=S4. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[1]

References

^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". FDU Knights Athletics. Retrieved March 17, 2026.

[1] "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". FDU Knights Athletics. Retrieved March 17, 2026.

[1]

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball
Venues	Bogota Savings Bank Center (1987–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26