2025–26 Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team

2025–26 Winthrop Eagles women's basketball
ConferenceBig South Conference
Record15–16 (7–9 Big South)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dante Travis
  • Dominique Duck
  • Steve Joyner
Home arenaWinthrop Coliseum
2025–26 Big South women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
High Point † 13 – 3   .813 27 – 5   .844
Radford 12 – 4   .750 22 – 12   .647
Longwood 11 – 5   .688 21 – 10   .677
Gardner–Webb 9 – 7   .563 12 – 19   .387
Winthrop 7 – 9   .438 15 – 17   .469
UNC Asheville 7 – 9   .438 12 – 18   .400
Charleston Southern 6 – 10   .375 8 – 22   .267
USC Upstate 6 – 10   .375 12 – 20   .375
Presbyterian 1 – 15   .063 3 – 27   .100
† 2026 Big South tournament winner
As of March 8, 2026

The 2025–26 Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team represents Winthrop University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by sixth-year head coach Semeka Randall Lay, play their home games at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2024–25 season 16–15, 9–7 in Big South play, to finish in sixth place.[1] They defeated Charleston Southern,[2] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions High Point in the semifinals of the Big South tournament.[3]

Preseason

On October 15, 2025, the Big South Conference released their preseason poll. Winthrop was picked to finish fourth in the conference.[4]

Preseason rankings

Big South Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1 High Point 77 (6)
2 Longwood 69 (1)
3 Radford 67 (1)
4 Winthrop 48
5 Charleston Southern 41
6 USC Upstate 33
7 Gardner–Webb 25
8 Presbyterian 23
9 UNC Asheville 22 (1)
(#) first-place votes

Source:[4]

Preseason All-Big South Teams

Preseason All-Big South Teams
Team Player Year Position
First Amourie Porter Junior Guard/Forward

Source:[5]

Roster

2025–26 Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ar'Mani Reid 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Southwest Onslow High School Jacksonville, North Carolina
G 1 Nessa Walsh 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Purdue Northwest Chicago, Illinois
G 3 Madison Ruff 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Mount St. Mary's Sparta, Georgia
G 5 Mya Hamilton 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Unioto High School Leesburg, Ohio
G 7 Ryiah Wilson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Washington High School South Bend, Indiana
G 10 Jada Ryce 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) GS East Tennessee State McDonough, Georgia
F 11 Naomi Wilson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Weatherford College Baldivis, Australia
G 13 Mya Pierfax 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Northwest Florida State College Lake Elsinore, California
G/F 15 Amourie Porter 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Cal State Bakersfield Glen Burnie, Maryland
G/F 21 Persais Williams 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Champaign Central High School Bolingbrook, Illinois
G 22 Cori Lard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Miami (OH) Davenport, Iowa
F 25 Tocarra Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Blinn College Crockett, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 3, 2026

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Marquette L 57–89  0–1
 Al McGuire Center (3,750)
Milwaukee, WI
November 5, 2025*
12:00 pm, NECFR 		at Chicago State L 54–59  0–2
 Jones Convocation Center (1,523)
Chicago, WI
November 8, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Newberry W 74–37  1–2
 Winthrop Coliseum (402)
Rock Hill, SC
November 15, 2025*
4:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Queens W 75–69  2–2
 Winthrop Coliseum (308)
Rock Hill, SC
November 19, 2025*
7:00 pm, SECN 		at No. 2 South Carolina L 56−106  2−3
 Colonial Life Arena (15,787)
Columbia, SC
November 21, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Clinton W 82−29  3−3
 Winthrop Coliseum (269)
Rock Hill, SC
November 25, 2025*
4:30 pm, BALLERtv 		vs. Southern Illinois
Music City Classic 		W 75–61  4–3
 Trevecca Trojan Fieldhouse (223)
Nashville, TN
November 26, 2025*
4:30 pm, BALLERtv 		vs. SMU
Music City Classic 		L 61–84  4–4
 Trevecca Trojan Fieldhouse (208)
Nashville, TN
November 30, 2025*
4:00 pm 		at South Carolina State W 66–45  5–4
 SHM Memorial Center (175)
Orangeburg, SC
December 3, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Johnson & Wales (NC) W 105–41  6–4
 Winthrop Coliseum (195)
Rock Hill, SC
December 7, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UNC Wilmington W 78–68  7–4
 Winthrop Coliseum (293)
Rock Hill, SC
December 14, 2025*
2:00 pm, SECN+ 		at No. 18 Tennessee L 40−112  7−5
 Thompson–Boling Arena (10,091)
Knoxville, TN
December 17, 2025*
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		at Charlotte L 58–81  7–6
 Halton Arena (2,958)
Charlotte, NC
December 20, 2025*
12:00 pm, ACCNX 		at Virginia L 53–88  7–7
 John Paul Jones Arena (4,077)
Charlottesville, VA
Big South regular season
December 31, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Gardner–Webb L 48–54  7–8
(0–1) 		Winthrop Coliseum (270)
Rock Hill, SC
January 3, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UNC Asheville W 59–55  8–8
(1–1) 		Kimmel Arena (248)
Asheville, NC
January 7, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at USC Upstate W 66–64  9–8
(2–1) 		G. B. Hodge Center (195)
Spartanburg, SC
January 10, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Charleston Southern W 63–54  10–8
(3–1) 		Winthrop Coliseum (243)
Rock Hill, SC
January 14, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Longwood L 79–100  10–9
(3–2) 		Joan Perry Brock Center (1,267)
Farmville, VA
January 17, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Radford L 65–67  10–10
(3–3) 		Winthrop Coliseum (282)
Rock Hill, SC
January 21, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at High Point L 60–74  10–11
(3–4) 		Qubein Center (1,184)
High Point, NC
January 28, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Presbyterian W 74–42  11–11
(4–4) 		Winthrop Coliseum (219)
Rock Hill, SC
January 31, 2026
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Radford L 57–61  11–12
(4–5) 		Dedmon Center (447)
Radford, VA
February 4, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		High Point L 74–88  11–13
(4–6) 		Winthrop Coliseum (302)
Rock Hill, SC
February 7, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Gardner–Webb L 69–72  11–14
(4–7) 		Paul Porter Arena (378)
Boiling Springs, NC
February 11, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		USC Upstate L 58–67  11–15
(4–8) 		Winthrop Coliseum (304)
Rock Hill, SC
February 14, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Longwood W 75–65  12–15
(5–8) 		Winthrop Coliseum (297)
Rock Hill, SC
February 18, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Presbyterian W 72–59  13–15
(6–8) 		Templeton Center (233)
Clinton, SC
February 25, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UNC Asheville L 59–64  13–16
(6–9) 		Winthrop Coliseum (301)
Rock Hill, SC
February 28, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Charleston Southern W 77–55  14–16
(7–9) 		Buccaneer Field House (382)
North Charleston, SC
Big South tournament
March 5, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(5) vs. (4) Gardner–Webb
Quarterfinals 		W 64–52  15–16
 Freedom Hall Civic Center (1,523)
Johnson City, TN
March 7, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(5) vs. (1) High Point
Semifinals 		Freedom Hall Civic Center 
Johnson City, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "2024–25 Women's Basketball Standings". Big South Conference. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  2. ^ "No. 4 Charleston Southern Falls to No. 5 Winthrop on Buzzer-Beating Three-Point Field Goal in the Big South Tournament". Charleston Southern University. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  3. ^ "High Point Defeats Winthrop to Advance to Big South Championship". High Point University Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  4. ^ a b "High Point Voted 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite". Big South Conference. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  5. ^ "Big South Announces 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Honors". Big South Conference. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  6. ^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  7. ^ "Winthrop Eagles 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
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