This week on “Anything But Mid,” we spoke about the MEAC, MAC and Mountain West women’s basketball conferences. Let’s take a look at how things are shaping up:
Listen to the episode on Spotify:
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts:
MEAC
Howard is coming off a dominant 26-8 (13-1) season that culminated in a conference tournament win and an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bison added some key transfers in Kearra Jones and Saniya Jones and freshmen Kennedy Deese and Indiah Hutchinson. Dally Moreno and Destiny
Bynum-Johnson are two key returners that should mesh well with some newcomers. Norfolk State will also compete for that top spot after going 11-3 in conference, as the Spartans’ incredible defense gave up less than 60 points per game last season. Losing guard Anjanae Richardson hurts as she was a key piece that averaged 10.4 points and four rebounds last season. But LeAire Nicks provides incredible paint defense and rebounding while Niyah Gaston is a great shooter who shot 36% from deep last season. Maryland Eastern Shore, after going 11-3 last season, will be interesting. Ashanti Lynch and Brianna Barnes were huge scorers last season but are no longer on the roster. Transfers Tahj-Monet Bloom and Uzoamaka Angela Samuel can potentially help with scoring, and if Kaliya Perry takes a step up, they should still compete.
MAC
A fun and competitive conference. Miami (Ohio) dominated conference play with a 16-2 record en route to a conference tournament win. Amber Tretter, a massive returner, averaged 14.4 points and eight rebounds and played a key part down the stretch. Núria Jurjo, who started 30 games last season, and Brooke Blumenfeld bring important experience to this RedHawks backcourt. However, they are losing some key contributors in Tamar Singer and Ilse de Vries. Toledo is another team I’d watch out for. After going dead even at 9-9 in conference play, they stormed to the finals of the conference tournament after entering as a six seed. Kendall Carruthers is a huge piece of this Rocket team after averages of 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists, which led to All-MAC honors. Faith Fedd-Robinson, Camryn VandenBosch and Ella Weaver are more key returners that really round out the team while multiple transfers have power-conference experience. While those are my top two teams heading into the season, Central Michigan, Ball State and UMass all have a chance to sit atop the conference come our beloved month of March. The Cardinals bring back five of their top six scorers from a team that finished 16-2 in the MAC last year.
Mountain West
A whole new look in the MWC. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State all joined the Pac-12 heading into the year while Hawaii, UC Davis and UTEP joined. Reigning tournament champion Colorado State leaving really throws a curveball into the conference. UNLV is a potential preseason favorite after a 25-9 (14-4) season. Bergan Kinnebrew is a huge pickup from Division-II UMary. Jasmyn Lott is a key, experienced roster piece while Maia Rosarion is a very nice transfer from Nevada and Morehead State. If role players like Sydni Summers can continue to develop, this UNLV team can be scary. New Mexico can also be towards the top. Mila Reynolds is a strong 6-foot-3 paint protector. Gracy Wernli and Drew Jordon can provide more perimeter depth for the Lobos. While this New Mexico team is very talented, it’s very young with five players listed as underclassmen. If these young players can develop throughout conference play this will be a very fun Lobos team to watch. Other teams like Grand Canyon, Hawaii and UC Davis can potentially compete, but it’ll be very hard to tell with all the realignment this conference saw.
