WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales went on a tear in conference play this season, winning all but one conference game in the 2024-25 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) season as the Wildcats locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament with a victory over Regis.
JWU went 13-1 in conference play (22-2 overall) and are hoping to claim their first conference title since 2015.
Earning the No. 2 seed in this year's bracket are the reigning back-to-back champion Saint Joseph's (Maine), who put together a 12-2 GNAC (19-6 overall) season.
The Wildcats and the Monks will have to wait to learn their opening matchups as they draw the two winners of the GNAC Play-In Round, which is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 24. The Play-In Round will feature No. 7 seed Emmanuel (8-6 GNAC, 13-12 overall) hosting No. 10 seed Regis (5-9 GNAC, 6-18 overall) and No. 8 seed Elms (6-8 GNAC, 9-16 overall) welcoming No. 9 seed Lasell (6-8 GNAC, 11-14 overall).
The league's tiebreaking procedure was used to determine the home court advantage for the 8/9 play-in spot as the Blazers defeated the Lasers earlier this afternoon to determine home-court for Monday's play-in games.
The Tournament continues on Tuesday, Feb. 25 with the GNAC Quarterfinals. In addition to JWU and SJC, Albertus Magnus (11-3 GNAC, 16-9 overall) and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (11-3 GNAC, 16-9 overall) will also get the opportunity to host quarterfinal matchups as the No. 3 and No. 4 seed, respectively. The Falcons draw No. 6 seed Anna Maria (10-4 GNAC, 15-10 overall), while the Blue Jays matchup with No. 5 seed Rivier(11-3 GNAC, 15-10 overall). The three-way tie between Albertus, USJ, and Rivier was determined from head-to-head competition as the Falcons defeated both the Blue Jays and the Raiders to take the third spot while USJ defeated Rivier to claim fourth.
The four quarterfinal winners will earn the right to compete in the GNAC Semifinals, which are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27. They will be competing for the opportunity to play in the GNAC Championship on Saturday, Mar. 1. The winner of the GNAC Championship game will be named the 2025 GNAC Women's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
2025 GNAC Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Play-In – Monday, Feb. 24
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#7 Emmanuel vs. #10 Regis, 6 p.m.
#8 Elms vs. #9 Lasell, 5 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 25
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#1 Johnson & Wales vs. #8/9 Winner, 6 p.m.
#2 Saint Joseph's (Maine) vs. #7/10 Winner, 5:30 p.m.
#3 Albertus Magnus vs. #6 Anna Maria, 5:30 p.m.
#4 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) vs. #5 Rivier, 5 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 27
(Hosted by higher seeds)
Winner of JWU vs. 8/9 winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD
Winner of Saint Joseph's (Maine) vs. 7/10 winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD
Championship – Saturday, Mar. 1
Semifinal winners, TBD
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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