ERIE, Pa. — The Long Island University women's basketball team (20-10, 14-4 NEC), the No. 3 seed in the NEC Women's Basketball Tournament, continues its conference tournament run on Thursday, traveling to take on No. 2 seed Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
LIU enters Thursday's game after defeating No. 6 seed Chicago State University 99-77 in the NEC tournament quarterfinals, giving LIU its first win in the NEC tournament since 2018. The 99 points scored by LIU are the most in the Sharks era of the program, and the most in a game by LIU since 2002. Graduate student Hannah Humphrey led LIU with 27 points, while senior Kadidia Toure (26) and graduate student Kionna Gaines (23) both scored 20-plus points in the win.
Mercyhurst defeated No. 7 seed Stonehill College 70-64 in the quarterfinals. The Sharks and Lakers split their regular season series, with LIU winning 86-81 on the road on Jan. 8 and Mercyhurst winning 58-55 in Brooklyn on Feb. 21.
Thursday's game will be televised digitally on ESPN+, with Paul Dottino (play-by-play) and Pam Roecker (analyst) on the call. The winner of Thursday's game advances to Sunday's NEC Championship Game, facing the winner of No. 1 seed FDU and No. 5 seed Le Moyne College.
Tip-off between LIU and Mercyhurst is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Quick Facts
-LAKER HISTORY: Thursday matchup will be the 5th matchup in program history against the Lakers, with Mercyhurst holding a 3-1 lead in the all-time record. LIU split with the Lakers in the regular season, winning 86-81 on the road on Jan. 8 and falling 58-55 at home on Feb. 21.
-LAST TIME OUT: LIU won its first NEC tournament game since 2018 on Monday, defeating Chicago State 99-77 in Brooklyn. LIU's 99 points are the most in a game in the Sharks era of the program. Hannah Humphrey led LIU with 27 points, while Kadidia Toure (26) and Kionna Gaines (23) each scored 20-plus. The last time LIU scored 90-plus points was in the 2001-02 season (90, 2/4/02 vs FDU).
-CONFERENCE-HIGHS: LIU finished the regular season leading the conference in PPG (70), blocks per game (4), free throw attempts/made per game (18.93/13.83), defensive rebounds (26.3), and three-point percentage defense (27.7).
-NEC AWARDS: Kadidia Toure earned NEC Player of the Year honors on Monday, becoming the third recipient in program history (Tamika Dudley, 2001-02; Valerie Nainima, 2006-07). Toure also received NEC Newcomer of the Year, 1st Team All-NEC, and All-Defensive Team honors. Janessa Williams was named 1st Team All-NEC, marking time since 2001 that LIU has had two 1st-Team All-NEC honorees.
-CONFERENCE PLAY: LIU's 14 NEC wins are tied for the second-most NEC wins in program history (2009-10), and the most since LIU won 15 NEC games in the 2006-07 season. With the win over Le Moyne on Jan. 15, LIU set a new program-best start to NEC play (5-0). LIU's last double-digit NEC win season was 2011-12.
-STACKING WINS: This year's LIU team reached double-digit wins for the first time in the Sharks era of the program, and the first time since the 2017-18 season. LIU earned its 10th win of the season when it defeated Le Moyne 79-68 on Jan. 15.
-EYES ON TOURE: Kadidia Toure, a senior forward for the Sharks with previous stops at James Madison and Arizona State, led the NEC in PPG (18.8), RPG (10), and blocks (1.4) per game during the regular season. The Silver Spring, Maryland native has received Player of the Week honors from the NEC (3x), Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, and the US Basketball Writers Association.
-1st YEAR SUCCESS: LIU hired head coach Neil Harrow in April 2025 after recent stops at James Madison University and in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks. In his first season in Brooklyn, Harrow set a new program record for most wins by a first-year head coach (20; Previous best, 16 by Anthony Bozzella in 2000-01).
