BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Long Island University women's basketball team closed out its season after reaching the championship game of the NEC Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday, March 15, falling to FDU 79-57.
Senior Kadidia Toure led all scorers with 28 points in the loss, her 17th 20-plus point game of the season, while graduate student Hannah Humphrey and junior Solangelei Akridge each finished with eight points. Toure and graduate student Kionna Gaines tied for a team-high nine rebounds, while freshman Leila Nuñez led the Sharks with two blocks and two steals.
LIU closes its season with a 21-11 overall record, posting a 14-4 mark in NEC play and finishing third in the NEC standings, the program's best finish in the Sharks era and the program's best conference finish since the 2009-10 season (second).
LIU's 21 wins are tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history, the most since the 2011-12 campaign, and the most in the Sharks era of the program. LIU's 14 NEC wins are tied with the 2009-10 season for the second-most in a single season in program history, and the most in the Sharks era.
The Sharks opened the NEC Women's Basketball Tournament with a 99-77 win over No. 6 seed Chicago State University, following that up with an 82-64 road win over No. 2 Mercyhurst University in the semifinals. With the win, LIU advanced to its fifth NEC championship game in program history, making its first appearance since the 2009-10 season.
With on-court success, several Sharks received weekly awards throughout the 2025-26 season; Toure received three NEC Player of the Week honors and was a 16-time NEC Prime Performer, while junior Janessa Williams (six), Akridge (two), Gaines (one), and junior Laura Molnarova (one) all received NEC Prime Performer honors this winter.
Additionally, Toure received Player of the Week awards from both the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (Jan. 13) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (Jan. 14).
The Sharks had an impressive showing in the end-of-season NEC awards, as Toure received both NEC Player of the Year and NEC Newcomer of the Year major awards, while also receiving First-Team All-NEC and All-Defensive Team selections. Additionally, Williams received a spot on the First-Team All-NEC list.
LIU led the NEC in several statistical categories this winter, including blocks per game (4.2, 49th in Division I), free throw attempts/makes per game (19.13/14.03), defensive rebounds per game (26.4), and scoring offense (70.8 points per game).
Additionally, LIU student-athletes led in several individual categories; Toure led the NEC in points per game (19.2), rebounds per game (10.4), blocks per game (1.4), while Akridge led the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9).
