# 2018–19 American Athletic Conference women's basketball season

The 2018–19 American Athletic Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January 2018 and will conclude in March with the 2019 American Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

* Cincinnati did not renew the contract of Jamelle Elliott upon its expiration at the end of the 2017–18 season. Michelle Clark-Heard, previously head coach at Western Kentucky, was named as her replacement.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Record at school | AAC record | AAC titles | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Cincinnati | Michelle Clark-Heard | Western Kentucky | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | Geno Auriemma | Virginia (Assistant) | 34 | 1027–135 | 86–0 | 5 | 30 | 19 | 11 |
| East Carolina | Heather Macy | Francis Marion | 9 | 134–117 | 26–42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | Ronald Hughey | Florida State (Assistant) | 5 | 44–79 | 16–52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Memphis | Melissa McFerrin | American | 11 | 164–152 | 37–49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SMU | Travis Mays | Texas (Associate HC) | 3 | 29–35 | 11–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Florida | Jose Fernandez | Barry University | 18 | 335–243 | 66–20 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Temple | Tonya Cardoza | Connecticut (Assistant) | 11 | 200–128 | 47–36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulane | Lisa Stockton | Georgia Tech (Assistant) | 25 | 493–259 | 34–34 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulsa | Matilda Mossman | Norman High School | 8 | 92–123 | 28–40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UCF | Katie Abrahamson-Henderson | Albany | 3 | 43–23 | 21–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita State | Keitha Adams | UTEP | 2 | 14–17 | 9–7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2018–19 season.
* Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2017–18 season.
* NCAA Tournament appearances are from time at current school only.
* NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools

## Preseason
### AAC Women's Basketball Tip-off

Prior to the start of the season, the AAC head coaches voted on the finishing order of the teams, a Preseason All-Conference First Team, Preseason All-Conference Second Team, and a Preseason Player of the Year.
In the vote, all eligible head coaches selected Connecticut to win the 2018–19 season. Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma, barred by conference rules from voting for his own team, voted for South Florida.

#### AAC preseason poll

* 2018 AAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
* Head coaches
* UConn – 121 (11)
* USF – 111 (1)
* Houston – 95
* UCF – 92
* Cincinnati – 74
* Temple – 72
* SMU – 55
* ECU – 46
* Tulane – 42
* Wichita State – 35
* Memphis – 25
* Tulsa – 24
Note: First Place votes shown in.

#### Preseason All-AAC Teams

2018 AAC Women's Basketball Preseason All-AAC Teams :
| Preseason All-Conference First Team | Preseason All-Conference Second Team |
| Napheesa Collier – UConn Crystal Dangerfield – UConn Katie Lou Samuelson – UConn Jasmyne Harris – Houston Kitija Laksa – USF | Angela Harris – Houston Laura Ferreira – USF Alicia Froling – SMU Alliya Butts – Temple Mia Davis – Temple |

#### Preseason AAC Player of the Year

* 2018 AAC Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
* Head coaches
* Katie Lou Samuelson – UConn

## Regular season
### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
* First Place votes shown in
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Cincinnati | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cincinnati | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Connecticut | AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 3 (3) | 3 (1) | 3 (1) | 2 (2) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Connecticut | C | 2 (2) | 2 | 2 (1) | 2 | 1 (31) | 1 (32) | 1 (32) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 3 (6) | 4 (4) | 2 (4) | 2 (11) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| East Carolina | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| East Carolina | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Houston | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Houston | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Memphis | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Memphis | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SMU | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SMU | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | AP | 22 | 21 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | C | 21 | 21 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Temple | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Temple | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulane | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulane | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UCF | AP | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | |
| UCF | C | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |
| Wichita State | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wichita State | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: The Coaches Poll releases a final poll after the NCAA tournament, but the AP Poll does not release a poll at this time.

### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.
| | Cincinnati | Connecticut | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | Wichita State |
| vs. Cincinnati | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Connecticut | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. East Carolina | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Houston | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Memphis | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. SMU | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. South Florida | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Temple | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Tulane | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Tulsa | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. UCF | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 |
| vs. Wichita State | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – |
| Total | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the American Athletic Conference offices named a Player(s) of the week and a Rookie(s) of the week.
| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week | Reference |

## Postseason
### AAC tournament

| First round Friday, March 8 | First round Friday, March 8 | First round Friday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Saturday, March 9 | Quarterfinals Saturday, March 9 | Quarterfinals Saturday, March 9 | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 | Championship Game Monday, March 11 | Championship Game Monday, March 11 | Championship Game Monday, March 11 |
| | | | 1 | Connecticut | 92 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | East Carolina | 65 | | | | | | |
| 8 | East Carolina | 50* | 8 | East Carolina | 65 | | | | | | |
| 9 | SMU | 48 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | SMU | 48 | | | | 1 | Connecticut | 81 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | South Florida | 45 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston | 55 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | South Florida | 72 | | | | | | |
| 5 | South Florida | 61 | 5 | South Florida | 72 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Tulane | 52 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Tulane | 52 | | | | | | | 1 | Connecticut | 66 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | UCF | 45 |
| | | | 2 | UCF | 66 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Tulsa | 54 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Tulsa | 61 | 7 | Tulsa | 54 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Wichita State | 50 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Wichita State | 50 | | | | 2 | UCF | 66 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Cincinnati | 58 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Cincinnati | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Memphis | 48 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Temple | 58 | 11 | Memphis | 48 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Memphis | 59 | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 2 | Albany | Connecticut | W 110–61 vs. #15 Towson – (Stoors) | W 84–72 vs. #10 Buffalo – (Stoors) | W 69–61 vs. #6 UCLA – (Albany) | W 80–73 vs. #1 Louisville – (Albany) | L 76–81 vs. #1 Notre Dame – (Tampa) | |
| 11 | Portland | UCF | L 45–60 vs. #5 Arizona State – (Coral Gables) | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 1–1 (.500) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) Total: 4–2 (.667) |

### National Invitation tournament

| School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| Cincinnati | W 76–62 vs. Youngstown State – (Cincinnati) | W 72–65 vs. Minnesota – (Cincinnati) | W 72–65 vs. Butler – (Cincinnati) | L 55–69 vs. TCU – (Fort Worth) | | |
| Houston | L 80–88 (OT) vs. Arkansas – (Fayetteville) | | | | | |
| South Florida | W 84–50 vs. Stetson – (Tampa) | L 54–71 vs. James Madison – (Harrisburg) | | | | |
| W–L (%): | 2–1 (.667) | 1–1 (.500) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 4–3 (.571) |

## Honors and awards
### AAC Awards

2018 AAC Women's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Napheesa Collier, Connecticut |
| Coach of the Year | Geno Auriemma, Connecticut |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Napheesa Collier, Connecticut |
| Freshman of the Year | Christyn Williams, Connecticut |
| Newcomer of the Year | Florence Sifa, Cincinnati |
| Sixth Player of the Year | Kayla Thigpen, South Florida |
| Most Improved Player | Krystal Freeman, Tulane |
2018 AAC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Freshman Team |
| Napheesa Collier, Connecticut Crystal Dangerfield, Connecticut Mia Davis, Temple Katie Lou Samuelson, Connecticut IImar’I Thomas, Cincinnati Kay Kay Wright, UCF | Dorian Branch, Houston Alliya Butts, Temple Krystal Freeman, Tulane Antoinette Miller, Cincinnati Enna Pehadžić, South Florida | Alicia Froling, SMU Angela Harris, Houston Lashonda Monk, East Carolina Crystal Polk, Tulsa Megan Walker, Connecticut | Carla Bremaud, Wichita State Sydni Harvey, South Florida Dynah Jones, Tulane Jamirah Shutes, Memphis Kayla White, SMU Christyn Williams, Connecticut |

## WNBA draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position | School |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | Chicago Sky | 1 | 4 | G/F | Connecticut |
| Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | 1 | 6 | F | Connecticut |