# 2018–19 Northeast Conference women's basketball season

The 2018–19 NEC women's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January 2019 and concluded in March with the 2019 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament.

## Preseason
### Rankings

| | NEC Coaches Poll |
| 1. | Robert Morris (5) |
| 2. | Saint Francis (PA) (2) |
| 3. | Sacred Heart (3) |
| 4. | Bryant |
| 5. | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| 5. | Mount St. Mary's |
| 7. | LIU Brooklyn |
| 8. | Central Connecticut |
| 9. | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 10. | Wagner |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-NEC team

Source
| Recipient | School |
| Nneka Ezeigbo | Robert Morris |
| Sydney Holloway | Bryant |
| Jade Johnson | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| Jessica Kovatch | Saint Francis (PA) |
| Kiana Patterson | Central Connecticut |

## Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. All numbers are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous school | Seasons at school | Overall record |
| Bryant | Mary Burke | Bryant | 28 | 390–393 |
| Central Connecticut | Beryl Piper | Central Connecticut | 11 | 142–189 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Melissa Brooks | Army | 0 | 0–0 |
| LIU Brooklyn | Stephanie Del Preore | Seton Hall | 3 | 28–62 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Maria Marchesano | IUPUI | 1 | 9–20 |
| Robert Morris | Charlie Buscaglia | Robert Morris | 2 | 47–19 |
| Sacred Heart | Jessica Mannetti | Hofstra | 5 | 79–71 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Linda Cimino | Binghamton | 0 | 0–0 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Susan Robinson Fruchtl | Saint Francis (PA) | | |
| Wagner | Heather Jacobs | Adelphi | 2 | 10–48 |

## NEC regular season
### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week.
| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 12, 2018 | Sydney Holloway, BRY | Brandy Thomas, LIU |
| November 19, 2018 | Katherine Haines, SHU Jade Johnson, SFBK | Emilija Krista Grava, WAG |
| November 26, 2018 | Michaela Harrison, MSM | Michaela Harrison, MSM |
| December 3, 2018 | Juliette Lawless, MSM | Brandy Thomas (2), LIU |
| December 10, 2018 | Kiana Patterson, CCSU | Michaela Harrison (2), MSM |
| December 17, 2018 | Kiana Patterson (2), CCSU | Michaela Harrison (3), MSM |
| December 24, 2018 | Jessica Kovatch, SFU | Isabella Posset, RMU |
| December 31, 2018 | Sydney Holloway (2), BRY | Brandy Thomas (3), LIU |
| January 7, 2019 | Jessica Kovatch (2), SFU | Isabella Posset (2), RMU |
| January 14, 2019 | Katherine Haines (2), SHU | Esther Castedo, RMU |
| January 21, 2019 | Katherine Haines (3), SHU | Michaela Harrison (4), MSM |
| January 28, 2019 | Jessica Kovatch (3), SFU Juliette Lawless , MSM | Michaela Harrison (5), MSM |
| February 4, 2019 | Jessica Kovatch (4), SFU Amy O'Neill, SFBK | Michaela Harrison (6), MSM |
| February 11, 2019 | Jessica Kovatch (4), SFU Taylah Simmons, WAG | Brandy Thomas (4), LIU |
| February 18, 2019 | Jade Johnson (2), SFBK | Brandy Thomas (5), LIU |
| February 27, 2019 | Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU | Brandy Thomas (6), LIU Michaela Harrison (7), MSM |
| March 6, 2019 | Katherine Haines (3), SHU Amy O'Neill (2), SFBK | Ebony Horton, SFBK |

## Postseason
### NEC tournament

* March 11–17, 2019, Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament.
| Quarterfinals Monday, March 11 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Monday, March 11 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Monday, March 11 NEC Front Row | Semifinals Thursday, March 14 ESPN3 | Semifinals Thursday, March 14 ESPN3 | Semifinals Thursday, March 14 ESPN3 | Championship Sunday, March 17 ESPNU | Championship Sunday, March 17 ESPNU | Championship Sunday, March 17 ESPNU |
| 1 | Robert Morris | 64 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 38 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 38 | 1 | Robert Morris | 69 | | | |
| | | | 6 | Mount Saint Mary's | 65 | | | |
| 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 91 | 6 | Mount Saint Mary's | 65 | | | |
| 5 | Bryant | 78 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Bryant | 78 | | | | 1 | Robert Morris | 65 |
| | | | | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 54 |
| 2 | Sacred Heart | 68 | | | | | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 54 |
| 7 | Wagner | 51 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Wagner | 51 | 2 | Sacred Heart | 60 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 68 | | | |
| 3 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 74 | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 68 | | | |
| 6 | Mount St. Mary's | 80 | | | | | | |
All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | 1st round | 2nd round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 16 | Albany | Robert Morris | 34–69 vs. (#1) Louisville – (Louisville, KY) | | | | | |

### National Invitational tournament

| School | 1st round | 2nd round | Quarterfinals | Semifianls | Championship |
| Sacred Heart | 59–90 at. Georgetown – (Washington, D.C.) | | | | |

## All-NEC honors and awards

Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.
| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Jessica Kovatch, SFPA |
| Coach of the Year | Charlie Buscaglia, RMU |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU |
| Rookie of the Year | Brandy Thomas, LIU |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Taylah Simmons, WAG |
| All-NEC First Team | Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU |
| All-NEC First Team | Katherine Haines, SHU |
| All-NEC First Team | Sydney Holloway, BRY |
| All-NEC First Team | Jessica Kovatch, SFPA |
| All-NEC First Team | Amy O’Neill, SFBK |
| All-NEC Second Team | Jade Johnson, SFBK |
| All-NEC Second Team | Juliette Lawless, MSM |
| All-NEC Second Team | Candice Leatherwood, SHU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Kiana Patterson, CCSU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Taylah Simmons, WAG |
| All-NEC Third Team | Adrianne Hagood, SHU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Jeydah Johnson, LIU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Erin Storck, SHU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Brandy Thomas, LIU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Haley Thomas, SFPA |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Emilja Krista Grava, WAG |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Michaela Harrison, MSM |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Ebony Horton, SFBK |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Isabella Posset, RMU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Brandy Thomas, LIU |