# 2015–16 Northeast Conference women's basketball season

The 2015–16 NEC women's basketball season began with practices in October 2015, followed by the start of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in early January 2016 and concluded in March with the 2016 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament.

## Preseason
### Rankings

| | NEC Coaches Poll |
| 1. | Robert Morris (7) |
| 2. | Bryant (2) |
| 3. | Central Connecticut (1) |
| 4. | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 5. | Sacred Heart |
| 6. | Wagner |
| 7. | Mount St. Mary's |
| 8. | Saint Francis (PA) |
| 9. | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| 10. | LIU Brooklyn |
 first place votes

### All-NEC team

* Coaches Poll
* Hannah Kimmel Sacred Heart
* Erika Livermore Fairleigh Dickinson
* Jasmine Nwajei Wagner
* Breanna Rucker Bryant
* Anna Niki Robert Morris

## 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 | 24 | 345–344 |
| Central Connecticut | Beryl Piper | Central Connecticut | 8 | 112–128 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Peter Cinella | American International College | 8 | 84–154 |
| LIU Brooklyn | Stephanie Oliver | Seton Hall | 0 | 0–0 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Bryan Whitten | Virginia Commonwealth | 8 | 96–145 |
| Robert Morris | Sal Buscaglia | Manhattan | 11 | 188–150 |
| Sacred Heart | Jessica Mannetti | Hofstra | 2 | 28–31 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | John Thurston | Fordham | 3 | 45–49 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Joe Haigh | Saint Francis (PA) | 3 | 38–56 |
| Wagner | Lisa Cermignano | Illinois | 3 | 18–69 |

## Postseason
### NEC tournament

* March 6–13, 2016 Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament.
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 NEC Front Row | Championship Tuesday, March 13 ESPNU | Championship Tuesday, March 13 ESPNU | Championship Tuesday, March 13 ESPNU |
| 1 | Sacred Heart | 66 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Mount St. Mary's | 47 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Mount St. Mary's | 47 | | | 1 | Sacred Heart | 92 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 71 | | | |
| 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 83 | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 71 | | | |
| 5 | Central Connecticut | 77 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Central Connecticut | 77 | | | | | | 1 | Sacred Heart | 51 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Sacred Heart | 51 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 3 | Robert Morris | 56 |
| 2 | Bryant | 70 | | | | | | | | | 3 | Robert Morris | 56 |
| 7 | LIU Brooklyn | 56 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | LIU Brooklyn | 56 | | | 2 | Bryant | 59 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Robert Morris | 72 | | | |
| 3 | Robert Morris | 68 | | | 3 | Robert Morris | 72 | | | |
| 6 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 59 | | | | | | | | |
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 | Bridgeport Regional | Robert Morris | L, 49–101 vs. #16 Connecticut | | | | | |

### National Invitational tournament

| Seed | Bracket | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| | | Sacred Heart | L, 59–95 vs. Drake | | | | |

## Honors and awards

2016 NEC Women's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Hannah Kimmel, SHU |
| Coach of the Year | Jessica Mannetti, SHU |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Leah Fechko, SFBK |
| Rookie of the Year | Jessica Kovatch, SFU |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Alissa Tarsi, SHU |
2016 NEC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Rookie Team |
| Hannah Kimmel, Jr., F., SHU Erika Livermore, Sr., C., FDU Jasmine Nwajei, Jr., G., WC Breanna Rucker, Sr., F., BRYANT Leah Fechko, Sr., G., SFBK | Ivory Bailey, So., G., BRY Kelsey Cruz, Sr., G., FDU Jessica Kovatch, Fr., G., SFU Anna Nicki Stamolamprou, Jr., G., RMU Alissa Tarsi, Sr., F., SHU | Alexis Carter, Jr., G., MSM Shanovia Dove, Jr., G., LIU Camden Musgrave, So., G., CCSU Shanice Vaughn, Sr., G., LIU Tiersa Winder, Sr., G., BRY | Madelynn Comly, Fr., G., FDU Jessica Kovatch, Fr., G., SFU Maria Palarino, Fr., F., SFBK Kierra Palmer, Fr., G., BRY Kiana Patterson, Fr., G., CCSU |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||