Women’s C-USA tournament preview
The women’s 2026 C-USA conference tournament starts March 10, so let’s take a look at where every team stands heading into the bracket.
The frontrunner
The undisputed frontrunners are the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters who currently sit with an overall record of 24-5 and a conference record of 17-1.
LA Tech leads the conference in total offense with an average of 74.8 points per game while also showcasing a very solid defense that allows just 59.7 points per game, the third least in the conference.
This has resulted in an overall margin of +15.1, over eight more points than any other team. The team succeeds through a number of ways including their shooting, as they have shot at a total field goal percentage of 45%, the very best in the conference.
They also excel at shooting, and defending, the three ball. They have shot at a clip of 34.9% from downtown, the second highest in the conference, while also allowing their opponent to shoot at just a clip of 28.9%, the second lowest in the conference.
Something else that LA Tech has done excellently with this season is not turning the ball over, finishing the regular season with a turnover margin of 4.07, the second best margin in the conference. They also finished with the best assist to turnover ratio in the conference with a ratio of 1.01.
This makes sense considering the fact that the Lady Techsters average 16.7 assists per game, the most in the conference.
The team is led by guard Paris Bradley who has scored 14.4 points and obtained 1.9 steals per game, both the fifth-best marks in the conference. This is helped out by her shooting from the charity stripe, sitting at a clip of 81.7%, the third-highest mark in the conference.
Bradley is complimented by sharp shooting guard Jianna Morris who averages 2.7 threes a game, shooting at a clip of 36.1% from beyond the arc, both of those stats are good for the second best in the conference.
The team, however, really ran through their excellent ball movement, as three Lady Techsters average over 2.7 assists per game and sit inside the top eight in the C-USA for that statistic. The trio is led by guard Joy Madison-Key who leads the team with 3.6 assists per game.
The team is also anchored down low by forward Jordan Marshall who leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 rebounds per outing. To summarize, this team is great and the tournament is theirs to lose.
Contender
The FIU Panthers are seen by many as the team with the best shot to knock off LA Tech. This belief stems from the electric offense that has put up a conference second-best 70.1 points per game.
The team finished with an overall record of 19-10 and a conference record of 12-6, having won five of their last six matchups. The team shoots at a very effective clip of 40.6% and doesn’t turn the ball over all that much, ending the regular season with a turnover margin of 3.76, the third best margin in the conference. On defense, they’re very sneaky, racking up 11.79 steals per game, the second most in the C-USA.
However, this team revolves around two people and that is the guard tandem of Rhema Collins and Parris Atkins, who both sit inside the top three of the conference in scoring. Collins leads the team with 17.2 points per game, while Atkins sits just below her with an average of 16.7.
They achieve this through excellent shooting, as Collins shot at a clip of 45.5%, the fourth highest in the conference, while Atkins shot at a clip of 37.4%, the eight- highest mark in the conference.
Collins also holds things down in the paint, leading the team with nine rebounds a game, the third most in the conference. Guard Grecia Ferrer Leal facilitates it all, leading the team in assists with 3.7 of them per contest, the fifth most in the conference.
On the defensive side, it’s Collins and Atkins as well who run things, as Collins has racked up 1.6 blocks per game, the second most in the conference, and Atkins who has averaged 2.9 steals per outing, also the second most in the conference.
Potential dark horse
The Liberty Flames are the team who I’m picking as the most likely to shock the conference, as the team finished with a 17-12 overall record and a conference record of 11-7. The Flames are a rather balanced team when it comes to offensive and defensive efficiency, scoring 63.7 points per game and allowing 60.1 per outing, the fourth lowest in the conference.
It’s the field goal percentages that mainly makes them so dangerous, shooting at a clip of 42.7%, the third highest in the conference, and allowing an opponent field goal percentage of just 37.6%, the lowest in the conference.
Their three point shooting makes them even more dangerous, shooting at a clip of 35.5% from beyond the arc, the very highest in the conference, while also allowing their opponents to shoot at just a clip of 29.6%, the fourth lowest in the conference.
Their rebounding is also a highlight, averaging 38.4 rebounds a game, the third most in the conference, while allowing just 31.2 rebounds to their opponent each contest, the lowest in the conference.
They also know how to share the ball, coming into the tournament averaging 13.45 assists per game as a team, the third most in the conference.
The team is led in the scoring department by guard Avery Mills and center Emmy Stout. Mills averages 15.3 points per game, the fourth most in the conference, shooting at a clip of 42.7%, the fifth best in the conference, and shooting at an astounding clip of 42.6% from downtown, by far the best in the conference. She also averages 3.1 threes a game, also the most in the conference.
Stout is just as impressive, scoring 13.8 points per contest, the ninth most in the conference while shooting at a 51.5% clip, the second highest mark in the conference. Forward Ify Nwaobi also makes waves in the paint leading both the team and conference in rebounding with 9.6 boards a game. She also leads the team in blocks with 1.3 a game, the fourth most in the conference.
The ball is facilitated by guard Claudia Acin who leads the team with 4.1 assists per game, the fourth most in the conference, finishing the regular season with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.8, the second best ratio in the C-USA.
Prediction and schedule
Honestly, I believe that the sharp shooting of Liberty will carry them to an upset conference championship as they shock the rest of the conference. Game one of the tournament kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on March 10 between Kennesaw State and Delaware before game two kicks off at 2:00 between UTEP and Jacksonville State.