By Richard Adragna
James Madison (19-2, 11-0): Nationally ranked at No. 25 on the AP poll, the Dukes keep rolling through the competition as they remain undefeated in conference play, thanks to stellar performances by Lesley Dickinson and Meredith Alexis. After dispatching rivals Old Dominion and William & Mary, they face an out-of-conference match-up with Longwood before a date with VCU.
Delaware (19-3, 10-1): The Blue Hens have been dominant in their last two games against Georgia State and VCU, with senior guard Tyresa Smith leading the charge. The Blue Hens will face George Mason and third-place Old Dominion this week.
Old Dominion (13-8, 9-1): The Lady Monarchs rebounded from a tough loss to top-ranked James Madison to cruise to a convincing victory at Hofstra, thanks to a stellar performance by T.J. Jordan. ODU will face a lowly Northeastern team in the coming week.
Hofstra (16-6, 6-5): Despite a strong performance by Lana Harshaw and leadership by Vanessa Gidden, the Pride came up short against Old Dominion after defeating Northeastern, proof of their inconsistency against higher-ranked teams in the conference. Hofstra will take on William & Mary this week.
Towson (15-6, 6-5): The Tigers avenged their defeat to Georgia State with a win over lowly Northeastern. Shanae Baker-Brice and company will conclude their home-stand with a match-up against another conference bottom-feeder in Drexel.
William & Mary (14-8, 6-5): The Tribe defeated Drexel but lost to top-ranked James Madison. Led by scoring leader Kyra Kaylor, they will kick-off a three-game road trip by heading into Hempstead to take on Hofstra.
Georgia State (13-9, 5-6): Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen has been a bright spot for this otherwise mediocre Lady Panthers squad, who recently gained a victory against Towson but fell to Delaware. The Lady Panthers are preparing for their upcoming match-up with UNC-Wilmington.
VCU (11-10, 4-7): The Lady Rams rebounded from a beating administered by Delaware by winning a nail-biter against George Mason. Quanitra Hollingsworth has been a defensive force for VCU while Krystal Vaughn leads the way in the scoring department. They will have their hands full when they go up against top-ranked James Madison on the road.
UNC-Wilmington (7-14, 3-7): After a close win over George Mason, they ended up committing an ignoble act by being lackluster Drexel’s first conference victory this season. Nevertheless, scoring leader Lori Drake and her fellow Seahawks will have to get that bad aftertaste out of their collective mouths as they go up against Georgia State.
George Mason (8-13, 2-9): The Patriots have been on a skid as of late, including a recent loss to VCU. It doesn’t get any better for this team as two of their next three opponents (Delaware and James Madison) are the conferences’ biggest powerhouses of the season.
Northeastern (3-19, 2-9): Things are not going to get any easier for this struggling Huskies squad as they are on a lengthy skid that includes recent losses to Hofstra and Towson. In back-to-back games, they will go up against Old Dominion and James Madison, and will have to face that very same Dukes squad in a span of a week.
Drexel (6-16, 1-10): The Lady Dragons can finally breath a sigh of relief after notching their first conference win against UNC-Wilmington, with scoring leader Gabriela Marginean excelling on both offense and defense to give Drexel the win. The Lady Dragons will head to Towson for a date with the Tigers on Thursday.