Women's Basketball 2025-26 Season Preview
11/5/2025
Brown women’s basketball is set to begin their 2025-26 season on the road with a matchup against the Belmont Bruins. The Bears are looking to build upon their previous season, with their sights set on Ivy Madness. Elizabeth F. Turner '98 Coaching Chair for Women's Basketball Monique LeBlanc will lead the Bears for her fifth season, with 10 returners rounding out their core.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Brown’s non-conference schedule is action packed, beginning with their season-opening matchup at Belmont on Friday, Nov. 7. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET). Belmont made a historic run last season, playing in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament where they ultimately fell to Minnesota for the title. The Bears will also travel to Baltimore, Md. to take on UMBC on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. Last season UMBC made it to the America East Quarterfinals, falling to No. 2 seeded Vermont. Brown will then make the trip to Washington, D.C. to take on George Washington on Saturday, Dec. 6, with a 1 p.m. tip. The Revolutionaries made it to the second round of the A10 Women’s Basketball Championship last year, where they were defeated by Rhode Island.
The Bears will play five non-conference games at the Pizzitola Sports Center, beginning with their home-opener against Boston University on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. They will host Maine (Nov. 23), New Hampshire (Nov. 25), Monmouth (Dec. 21), and Wheaton (Dec. 29).
Aside from the games highlighted above, Brown will travel to Holy Cross (Nov. 12), Bucknell (Nov. 28), Lehigh (Nov. 30), Stonehill (Dec. 3), and Merrimack (Dec. 9).
IVY LEAGUE SCHEDULE
The Bears will kickoff Ivy League play on Saturday, Jan. 3 when they travel to Yale to take on the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. They will return home to host Penn for Youth and Cub Club Day on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m., before hitting the road to face Cornell (Jan. 17) and Columbia (Jan. 19). Brown will welcome Princeton to the Pizzitola Sports Center on Saturday, Jan. 24 for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. After a five-day break, the Bears will end the month of January with their first back-to-back of the season, traveling to Dartmouth (Jan. 30) before stopping at Harvard (Jan. 31).
The Bears will begin February with a three-game homestand. They will first host Yale (Feb.7) for Alumnae Day and their National Girls and Women in Sports Day Game, before another back-to-back with Dartmouth (Feb. 13) and Harvard (Feb 14, Pink Out and Play 4 Kay Game). On Saturday, Feb. 21 Brown will travel to Princeton to take on the Tigers at Jadwin Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. Brown will close out February with their final two home games of the regular season. The Bears will welcome Cornell for their Mental Health Awareness Game on Feb. 27, and will host Columbia for Senior Day on Feb. 28.
Brown will close out their regular season at Penn on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 2 p.m.
COACHING STAFF UPDATES
Head Coach Monique LeBlanc announced the finalization of her coaching staff in the offseason. Devon Quattrocchi and Jason Pellum join Tyler Patch as assistant coaches, while Logan Hatch joins the staff as an Operations Coordinator.
Read more about the coaching staff here.
KEY RETURNERS
Brown returns 10 players from their previous season: Ada Anamekwe, Grace Arnolie, Mady Calhoun, Sela Klein, Mackenzie Leahy, Alyssa Moreland, Beth Nelson, Aima Ofunrein, Gia Powell, and Olivia Young.
Senior guard Arnolie was named Second Team All-Ivy, CSC Academic All-District, and was named Ivy League Player of the Week last season. She reached 1,000 career points on Jan. 20 against Cornell. Arnolie led the team in scoring, and ranked sixth in the Ivy League averaging 14.8 points per game. She led the Bears, and sat fourth in the conference with 3.7 assists per game, and had the second-highest free throw percentage in the Ivy League at .853. Arnolie finished fourth in the conference with 1.7 three-pointers per game. She scored a career-high 35 points, 10 field goals, and 13 free throws against Yale (Jan. 11), and recorded a career-high eight assists at Providence (Dec. 7).
Senior forward Moreland appeared in 13 games, making 10 starts while averaging 23.9 minutes of playing time. She closed out the season with a .413 field goal percentage, and a .581 free throw percentage. Moreland averaged 7.3 points per game, and recorded 16 assists, 35 steals, and four blocks. She had two 20-point games at Dartmouth (Jan. 25) and against Penn (Jan. 31), also posting double-doubles. Moreland scored a career-high 25 points and 10 field goals against Penn (Jan. 31), and made a career-high seven free throws at Dartmouth (Jan. 25).
Senior forward Nelson was named CSC Academic All-District last season, appearing in all 27 games while starting in 10. She averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Nelson finished the season with a .333 field goal percentage and .311 three-point percentage. She assisted on 33 baskets, and recorded 14 steals and 12 blocks. Nelson scored a career-high 13 points, four field goals, and three triples at Penn (Feb. 15). She made a career-high five free throws against Yale (Jan. 11) , and set a career-high three steals and three blocks at Dartmouth (Jan. 25) and against Cornell (Jan. 20) respectively. Nelson logged a career-high of 38 minutes twice this season.
Sophomore forward Ofunrein was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week once last season. She appeared in 25 games, starting in two while averaging 15.1 minutes per game. Ofunrein averaged 6.1 points per game, shooting .520 from the field and .694 from the free throw line. She posted 3.2 rebounds, seven assists, 17 steals, and six blocks.
Junior guard Young was named CSC Academic All-District last season, appearing in 27 games with 23 starts. She netted an average of 6.1 points per game, and finished the season with .327 field goal, .325 three point, .731 free throw percentages. Young averaged 3.7 rebounds per game. She closed out the season with 28 assists, 15 steals, and 15 blocks. Young hit her career-high of five three-pointers against Yale (Jan. 11), and posted a career-high four assists against Penn (Jan. 31).
NEWCOMERS
Brown adds six newcomers to the roster: Charlotte Adams-Lopez, Charlotte Climenhage, Lindsay Harzich, Morgan Ross, Isabella Wesley, and Monet Witherspoon.
An in-depth look at the newcomers can be found here.
