But that doesn’t mean the Raiders’ path will be easy.
They start the tourney at second-seeded Youngstown State (22-8) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. But fifth-year coach Kari Hoffman doesn’t think that game is as daunting as it looks.
“We were up 16 on them in the third,” she said, noting how a seemingly sure home win dissolved into loss after injuries that day to stars Claire Henson and Abbie Riddle.
“Literally, we can beat anyone. And I think our team is poised for some March Madness.”
The Raiders, though, aren’t going into the tourney with much momentum. They’re coming off a 62-50 loss Saturday at Robert Morris and have dropped their last three games to finish 10-21.
But they’ve won an opening-round game each of the last three seasons, including a 73-58 victory over Youngstown State last year when Amaya Staton snagged a Horizon League-record 27 rebounds.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
“We’ve played everybody in our league really well. We’ve been in every one of those games. I think everybody in the league feels that way about everyone else,” Hoffman said.
The league has a new format. Ten teams play in the “quarterfinals,” and five advance to Indianapolis. The four and five seeds have a “second-round” game to join the top three teams in the semifinals.
“There’s just a lot of parity. I told our staff, ‘The Horizon League tournament is going to be crazy.’ The five teams who make it to Indy, I’m not sure anyone can guess who those teams are right now because anything can happen,” Hoffman said.
The Raiders won league tourney titles in 2021, 2019 and 2014.
They beat No. 4 seed Arkansas, 66-62, in the 2021 NCAA tournament.
“I think it’s going to be really competitive. (The thought is,) why not us? And it SHOULD be us,” Hoffman said.
“I truly believe we’re in the running no matter where people see us in the standings or what our record shows.”
Doing it all: The Raiders’ Lauren Scott was named to the five-member Horizon League all-academic team, which requires at least a 3.2 GPA. The grad student from Worthington, Ohio, earned district academic honors last year and league academic recognition in 2023-24.
She’s the granddaughter of College Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams.
Next game
Who: No. 9 Wright State at No. 2 Youngstown State
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Streaming: ESPN+
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