BRUNSWICK, Maine – The JWU (Providence) women's basketball team capped its historic 2025-26 campaign with a 62-46 loss to the University of Southern Maine in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Friday evening at Morrell Gymnasium on the campus of Bowdoin College. With the loss, the Wildcats close their season with a 23-5 record.

Freshman Tahlia Peña came off the bench and scored a team-high 14 points for the Wildcats. Sophomore and Conference of New England (CNE) First Team selection Brianne Foley filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six boards and five steals while senior Mikayla Caruso closed her career with her sixth double-digit rebound effort of the season and fourth double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).   

JWU shot 23 percent in the opening half and finished the night 20-of-67 from the field (30 pct.) – including just 2-of-20 from downtown. The Huskies (26-2) outrebounded the Wildcats 48-41 and overcame 17 turnovers to advance to the second round, where they will meet the winner of Bowdoin/Emmanuel (MA) on Saturday.

The Wildcats opened the game 3-of-18 shooting and trailed by 10 after one at 18-8. Their offensive struggles continues into the second, resulting in a 34-18 halftime deficit. Caruso paced JWU through the opening 20 minutes with six points and five boards.

The Southern Maine lead swelled to as many as 18 midway through the third (40-22) before the Wildcats closed the half on a 17-5 run to climb to within eight points at 45-37. Peña sparked the run eight points while Foley had a pair of buckets and sophomore Mia Cruz canned a triple.

The Huskies opened the fourth with a quick 5-0 run to push their lead back to 13 at 50-37. Caruso's final points as a Wildcat with 4:29 remaining made it a 10-point game at 56-46, but those also proved to be the final points of the season for the CNE Champions.

Jayce Christopher led Southern Maine with 16 points in 40 minutes of action. Lucy Wiles and Avah Ingalls each chipped in with 11 as the Huskies sank 36 percent of their shots and went 13-of-18 from the charity stripe.