Charleston Women's Basketball Wins CAA Tournament

The College of Charleston women’s basketball team (27-5, 16-2) pulled away in the third quarter as the Cougars defeated Hofstra (11-22, 6-12) by a final of 68-56 in the Credit Union 1 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship game at CareFirst Arena on Sunday, March 15.

With the win, Charleston earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will play in the first round on Friday, March 20. They will travel to Durham, North Carolina, to take on No. 3 Duke. The Cougars will be a No. 14 seed for tournament while the Blue Devils received a No. 3 draw.

The Cougars are paired with No. 6 Baylor, and the winner of the first four matchup between No. 11 Nebraska/No. 11 Richmond. on their side of the bracket. The winner will advance to the Sacramento Regional beginning on March 27.

Charleston enters the tournament with an overall record of 27-5 and is on a five-game winning streak after securing the CAA title in Washington, D.C., with a 68-56 win over Hofstra. Those interested in tickets can click here and fill out this form.

“I’m extremely proud and happy for our kids,” head coach Robin Harmony says. “Our staff and our players worked extremely hard all year long, and to see everything come together and for us to win two championships is an amazing feeling. We got the job done today and we’re not done yet. We want more.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hofstra hit a three to take an 8-7 lead, but Taryn Barbot hit two triples and Charleston closed the quarter on an 11-3 run to take a seven point advantage (18-11) into the second quarter.
• After Taylor Barbot hit a mid-range jumper to open the second, Hofstra scored the games’ next nine points and outscored the Cougars 22-10 in the rest of the period as the Pride took a 33-30 edge into the break.
• Taryn Barbot scored six early third quarter points as Charleston scored the first 14 points of the third to take a 44-33 advantage at the media timeout.
• The Cougars and Pride traded buckets for the rest of the period and CofC took a 51-40 lead into the last 10 minutes.
• Jami Hill drilled a corner three to put the Cougars in front 60-44 as she forced a Hofstra timeout with 6:56 left in the game.
• Hofstra cut the Cougars lead to nine, but another Jami Hill three extended CofC’s lead back to 12 (66-54) with 2:50 left to play.
• From there, the Cougars never allowed the Pride to get within 10, and Charleston defeated Hofstra 68-56 to win the CAA Championship and earn and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

LEADING COUGARS

• Junior Taryn Barbot added a game-high 23 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. She also hit four triples against the Pride.
• Junior Taylor Barbot recorded 16 points, eight assists and three steals.
• Junior Jami Hill tallied 14 points and hit four threes.
• Junior Grace Ezebilo recorded her ninth double-double of the year with her 10 point, 16 rebound performance. Sunday was her 24th double-digit rebounding game of the 2025-26 season.

KEY STATS

• The Cougars forced 13 Hofstra turnovers.
• Charleston outrebounded Hofstra 42-34.
• The Cougars outscored the Pride 21-7 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
• Four different Cougars scored in double figures.
• CofC scored 12 second chance points compared to the Pride’s four.

OF NOTE

• Taryn Barbot was named the CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Performer and made the All-Tournament Team. Taylor Barbot and Ezebilo also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
• Charleston is the first No. 1 seed since 2017 to win the CAA Championship.
• The 2026 NCAA Tournament will be the College of Charleston women’s basketball team’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
• The 2026 NCAA Tournament will be the Cougars’ eighth postseason tournament appearance in Charleston’s D1 era. CofC previously made the Women’s Basketball Invitational on five different occasions and competed in the WNIT the last two seasons.
• The Cougars will be the only team in the 68 team field who will be competing in their first NCAA Tournament.
• Taryn Barbot scored her 1,679th career point as a Cougar and became the all-time Division I scoring leader in Charleston program history. She’s also fourth on Charleston’s all-time scoring list in all it’s history.
• Ezebilo recorded her 153rd offensive rebound of the season and set the new program record for most offensive rebounds in a single season.
• The Cougars earned their 27th win today. The 27 wins are a new Division I program record.
• Charleston is now 14-9 all-time against Hofstra.

For complete coverage of Charleston women’s basketball, follow on X (@CofCWBB) and Instagram(@CofCWBB) or on the Charleston women’s basketball schedule page at cofcsports.com.

These stories originally appeared on cofcsports.com:

• No. 14 Charleston Matched with No. 3 Duke in NCAA First Round
• Charleston Women’s Basketball Wins CAA Tournament; Earns Automatic Bid to NCAA Tournament