• Yale Women's Basketball Schedule

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The 2025-26 Yale women's basketball schedule is a challenging one, including seven games against teams that won 20 or more games last year. The Bulldogs announced the schedule Tuesday. Yale opens the season Friday, Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern at John J. Lee Amphitheater. 

The Bulldogs have 14 regular season Ivy League games, starting on Jan. 3 vs. Brown. Those games provide a chance to earn one of four spots in the Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament – also known, alongside the men's tournament, as Ivy Madness. Ivy Madness determines the men's and women's teams that receive the league's automatic berths in the NCAA Tournaments. It takes place in Ithaca, N.Y., at Cornell's Newman Arena next March.

This is Yale's fourth year with Dalila Eshe as the team's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. Her coaching staff includes assistant coaches Anna Kim, Helen Tau and Hannah Early Vaughn. Jehrin Colbert is the team's director of operations.

Here is a breakdown of Yale's schedule for 2025-26:

The Basics

• Yale's regular-season schedule consists of 27 games. That includes 14 games against Ivy League opponents -- one home and one away against each of the seven other schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Princeton).
   

• The regular-season schedule includes 13 non-conference games. In addition to the Ivy League, Yale plays games against teams from nine other conferences:
  • America East (Bryant Dec. 3)
  • Big 10 Conference (Penn State Nov. 30)
  • Big South (High Point Dec. 20)
  • Colonial Athletic Association (Northeastern Nov. 7, Hofstra Nov. 11, Monmouth Dec. 18)
  • Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Quinnipiac Nov. 18, Rider Dec. 6)
  • NEC (New Haven Dec. 8)
  • Patriot League (Loyola (Md.) Nov. 23, American Nov. 26)
     

• Yale plays games in eight different states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island) and the District of Columbia. Four of Yale's student-athletes have at least one game in their home state this year.
   

• There are 12 home games and 15 road games on the regular season schedule.

Strength of Schedule

• Yale will take on four teams that won 20 or more games last season, playing a total of seven games against those teams.
   
• The Bulldogs play a total of nine games against teams that played in a national postseason tournament in 2024-25. Yale plays seven games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season (two games vs. Columbia, two games vs. Harvard, one game vs. High Point, two games vs. Princeton), one game vs. a team that made the WBIT (Quinnipiac) and one game vs. a team that made the Postseason WNIT (Bryant).
   
• Three of Yale's non-conference opponents finished in the top three of their conference in the regular season in 2024-25.
   
• Four of Yale's opponents finished among the top 75 in the NCAA NET Rankings last year (No. 38 Harvard, No. 42 Columbia, No. 46 Princeton, No. 72 St. John's).

Dates to Celebrate

• On Saturday, Feb. 28 vs. Brown, Yale will celebrate Senior Day, honoring the team's lone senior – guard Kiley Capstraw (West Orange, N.J.).
   
• Yale's full promotional schedule will be announced later.

Postseason

• The Ivy League team that finishes the regular season with the best conference record will be declared the Ivy League champion. The winner of the Ivy League Tournament receives the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
   
• Multiple national postseason women's basketball tournaments are set for 2026:
  • The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Selection Show takes place on Mar. 15. The field of 68 will be announced on that day. Last year, three Ivy League teams made the tournament. Tournament competition starts with the First Four games Mar. 18-19. The first and second rounds take place Mar. 20-23. The Regional Rounds (Sweet 16, Elite Eight) take place Mar. 27-30 in Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.  The Final Four and Championship take place Apr. 3 and 5 at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Ariz.
  • The Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), which the NCAA added in 2024, continues. It includes 32 teams. 
  • The Postseason WNIT has continued as a 48 team tournament each of the past two years.

Follow Along 

• Live stats and video of all home games – and road games where applicable – will be available via links on yalebulldogs.com. All home games, and select road games, will be available on one of ESPN's platforms.
   

• Season tickets are on sale now on yalebulldogs.com.

Yale Women's Basketball season ticket information:

• General Admission
  • $45 (youth/senior/Yale employee)
  • $72 (adult) general admission
• Courtside
  • $90 (youth/senior/Yale employee) 
  • $135 (adult)
     

• The schedule is subject to change. Check yalebulldogs.com for updates.