Less than four weeks away from the coveted month of March in college basketball, it’ll be a fight ‘til the end for the women in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Every week, The Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff will vote on all 15 teams in the conference to see where they’re standing.
For the first time in 2025, here’s how the rankings turned out:
15th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (5-16, 1-10)
Pushing their losing streak to seven, the Bonnies dropped two games at home, a 67-58 loss to La Salle University and an 80-46 loss to Duquesne University. This marks the fourth time this season the Bonnies have lost by 34 points or more against an A-10 opponent.
While their upcoming matchup with George Washington University this week may prove to be competitive, as GW is at the bottom of the A-10 standings, it’ll take an effort to pull out a win against the University of Massachusetts, who’s on a three-game winning streak.
14th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (8-13, 1-9)
If there’s anything to take away from the Revolutionaries’ eight-game losing streak, it’s their stagnant offense. Their only A-10 win of the season so far was a 65-54 score over La Salle, who sits directly below them in offensive rankings at 13.
In their recent four game stretch, the Revolutionaries have scored 56 points or below, with their most recent contest being their second-lowest scoring game of the season, a 57-42 loss to Saint Joseph’s University.
Before they take on the Bonnies to see which team will snap their losing skid, GW will take on Fordham University at home.
13th Place: La Salle University Explorers (8-16, 2-9)
Last week, the Explorers broke a nine-game losing streak of their own, but with a 60-50 loss against UMass and an upcoming matchup against the top-seeded University of Richmond, things aren’t looking great. La Salle sits in the bottom three of both offense and defense in the A-10.
The lack of scoring depth will hurt against two top five offensive teams in Richmond and Saint Louis University this week. The Explorers will have to hope they’ll get more 20-point contributions from first-year Joan Quinn, otherwise the rest of their roster will have to step up.
12th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (11-11, 3-8)
The Ramblers’ three A-10 wins on the season are to bottom five teams in the standings, which puts them here. While their overall record may indicate potential for the Ramblers, their numbers against A-10 opponents say otherwise.
Their most recent loss, a close 67-64 score against University of Dayton, may be a good sign moving forward, but it’s the only competitive loss they’ve had to an A-10 team all season. They’ve lost by 15 points or more to seven other A-10 opponents. Their upcoming contests with Davidson College and SJU will prove to test the Ramblers’ legitimacy this season.
11th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (9-14, 3-7)
There’s no question that the Billikens’ defense has been their weakest factor all season, but it’s also inconsistencies that make this team confusing. Yes, the Billikens sit last in the A-10, allowing an average of 76.5 points per game, but they also are top five offensively.
This makes some of the earlier games in the season all the more frustrating, including losses to the Bonnies and Ramblers and wins against Fordham University and Davidson. In those two wins, the Billikens held both teams under 53 points. For now, as the Billikens fight to find their footing, it’s unclear whether or not this team can turn things around come March.
10th Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (10-13, 4-7)
Three straight losses to solid teams in heavy contention for the fourth double bye spot in the A-10 is telling as to where the Rams fit in the mix this season. And, unfortunately for the Rams, things won’t get better when they face the second-best offense in the conference in George Mason University this week.
Similar to Saint Louis, VCU has had some highs this season, defeating Duquesne University and SJU last month. However, its top-five defense cannot make up for its bottom-two offense in the conference, giving the edge to similarly-matched teams in its contests.
9th Place: Fordham University Rams (12-9, 6-4)
Finally reaching the teams with winning records against A-10 opponents, Fordham has only recently shown its weaknesses this season after winning six of their first eight conference matchups. Last week, the Rams had their lowest scoring game of the season by far, a 53-35 loss to the University of Rhode Island.
On top of that, a 59-53 overtime loss to Saint Louis makes a worrisome pattern for the Rams, especially considering they had only scored 23 points at the 30 minute mark of the game. Despite fifth-year guard Taylor Donaldson ranking third in scoring in the A-10, the Rams’ offense still needs to be better in order to stand out among a stacked conference.
8th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (11-11, 6-4)
Davidson is an all-in-all middle of the pack team, with their seventh ranked offense and eighth ranked defense in the A-10. After starting out their conference play with a four-game winning streak, the Wildcats went on a three-game skid, snapping it last week with a 54-51 win over VCU.
In their last three contests, the Wildcats have scored 54 points or below. This week, they will have the chance to bounce back against Loyola Chicago and UMass.
7th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (11-12, 6-4)
Despite a promising first half for the Rams that had them within six points of the Spiders, they were handed a 79-56 defeat in Richmond. A top three in the A-10’s defensive rankings, that was the most points URI has allowed an opponent to score this season.
This upcoming week in the Ryan Center will be a test for the Rams with a rematch against Duquesne, who took down URI 77-64 on Jan. 19. Following that, they face an evenly-matched opponent in Dayton.
6th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutewomen (12-10, 7-4)
The Minutewomen have jumped three games above .500 in the A-10 in their recent contests. Third-year forward Megan Olbrys, who recently won A-10 Player of the Week, has contributed to the success of the team, scoring 17 points in their latest matchup, a 60-50 win over La Salle.
While their contest with the Bonnies this week shouldn’t be much of a challenge, the Minutewomen will have to test their team’s depth against Davidson.
5th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (15-6, 6-4)
Following three straight losses at the start of conference play, the Dukes have been a threat during this recent stretch. In their four straight wins, they’ve won by a margin of at least 10 points. Additionally, all four conference losses have been within nine points.
The Dukes are statistically the best offensive team in the A-10, with fourth-year guard Megan McConell leading scoring in the conference, averaging 18.6 points per game. If the Dukes, who are giving up an average of 65.0 points per game, can clean up their defense, they are sure to claim the last double bye.
4th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (13-9, 7-4)
The last of the teams fighting for the double bye, the Flyers are a solid team, but just not on the same level of the top three teams in the A-10. It’s a tight matchup for the fourth spot, but what makes the Flyers stand out is their ability to find ways to win.
Fourth-year guard Ivy Wolf sits at fourth in the A-10 in scoring, and fourth-year forward Arianna Smith is also in fourth for rebounding. With their contributions, the Flyers have put themselves in a solid position heading into the final month of the season.
3rd Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (18-4, 9-2)
Why are the top three teams in a different league than the others? Because the two conference losses the Hawks have suffered were within seven points, and they have the best defense.
Three of the seven contests the Hawks have left before the A-10 Championships are against the top two seeded teams, which will test their resilience down the stretch. In the Hawks’ first matchup against George Mason earlier this season, they earned the closely-contested 61-55 win.
2nd Place: George Mason University Patriots (19-3, 9-2)
On a seven-game winning streak, the Patriots have not faltered since their loss to Richmond on Jan. 8. In their last three contests, they’ve outscored their opponents 257-156. They hold the second spot in both offense and defense in the A-10.
The Patriots are on track to have their second consecutive 20-win season with seven games left. The only question now is which top three spot the Patriots will land in.
1st Place: University of Richmond Spiders (18-5, 9-1)
Since their 80-78 loss to Fordham, the Spiders have won eight straight and show no signs of slowing down. In their last five wins, they’ve scored at least 75 points each game.
The Spiders’ most recent contest against URI proves this team finds ways to win, even if they have to go on runs down the stretch. It will take an extremely hard-fought contest to take down the Spiders on their hot streak.