A year ago, Elizabeth City State won its first CIAA women’s basketball tournament by defeating Shaw in the final.

The tournament returns to Baltimore this week, with play beginning Monday evening. Here’s what you need to know about each team.

Fayetteville State

24-2 overall, 17-1 CIAA

  • Coach: Tyreece Brown, interim.
  • Player to watch: Aniylah Bryant, a 5-foot-7 senior guard from Havelock, North Carolina, has had five or more steals in 11 games this season.
  • Key note: Former coach Serena King-Coleman was dismissed after the team’s quarterfinal loss in last season’s CIAA tournament. Brown, who still serves as the interim, has led the Broncos to the best record in the CIAA, with its lone conference loss coming against Johnson C. Smith on Jan. 20.

Virginia State

22-4, 13-4

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  • Coach: Nadine Domond, 2nd season.
  • Players to watch: Amesha Miller, a 6-foot junior forward from Suffolk, Virginia, has seven double-doubles. Three came with 20-point performances. Tiyana James, a 5-foot-5 junior guard from Virginia Beach, has had two or more steals in 14 games.
  • Key note: Domond was the 19th selection of the 1998 WNBA draft (New York Liberty) and also played with the Sacramento Monarchs.

Claflin

16-10, 10-8

  • Coach: Terrence Jenkins, 2nd full season.
  • Players to watch: Lauren Scott, a 5-foot-8 junior guard from Columbia, South Carolina, has scored 20-plus points in 10 games this season. Nya Morris, a 5-foot-9 junior guard from Pittsburgh, has four double-doubles, including a 36-point, 10-rebound performance against Elizabeth City State on Dec. 16.
  • Key note: Claflin went on a seven-game winning streak from Jan. 6-27, knocking off Paine College (98-61), Benedict College (73-61), Morris College (97-35), Livingstone (75-64), Winston-Salem State (67-58), St. Augustine’s (70-67) and Johnson C. Smith (82-65).

Elizabeth City State

18-10, 10-7

  • Coach: Tynesha Lewis, 1st season.
  • Player to watch: Alanis Hill, a 5-foot-5 senior guard from Philadelphia, has scored 20 points or more in seven games.
  • Key notes: Elizabeth City State won the first CIAA tournament title in school history in 2023. ... Lewis played in the WNBA for six seasons, from 2001-06.

Virginia Union

17-11, 9-8

  • Coach: Tierra Terry, 4th season.
  • Player to watch: Ny Langley, a 5-foot-10 senior forward from Greenville, North Carolina, joined the program after transferring from Division I Duquesne. She averages 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds and has totaled 72 steals in 28 games. Langley leads the team in all three categories.
  • Key note: Virginia Union had a four-game winning streak in conference play, knocking off Virginia State (70-56), Bowie State (70-52), Bluefield State (73-54) and Elizabeth City State (53-47).

Johnson C. Smith

13-12, 10-8

  • Coach: Monterika Warren, 1st season.
  • Players to watch: Ciara Harris, a 5-foot-8 junior guard from Alexandria, Virginia, and Kelis Carmon, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Raleigh, North Carolina, are the team’s primary scorers. Defensive ace Najah Lane, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard from Charlotte, North Carolina, had five steals against Winston-Salem State on Feb. 13.
  • Key note: At 30, Warren is the youngest coach in the tournament.

Bluefield State

14-12, 8-9

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  • Coach: Paul Davis, 3rd season.
  • Players to watch: Alexyss Newman, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Goodyear, Arizona, can score and rebound. She’s had 10 or more rebounds in 10 games to go with seven games with 20 or more points, and she added two or more blocks in four games. 5-foot-4 junior guard Zaynah Robinson is from Severn and attended Fort Meade.
  • Key note: Davis, a Winston-Salem State alumnus, was named the Mary Garber WSSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year, played in the HBCU Classic All-Star game, was the CIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and was a first-team all-conference performer.

St. Augustine’s

  • 14-12, 8-10
  • Coach: Ebony Tanner, 3rd season.
  • Players to watch: Taniyah Greene, a 6-foot junior forward from Cheltenham, has seven double-doubles this season. Lauren Banks, a 5-foot-10 guard, hails from Clinton and has missed the double-digit mark in points only three times. Ahmirie Hopson, a 5-foot-7 sophomore guard from Timonium, attended Mount Carmel. She was a teammate of Bowie State’s Tsion Smith and Shanysse Alexander, along with Maryland center Hawa Doumbouya.
  • Key note: Tanner played at Richmond from 1999 to 2003. She collected 1,215 points, 824 rebounds, 114 blocks and 113 steals.

Bowie State

13-14, 7-10

  • Coach: Shadae Swan, 8th season.
  • Players to watch: Anii Harris (Ellicott City), Amaya Douglas (Hanover/Old Mill), Tsion Smith (Baltimore/Mount Carmel), Kaitlyn Weaver-Adams (Baltimore/St. Frances), Khalia Turner (Baltimore/St. Frances), Saniha Jackson (Ellicott City/River Hill) and Shanysse Alexander (Middle River/Mount Carmel) are all from the Baltimore area.
  • Key note: Bowie State is 1-2 in neutral-site games and 5-5 in home games. Swan led Baltimore City Community College’s women’s basketball team to a 27-0 record in 2010, en route to Maryland JUCO and JUCO Region XX championships. She is a graduate of Goucher College.

Shaw

13-14, 8-10

  • Coach: Jacques Curtis, 24 years.
  • Players to watch: 5-foot-8 senior guard Maiya Bumbray hails from Ellicott City and attended National Christian Academy. Alexis Radcliff, a 5-foot-11 forward from Akron, Ohio, had back-to-back double-doubles against Morris (32 points, 15 rebounds) and Mount Olive (16 points, 13 rebounds) in games on Dec. 3 and Dec. 5.
  • Key note: Shaw has a strong international contingency with four players from outside of the United States: junior guard Camila Barreno (Ecuador), junior guard Lojain Elfatairy (Egypt), senior forward Raneem Elbarky (Egypt) and senior center Madjiguene Pene (Senegal).

Lincoln (Pa.)

11-13, 7-10

  • Coach: Janice Washington, 3rd season.
  • Players to watch: Ciani Montgomery, a 5-foot-6 junior guard from Philadelphia, has scored 20 or more points in five games. Anyssa Fields, a 6-foot senior guard Long Branch, New Jersey, has two double-doubles. Anyia Gibson, a 6-foot freshman guard from Edgewood, went to Harford Tech.
  • Key note: Lincoln won four consecutive games from Dec. 9-16 over Bloomfield (55-52), Claflin (77-71), Johnson C. Smith (73-62) and Winston-Salem State (58-53).

Livingstone

7-15, 5-13

  • Coach: Queen Smith, 1st season.
  • Player to watch: Jamiah Lane, a 5-foot-10 senior forward from Thomson, Georgia, averages 10.9 points and 6.9 rebounds.
  • Key note: Livingstone broke a seven-game losing streak against Shaw in a 68-62 win Feb. 10.

Winston-Salem State

8-20, 2-16

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Coach: L’Tona Lamonte, 1st season

Players to watch: Amaya Tucker, a 5-foot-6 graduate guard from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has four 20-plus-point games.

Key note: Assistant coach Melody Prichard and Tucker were teammates for three seasons from 2019-22.