Who Will Replace Maria Marchesano at PFW? Like Chris Kielsmeier, Maria Marchesano falls into the category of a coach needing to be replaced because they got the job done. Marchesano's job? Turn around a one win Purdue Fort Wayne program into a respectable Horizon League team. The problem? Marchesano didn't stop at "respectable". In her short five years as leader of the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons women's basketball team, Marchesano turned Gates Sports Center into a venue that was very hard for opponents to win in and made PFW an annual visitor to the Horizon League Championship tournament in Indianapolis.

Who could replace Maria Marchesano at Purdue Fort Wayne? Isaac Wendel has a list of candidates he thinks could fit the bill. #HLWBB

Marchesano Moves On, Leaves For Alma Mater Fort Wayne, Indiana - Maria Marchesano has resigned as the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball coach to become the next head coach at Butler University. The mutual parting of ways by Butler and former head coach Austin Parkinson immediately sent shockwaves up I-69, and it didn't take long for the Bulldogs to call on one of their alums to turn their program around.

Maria Marchesano transformed Purdue Fort Wayne into a perennial #HLWBB powerhouse. Now, the Butler alum returns to her alma mater as the Bulldogs' new head coach. Isaac Wendel has the story on her tenure with the Mastodons.

Who Will Replace Chris Kielsmeier at Cleveland State? As has always been the case in the coaching carousel, some coaches need to get replaced because they couldn't get the job done, and some need to get replaced because they very much got the job done. Chris Kielsmeier absolutely falls into the latter category. With his continued success over an eight-year period at Cleveland State, it seemed liked it was only a matter of time before another school came calling.

While Kyle is winding his way home through various flight delays, Bob, as he's wont to do after a coaching departure, eyes some possible candidates to replace Chris Kielsmeier at Cleveland State. #HLWBB

Yes, and we're two wins away from having three of that Great 8 being #HLWBB teams.

Also... #FreeIsaac (our Purdue Fort Wayne writer apparently ran afoul of the WNIT's official social media account and got blocked, for some reason)

#HLWBB play continues tonight, with TWO WNIT games, with Youngstown State hosting Maryland Eastern Shore at 6:30pm ET and Purdue Fort Wayne hosting South Alabama at 7pm ET!

We're not done yet!

We've got #WNIT action tonight, when Cleveland State hosts Monmouth! #HLWBB

FINAL from Minneapolis:

Minnesota 75
Green Bay 58

Maddie Skorupski finished with 19 points and Meghan Schultz added 12 for the Phoenix. #HLWBB

END OF 3Q:

Green Bay 49
Minnesota 45

10 more minutes for a Phoenix upset! #HLWBB

IT'S GAMEDAY!!!

Wright State plays Virginia at 1:50pm ET AND Green Bay faces Minnesota at 6pm ET. Tune in!

#HLMBB #HLWBB

The NCAA Tournament bids are set for #HLMBB and #HLWBB, but there may be other bids (CBI, WNIT) out there, and we'll likely have other teams playing on!

Stay tuned!

“Reloaded” Green Bay Downs Youngstown State For Third Straight #HLWBB Title For Green Bay head coach Kayla Karius, every championship is different, yet equally special. Karius knows plenty about that dynamic. The former Kayla Tetschlag won two Horizon League tournament titles as a Phoenix player between 2007 and 2011, and has now matched that pair since returning to coach her alma mater prior to the 2024-25 season. Her latest crown, earned with a 57-49 victory over Youngstown State in Indianapolis’ Corteva Coliseum on Tuesday, followed something quite rare in Northeast Wisconsin: a rebuilding job.

Green Bay secured its third straight #HLWBB championship on Tuesday, behind tournament MVP Jenna Guyer's 21 points, and helped along by a bevy of newcomers who have helped carry the Phoenix's weighty tradition forward. Kyle Rossi has the recap.

LIVE on ESPN2: Youngstown State vs Green Bay 2026 Barbasol #HLWBB Tournament Championship Game from Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana

Let's do it one more time I'm Indy!

Green Bay and Youngstown State duke it out for the #HLWBB crown, while Wright State and Detroit Mercy battle each other on the #HLMBB side!

‘Guins Punch Ticket to First HL Championship Game  For the first time in program history, the Youngstown State women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the Barbasol Horizon League Championship Game with a 60-55 victory over Cleveland State at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis. The Penguins returned to the Horizon League Semifinals after a seven-year hiatus, and provided a dominant fourth-quarter effort that helped defeat the Vikings for the third time this season.

For the first time in program history, Youngstown State punched its ticket to the Barbasol Horizon League Championship Game with a 60-55 victory over Cleveland State. John Ostapowicz has more. #HLWBB

The Phoenix’s soar into the championship game for a third straight year The Green Bay women’s basketball team continues to soar as they are headed to the championship game after their dominant win against Fort Wayne with a score of 73-48. The Phoenix are looking to win their third straight championship and claim the title for the 19th time in program history. It was a slow start from Green Bay, turning over the ball after winning the tip-off.

For the third straight year, Green Bay is heading to the #HLWBB finals. This time around, they advanced by dominating Purdue Fort Wayne. Citlali Sanchez has the story.

Donate | HoriZone Roundtable Sponsor-A-Writer In addition to donating to the HoriZone Roundtable using the form below, you can also send money to individual writers. Kyle Rossi (horizonekyle@gmail.com – PayPal)John Ostap…

It's #HLMBB and #HLWBB Semifinals Day! We appreciate your continued support. Please consider donating today!

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Jaguars’ Season Ends, But Tomorrow Beckons Kate Bruce beamed as she sat at a press conference table in the Corteva Coliseum staging area on Sunday. A late arrival passing through on the way to the Horizon League Tournament’s second-round me…

IU Indianapolis' return to the final rounds of the #HLWBB tournament after a three-year absence didn't go very well. However, with a young roster and a new arena on the way, Kate Bruce has big plans for the 2026-27 Jaguars. horizoneroundtable.com/2026/03/08/j...

Jaguars’ Season Ends, But Tomorrow Beckons Kate Bruce beamed as she sat at a press conference table in the Corteva Coliseum staging area on Sunday. A late arrival passing through on the way to the Horizon League Tournament’s second-round men’s game would have been perfectly justified to assume, based on the IU Indianapolis coach’s demeanor, that the Jaguars had just advanced to the HL semifinals. That couldn’t have been further from the truth; in fact, the Jags had just swallowed a season-ending 38-point shellacking at the hands of rival Purdue Fort Wayne.

IU Indianapolis' return to the final rounds of the #HLWBB tournament after a three-year absence didn't go very well. However, with a young roster and a new arena on the way, Kate Bruce has big plans for the 2026-27 Jaguars, as Kyle Rossi explains.

We've got games in Indy today!

@kylehzrt.horizoneroundtable.com's on the Purdue Fort Wayne-IU Indy #HLWBB second round game, and @bobmcdonaldwrites.com's on Green Bay-Northern Kentucky in the #HLMBB match-up.

YSU Women Defeat Wright State 76-60 The Youngstown State Penguins women's basketball team (23-8, 15-5 Horizon) used a big second half to earn a 76-60 win over the Wright State Raiders (10-22, 6-14 Horizon) in the first round of the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Wednesday night. YSU shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field, 43.5 percent (10-of-23) on threes, and an outstanding 94.1 percent (16-of-17) on free throws while committing just eight turnovers as a unit.

A career game from Erica King led the way for Youngstown State on Wednesday night, as the second-seeded Penguins put away Wright State to advance to the #HLWBB semifinals. James Moon has the recap.

Skorupski and Guyer Make History, Lead Green Bay Past UDM Fans looking at the final score of Wednesday night's game between No. 11 seed Detroit Mercy and No. 1 seed Green Bay may not realize how close this game was, until it wasn't. The top-seeded Phoenix relied on two of their All Horizon League players to take down the Titans, winning 81-57 and punching their ticket to the semifinals on Monday.

Detroit Mercy stayed within striking distance of Green Bay, but the Phoenix kicked it in another gear and ran away from the Titans, led by #HLWBB Player of the Year Jenna Guyer and Maddie Skorupski, which notched a triple-double. Eric Fischer has the story.

CSU’s Clutch Free Throws Overcome Luehring, Oakland: Five Observations In the first round of the 2026 Horizon League tournament, held in the Wolstein Center on Wednesday, Cleveland State climbed out of an early 13-point hole against Oakland, eventually surviving, then…

Four (literal) last-second free throws helped Cleveland State overcome a historic night by Oakland's Makenzie Luehring, and prevail in overtime to advance to the #HLWBB semifinals for the seventh straight year.

CSU recaps are presented by Greenie Sports Cards horizoneroundtable.com/2026/03/05/c...

Mastodons Steamroll Colonials to Advance in Horizon League Tournament Fort Wayne, IN - It was a matchup of a high octane offense against a stout, rigid defense in the Women's First Round of the Barbasol Horizon League Championship tournament. The league topping Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodon (18-12, 12-8 Horizon) offense hosted the third best defense in the league by way of the Robert Morris Colonials (18-11, 11-9 Horizon) inside the Gates Sports Center on Wednesday night.

On paper, Wednesday's Purdue Fort Wayne-Robert Morris game was supposed to be the closest of the #HLWBB tournament's first round. It didn't turn out that way though, as the Mastodons romped in the second half to punch their ticket to Indy. Isaac Wendel has the recap.

Heading to Indy for #HLWBB, we kick off IU Indy playing Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, with the winner playing No. 1 seed Green Bay in the semifinals.

The other semifinal games will pit No. 2 Cleveland State against No. 3 Youngstown State.

On the #HLWBB side, Cleveland State survives in OT against Oakland, while Northern Kentucky...does not against IU Indy.

Youngstown State cruised by Wright State, and Purdue Fort Wayne rolled Robert Morris by 30 (not a typo).

#HLWBB scores at the half:

Oakland 31
Cleveland State 29

Northern Kentucky 31
IU Indy 27

Youngstown State 30
Wright State 29

Purdue Fort Wayne 33
Robert Morris 29

RMU Ends Regular Season With a Win, Takes On Fort Wayne in Horizon League Tournament Robert Morris had just one game this past week, a Senior Day matchup with Wright State. It was a rough start for them, allowing a 12-0 run by the Raiders to fall 21-9 after the first quarter. However, the defense, which has been struggling a bit, came through for the Colonials, allowing just 12 points to Wright State over the next 20 minutes and eventually taking the lead into the fourth quarter.

Despite Robert Morris winning its regular-season finale against Wright State, Purdue Fort Wayne snagged the home game in the first round of the #HLWBB, and the Colonials travel to face them. Tristan Freeman has more.

Detroit Mercy eliminated Milwaukee in a close match-up on the road. Jasmine Edwards and Makayla Jackson each had 17 points to lead the Titans, and Aaliyah McQueen finished with 15.

Tierney Madigan scored 22 for the Panthers, which finished at 8-24. #HLWBB

HALFTIME:

Detroit Mercy 37
Milwaukee 31

The Titans have kept the Panthers at arm's length throughout the half, paced by 11 points from Aaliyah McQueen. #HLWBB

We've got another play-in about to tip off on the #HLWBB side, with Milwaukee hosting Detroit Mercy! Winner plays No. 1 seed Green Bay on Wednesday.