Granville, Ohio - The defending national champions are back. Fresh off a 30-2 season that ended with the first NCAA Division III title in program history, the Denison women's basketball team returns its entire starting five, led by All-Americans Ada Taute and Abby Cooch, along with an eight-member senior class, as it begins its title defense.

2025-26 Recap
Under fourth-year head coach Maureen "Mo" Hirt, the Big Red won the NCAC regular-season title and set a program record with 30 wins, topping the previous mark of 28 set in 2010-11. Denison then made history in the NCAA Tournament, reaching its first-ever Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship game.

Along the way, the Big Red knocked off previously undefeated Washington and Lee in the Elite Eight, then capped the run in Salem, Va., with a 55-41 win over previously unbeaten Scranton in the national championship game. Cooch was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring in double figures in every tournament game, including a team-high 18 points in the title game, and both she and Taute earned All-Tournament honors.

Major Postseason Award Winners

Key Returners
Denison returns its entire starting five from the championship team, led by senior guard Ada Taute. The Chicago native was one of just 10 players nationally named a WBCA First Team All-American after leading the Big Red with 446 points (13.9 per game) and 69 steals while starting all 32 games. She raised her game in March, averaging 15.6 points and 7.8 rebounds through the NCAA Tournament, and became the program's first Second Team Academic All-America selection as an economics major.

Senior guard Abby Cooch returns as the floor general after a career-high 430 points, a team-leading 99 regular-season assists and an NCAC-best 83.5 percent mark from the free-throw line. A three-time First Team All-NCAC honoree and the 2023-24 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Cooch hit a program-record seven 3-pointers against No. 24 Trine in the NCAA second round, eclipsing 1,000 career points in the process. She was also a Third Team Academic All-America pick as a data analytics major.
Inside, junior post Anelly Mad-toingué returns after earning Third Team All-NCAC honors. At 6-foot-3, she gives the Big Red a reliable presence in the paint on both ends of the floor.

Sophomore guard Molly Dorighi stepped into the starting lineup as a first-year and was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year, and senior guard Violet Mitchell rounds out a starting five that is back intact after carrying Denison to the national title.
The Big Red's experience extends beyond the starters, with seniors Izzy Arguelles, Maeve Gaffney, Morgan Kress, Adelyn Moore and Maeve Perry also back from the championship roster.

Newcomers
Denison welcomes four first-years to Granville: guards Abby Beddis (Alexandria, Va.) and Lucy Kim (Rolling Meadows, Ill.), and forwards Phoebe Greto (Rye, N.Y.) and Natalie Powell (Tulsa, Okla.). Erin Kumler also joins Hirt's staff as an assistant coach.

A Look at the Schedule