It was fitting that, on the first day of Women’s History Month, Howard University’s softball team made a little history of their own — delivering a 5-4 upset win over the University of Minnesota during the Hillebrand Invitational in Tucson, Arizona. Pitcher Aiko Conaway (2-7), a sophomore from Haymarket, Virginia, was the winning pitcher, allowing two hits and two runs. Senior Julia Holt, a history major from Tucson, earned the save in her hometown. 

The win, the first win over a Power Four opponent in program history, came on the final day of the tournament, one of the NCAA’s premier early-season Division I softball tournaments. And it comes at an ideal time — three weeks into the season where the 7-12 has had some heartbreaking defeats, including the 1-0 loss to 17th ranked Louisiana State University on February 22.  

“It was definitely a sense of relief. The last two weeks, we’ve had heartbreaking losses and, this weekend after those punches, we knew we needed to see that we can get up and punch back,” said Head Coach Tori Tyson.  

The win is sure to boost the confidence, competitiveness, and upward trajectory of a team poised to defend its 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) championship. The Bison open conference play on March 14, with a 1 p.m. game on their home field at theNationals Youth Academy in Southeast, D.C.  

Facing a Big Ten opponent like Minnesota, the Bison showed resilience throughout the game, jumping out to a lead with a four-run third inning. By the fifth inning, the Bison had a 5-2 lead over Minnesota and managed to hold on despite a two-run rally by the Gophers in the sixth inning.  

The win represents more than a single result — it signals the continued evolution of the program under a coach whose expectations are that the team play on par with Power Four teams — those belonging to NCAA Division I’s four major conferences - SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. Victories against Power Five opponents are significant benchmarks, and this performance demonstrated Howard’s ability to compete at a high level against nationally recognized competition. 

For Howard, the victory provides an important confidence boost as the team continues its nonconference slate and prepares for the challenges of the conference season. It also reinforces the program’s commitment to competing fearlessly and representing the university with pride on the national stage. 

Tyson believes that, with the season still unfolding, the Bison will build on this momentum, focusing on basics like spending time in the weight room to grow stronger and addressing little details such as perfecting their swing.  

With the season still unfolding, the Bison will look to build on this momentum as they continue to refine their approach and pursue sustained success. 

“This is something that we’ve been working towards, and I hope it inspires them to go a little harder with their training,” Tyson said. “We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could compete with (Power Four) teams. We lost a close one to LSU, and now we’ve beaten Minnesota. This isn’t the ceiling by any means. This is now the standard.” 

Photo by Ireal Wyze Daley.