Today: Mar 28, 2024

Women’s basketball looks to bounce back

Jaylen Carr – Sports Editor

The women’s basketball team is determined to erase the memories of last year’s heartbreaking 59-56 defeat to Stonehill College to achieve the ultimate goal which is to win the Northeast (NE) 10 Championship.  

“I think every team’s goal is to win a championship,” said Head Coach Kate Lynch. “We lost in the semifinals up at Stonehill last year in the NE10s, so that has been a motivation from that day moving forward.” 

The team is just trying to get better each day said Coach Lynch. “We are trying to get 1% better each practice  

According to a recent Northeast 10 Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Owls were picked to finish second in the conference this upcoming season. The Owls received two first-place votes from the poll. 

Coach Lynch said, “We talked about bringing our A+ game not just our A game because in people’s mind that’s where they place us and now we have to defend it.” 

She is grateful that people are recognizing the hard work of the team dating back from last season but feels  the team needs to keep the poll in perspective.  

 “Polls are polls, and it’s preseason and we didn’t earn or proven anything yet,” said Coach Lynch.  

The goal is to make sure the players are improving each day and meet their highest potential, said Coach Lynch.  

“No one played a game yet,” said Coach Lynch. “To get to where we want to get, we just have to keep progressing day in and day out.” 

Guard Delaney Connors said it’s nice that people are noticing that they are a good team. 

“I take with a grain of salt,” said Connors. “We haven’t proven anything yet.” 

Coach Lynch said, “They are a pretty special team in terms of being on the same page.” 

Connors was the third leading scorer on the team last season, averaging 12.1 points per game. She has high expectations for this upcoming season not only for herself but for the team.  

“We had a goal set for the last two years and we’ve been working towards it,” said Connors. “We got close last year but we think we can get a lot closer this year.” 

Connors said a goal  she set for herself  this season is continuing to help her teammates to get better.  

Guard Zoë Amalbert said  they are looking to make a deep playoff run once again but finished the season with a championship.  

“We have high expectations as we lost in the semifinals last year. So, we are looking to get back into the playoffs and hopefully win our conference,” Amalbert said.  

Amalbert was the second leading scorer last season averaging 13.3 points per game and team leader in assists, averaging 5.9 per game. Despite the success, individually last season Amalbert said there is always more I can do to help the team 

Amalbert said, “I’m just looking to make my teammates better and continue to do what I have to do to help our team win in whatever aspect that may be, whether it’s assisting them the ball or scoring whenever I need to.” 

The Owls open the season with six home games. In two out of the six games the Owls will be facing NE10 foes, Pace University and Southern New Hampshire University. The Owls open against Georgian Court University who went 13-13 and 10-8 in their conference last season.  

Connors said facing the University of New Haven, Pace University and Southern New Hampshire has always been matchups that stand out because of the rivalry. But she is excited for every game because of the competition within the NE10 conference. 

“I hope people come to games honestly. We have a really great group of young people that are great humans and great in the classroom too,” said Coach Lynch. 

Despite the Owls losing their leading scorer and rebounder from last season forward Jessica Fressle, the team has new players on the teams that have been fitting well.  Fressle averaged 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game last season which significantly helped the team get 13 wins last season.  

Amalbert said they have some newcomers like Isabella Santoro and Ashley Evans on the team who have been fitting into the system very well.  

Despite the influx of newcomers on the team, Connors said that everyone is close with each other. 

Connors said, “We’ve been working and were a close group that supports each other on and off the court. That chemistry and bond should really help us and move us forward this year.” 

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