By Matt Cain
Contributor
With the basketball season approaching, the Owls are gearing up to make another NE10 conference run. Last season, the Owls took a heartbreaking loss in the conference championship game to Bentley University.
This season, the team is very optimistic and led by senior returners ready to finish what they started.
Forward Katie Williamson, a graduate, is taking a key role on the team this year. Being that this is her last year, she hopes to lead the younger players to a deep playoff run.
“We have a great group of girls who know how to lead. It’s great to see,” Williamson said.
Williamson won’t be the only one having to step up. The sharpshooting guard Delaney Haines, a senior, will be taking on a new role. Last season, she shot a career-best from three-point range at 42.3%.
This was the best in the NE10 conference. Haines only started in two games last season. Now, with key guards gone, Haines may see the floor more. She averaged 17.2 minutes per game last season.
“With players graduating, they going to have to step up,” Head Coach Kate Lynch said. “Haines, Steinauer, they have experience. They know what it takes,”
With players gone, the Owls have new additions to the team. The Owls have transfers and two new freshmen joining the team.
The depth of the team last season was an issue. Now, the Owls have filled out their roster.
“We’re getting them in the mix right away, especially our transfers. We are getting them on the same page, and this can help our depth,” Lynch said.
The Owls have had two exhibition games against Division I talent. These games have got the Owls ready and in shape to start the season, as both went down to the wire.
The season is set to start on Nov. 9 at home; however, the Owls start conference play on week three of the season. Last year, the Owls went 13-9 in the NE10. This set them up as one of the top teams this year.
In the preseason coaches poll, the Owls are ranked fourth, trailing behind Pace University, Assumption University, and Bentley University.
While being one of the top teams, the Owls have unfinished business and look to finish what they started.
“I have high expectations for this season,” guard Jillian Martin, a graduate said. “Preseason went well, and we had a lot of positives,”
The Owls have a championship pedigree. Kate Lynch is a winner for the Owls and wants to instill a winning mentality and culture in this group of girls.
They want to find themselves right back in the same position last year, but now they know what it takes to get there.
