North Attleboro, Mass. — The Adelphi University women's basketball team was selected fourth in this year's Northeast 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.
The Brown and Gold received 53 points in the poll, moving up three spots from last year's seventh-place preseason selection. Bentley topped the rankings with 81 points and nine first-place votes, followed by Southern Connecticut State (69 points, one first-place vote) and Assumption (64 points). American International rounded out the top five with 44 points.
The Panthers return to the court after earning a quarterfinal appearance in last season's NE10 Championship Tournament.
Adelphi returns nearly its entire roster this season, with the lone departure being four year starter Christina Sanchez. Highlighting the returning group is senior guard Isabella Asencio, who missed all but two games last season after suffering an injury. Asencio averaged 32.0 points per game across those two appearances, earning NE10 Player of the Week honors before her season was cut short.
Another key returner for the Cats is reigning Northeast 10 Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Beberman. The senior returns after leading the conference in both blocks (45) and steals (72) last season, with both totals ranking among the top 50 in all of Division II. Beberman appeared in all 24 games for the Cats while establishing herself as one of the team's top rebounders.
Returning starter Victoria Morales will also be relied upon this season. During her first campaign in Garden City, Morales led the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game while proving to be a versatile contributor. The guard also averaged 4.7 rebounds per contest while totaling 60 assists and 57 steals.
Other important returners include juniors Madison Williams, Me'Challe Cancer and Gamila Betton. All three averaged over 5.5 points per game last season, while Betton and Cancer led the team in rebounding with 6.5 and 6.2 boards per contest, respectively. Williams ranked second on the team in total points (171) and knocked down 29 three-pointers a season ago.
Head coach Sade Jackson and the Panthers will look to extend their streak of five consecutive NE10 Championship Tournament appearances while pursuing the program's first conference title since the 2016-17 season.
