WATERVILLE, Me. (November 5, 2021) - The SUNY Delhi women's basketball team enters a brave new world heading into the 2021-22 season, which begins at home this Saturday against Utica at 2:00 p.m. The Broncos were ranked fourth in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Western Division Preseason Poll to christen their inaugural campaign in the NAC and as full-time NCAA Division III members. Head coach Aiden McRoberts, heading into his third year overall at SUNY Delhi, is eager to return to competition after over a one-and-a-half year hiatus with a roster of mainly newcomers and one returner.
"With the lone returner in Justine Lubbers, we enter the season as a new team filled with eagerness and excitement," said Coach McRoberts. "With a brand new roster, we are excited to have a blank canvas and to have the rare opportunity to create the vision that we imagine. As long as we all buy in and understand that it will be a lot of dedication, hard work, and build a good culture in order for our goals to come into fruition. I believe the student-athletes on this roster can set the tone for years to come and I am excited about watching them leave their legacy as the first SUNY Delhi Women's Basketball team to represent the NCAA."
When Coach McRoberts and the Broncos last took the court, they treated their home crowd to an electric 69-50 win over Norwich in their season finale on Feb. 17, 2020. The win put an exclamation point on a fantastic second half to the season, with SUNY Delhi going 6-6 in the 2020 stretch for a 7-17 overall record. Lubbers is Delhi's lone returner from that group, earning ACAA Player of the Week, selection to the midseason Western Connecticut State All-Tournament Team, and McRoberts' Coach's Award. She averaged 5.1 ppg. and 4.7 rpg. in an injury-shortened season, playing in 15 games with four starts.
Newcomers of note include Angelica Lazo, a sophomore from Elmont, NY making her college debut after a stellar high school career at Sewanhaka. Accolades included 2019 Class A Long Island Champions, 2019 Nassau County Conference A-2 Campions, 2019 Nassau County Class A Champions, and 2019 New York State Semi-Finalists. Juana Severino, a freshman, joins the Broncos from the Bronx, NY after competing at Careers in Sports High School, winning the Bronx team championship and the program's student-athlete award.
SUNY Poly ranked atop the division preseason poll with 32 points and four first-place votes. SUNY Cobleskill was second with 30 points and Cazenovia third with 20 points and one first-place vote. SUNY Canton ranked behind Delhi with 16 points and one first-place vote and NVU Johnson sixth with 11 points. The Broncos faced all but SUNY Poly back in 2019-20, posting victories over Canton and Johnson.
The NAC East Preseason Poll is as follows: Husson (36, six first-place votes), Maine Maritime (30), Maine Farmington (24), NVY Lyndon (14), Maine Presque Isle and Thomas (11). The Broncos will play four of them in crossover play, beginning at home with Maine Maritime on Jan. 8 and Thomas Jan. 9 then on the road at Lyndon Jan. 14 and Maine Farmington Jan. 15. The NAC West Tournament is slated for the weekend of Feb. 18 and 19 at the top seed's site, then the overall league championship versus the East winner on Feb. 26.
