The pre-season ranked #2 New York University's women's basketball team will open its 2026-27 season on Sunday, November 8, against Haverford College at home. The game takes place at 2 pm in the John A. Paulson Center.
The Violets, who finished 29-1 last season and fell only to the University of Scranton in the Final Four of the National Championship Tournament, return three of their top four scorers (Brooke Batchelor, Zahra Alexander, and Aila Kaibara) from last year's group.
Last season as a junior, Batchelor earned an All-American Honorable Mention, averaging 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, and ranking first in the University Athletic Association (UAA) in steals. Batchelor has most recently been named to the D3hoops.com preseason All-American Second Team.
Also returning for the Violets is senior Yasmene Clark, who led the team last year with 10.6 rebounds per game. She averaged 5.9 offensive rebounds per game, placing her sixth in the DIII national rankings.
Meg Barber returns for her ninth year as head coach of the Violets, amassing a 179-22 record during her tenure. In March, she earned the WBCA NCAA Division III Coach of the Year award for the third time, and for the second season in a row.
"We only graduated one player from the program. But, obviously every year is a new season," Barber said. "I think a lot of our players really transformed themselves in their games over the summer. This team seems to have a very unique bond and a lot of togetherness on the court."
The team welcomes four freshmen, Ava Frith, Kaitlyn Jones, Maggie Luba, and Natalia Valdez, and a transfer from Boston University, Brooke Baisley.
Following opening day against Haverford, the Violets continue their quest for a sixth-straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, fourth-straight Final Four appearance, and the chance to become champions again.
"We're looking forward to non-conference challenging us, being able to grow over the course of the year, and creating the identity of what this group is," added Barber.
NYU has 11 non-conference games (nine at home) before opening the UAA schedule. Four UAA teams (including NYU) are ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 pre-season poll.
"Non-conference for us is really an opportunity to get ready for conference, which should be one of the toughtest years in the UAA," emphasized Barber. "The UAA play is going to be fast and furious and a lot of really key players are returning."
The Violets begin UAA action by hosting Brandeis University on Saturday, January 9, for Alumni Day. NYU faces #25 Carnegie Mellon University the following Friday, and a few weekends later #8 University of Chicago on Friday, January 22, and #7 Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, January 24.
"Being able to be where our feet are on game day, and enjoy the opportunity to compete are such big parts of this, as well as the ability to celebrate with our team and with each other for both the big and small accomplishments throughout the season," Barber concluded.
