Berube Announces Hiring of Battista and Eshe To Coaching Staff

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton Tigers have begun to fill out their coaching staff as head coach Carla Berube has announced the hiring of assistant coaches Lauren Battista and Dalila Eshe today.
Battista comes from Berube's staff at Tufts while Eshe spent the last three seasons at LaSalle University.

"I am so excited to bring Lauren along with me from Tufts University," said Berube. "She has such a strong pedigree as a National Champion and D-II National Player of the Year while being coached by one of the all-time greats at Bentley in Barbara Stevens. Lauren is smart, driven, and has a great basketball mind. She has a true love of coaching, developing players on the court, and being a positive mentor off the court."

Prior to her time at Tufts, Battista was a graduate assistant at Boston College while securing her master's degree in Leadership and Administration. Before her time at BC, Battista was at the NCAA office in a postgraduate internship program, helping the women's basketball staff with the NCAA Tournament and Final Four.

The new Princeton assistant graduated from Bentley in 2014. Her senior year was spectacular as she led the team to the Division-II national title with an undefeated 35-0 season. She was honored as the WBCA Division-II National Player of the Year, the Capital One Academic All-American of the Year, CWSA/Honda Division II Athlete of the Year, and an NCAA Today's Top 10 Award honoree. Battista graduated summa cum laude with a degree in marketing and minor in finance.

"I'm grateful for this opportunity to join the Princeton Women's Basketball family and to continue to learn and grow under Coach Berube's leadership," mentioned Battista. "Princeton is a special university with values closely aligned to my own. The athletic department's mission of Education Through Athletics resonates with me and I look forward to putting those words into action each day through my work on and off of the court. I can't wait to get to work with this talented staff and a very impressive group of student-athletes to continue the winning tradition of this program."

Eshe was also an assistant at East Carolina and the Director of Operations at Loyola before joining LaSalle.

"I am also thrilled to welcome Dalila to the Princeton Women's Basketball family," stated Berube. "Dalila has a wealth of basketball knowledge from her experience as a standout Division-I student athlete, her seven years playing overseas, and most recently her role as a D-I assistant coach and recruiting coordinator the last five years. Our student athletes will benefit greatly from Dalila's knowledge of the game, her passion to educate through the game of basketball, and her commitment and ability to connect with players, recruits, and everyone she comes in contact with."

During her time at East Carolina, Eshe helped I'Tiana Taylor secure the 2014-15 American Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year along with two all-conference selections. The coach was also responsible in landing the school's first top-50 recruiting class in 2016.

Eshe was picked in the second round of the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm following her career at the University of Florida. At Florida, she was all-conference first team as a senior helping the Gators to the NCAA Tournament. She, later, spent time with the Washington Mystics in 2007 and the Atlanta Dream in 2008.

Her professional career overseas saw her as one of the best rebounders and scorers in Turkey's top international league from 2006-09. She also played in the Euro Cup in 2008 before playing in Russia (2009-10), Czech Republic (2011), Portugal (2012), Germany (2012) and Ecuador (2013).

"I'm extremely appreciative for the opportunity to join such a prestigious university," said Eshe. "Carla is a proven winner who I believe wholeheartedly will lead Princeton Women's Basketball to new heights. I look forward to working with her and the staff she has put in place. Go Tigers!"

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