Dalila Eshe - Women's Basketball Coach - Princeton University Athletics

Dalila Eshe

Title:
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
deshe@princeton.edu
Phone:
609-258-3309

Eshe At Princeton
NCAA Tournaments (1): 2022 (Second Round)
Ivy League Championships (2): 2019-20, 2021-22
Ivy League Tournament Championships (1): 2022
All-Americans (1): Abby Meyers (2022)
Ivy League Players Of The Year (2): Bella Alarie (2020), Abby Meyers (2022)
Ivy League Defensive Players Of The Year (1): Ellie Mitchell (2022)

Dalila Eshe recently completed her third year with Princeton in 2021-22.

In the two seasons played while Eshe has been on staff, the Tigers have won a pair of Ivy League championships, posting an undefeated 28-0 record against Ivy opponents during the regular season. Overall, the Tigers are 51-6 (.895) during Eshe's tenure as an assistant coach at Princeton.

The 2021-22 season saw Princeton finish with a 25-5 record, advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. After a second consecutive undefeated regular season championship in the Ivy League, the Tigers swept both games of the Ivy League Tournament to claim the Ivy Tournament title and earn an automatic bid to NCAAs.

Seeded No. 11, the Tigers knocked off No. 6 Kentucky -- the SEC Tournament champion -- in the First Round, 69-62. Princeton would then take No. 3 Indiana to the limit in the Second Round, falling to the hosts at Assembly Hall, 56-55.

The win over Kentucky was one of two Princeton victories over Top-25 opponents during the 2021-22 season. In addition to the win over the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 15 in AP Poll at the time, Eshe and the Tigers knocked off No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast on the road, 58-55, for the program's first win over a Top-25 opponent in 43 years.

During the 2021-22 season, Eshe again coached the Ivy League Player of the Year in unanimous selection Abby Meyers who was also named unanimous first-team All-Ivy. Ellie Mitchell was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, while Julia Cunningham (first team) and Grace Stone (honorable mention) also garnered All-Ivy honors.

The Tigers went 26-1 overall in 2019-20 and finished with a 22-game winning streak. The Tigers’ streak was the second longest in the country behind No. 1 South Carolina. The unit wrapped up the campaign with a RPI of No. 9, the best mark in Ivy history and went undefeated in conference play before the postseason was cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Bella Alarie was one of three players to be named All-Ivy as she was honored with her third straight Ivy Player of the Year award. Carlie Littlefield was first-team All-Ivy for the second consecutive season while Julia Cunningham was honored with honorable mention accolades.

Before Princeton, she spent the previous three seasons at LaSalle. Prior to that, she was an assistant at East Carolina and the Director of Operations at Loyola before joining LaSalle.

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).