Injuries derailed Alisha Aube’s freshman season with the Butler University women’s basketball team.
But it was her desire to be closer to family that prompted the two-time Maine Sunday Telegram All-State selection to transfer schools. After completing her freshman year, Aube transferred from the Big East school in Indianapolis to Adelphi University, an NCAA Division II program in Garden City, New York, that plays in the Northeast-10 Conference.
“Indiana is like 15 hours from Maine and my dad had been in and out of the hospital my whole freshman year, and that was hard to deal with,” said Aube, whose family lives in Westbrook.
Joe Aube is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for Stage II colon cancer, Alisha Aube said, adding that surgery removed the cancerous cells and her father is doing better.
“I always wanted to play (Division I) basketball but not being able to share the experience with him was hard because we had always gone through the whole experience together,” said Aube, 19.
Adelphi, located on Long Island, is still a five-hour drive but several league teams are in New Hampshire or northern Massachusetts, making for easy drives for Aube’s family, including mom Heidi and younger brother Ethan. The Division II schedule also allows Aube to have her summers free, a longer break during the Christmas holiday and more flexibility in general.
“Last year I had a day and a half at home over Christmas,” Aube said. “If I was (still) at Butler I would already be back at campus.”
Adelphi announced the transfer on June 14. At that time, Adelphi Coach Missy Traversi said, “We are confident Alisha has everything necessary to (have) an impactful career here at Adelphi.”
Adelphi went 14-16 last season (9-11 in the conference) with a roster that included eight freshmen and four sophomores. Adelphi won the conference championship in 2015 and 2017.
Aube, a 6-foot guard/forward, was an elite high school scorer. She was a three-year starter at Westbrook High, averaging an SMAA-leading 17.6 points as a sophomore and then 17.8 points as a junior. Aube transferred to Thornton Academy for her senior season. At Thornton she again averaged 17.8 points while leading the SMAA in 3-point shooting. She scored over 1,200 points in high school.
“Her size will make her a threat both on the perimeter and in the low post,” said Traversi, who was a 1,000-point scorer at the University of Maine and captained the 2004-05 team.
At Butler, Aube appeared in eight games, playing a total of 11 minutes. She did not score.
“I got into some games, not a ton, but as a freshman you don’t expect to get into a bunch,” Aube said.
Her season ended prematurely when what she thought were shin splints turned out to be a stress fracture. She wore a protective boot for three months. Aube said for a short time she tried to wear the boot for everyday activities, then take it off for practices and games. After a brief appearance in a Jan. 14 game, Aube didn’t play in the final 13 games. Butler finished 15-17.
“I feel like if (her father) wasn’t sick, I probably would still be there because I loved the girls, the coaches were great, it’s a great academic school and the whole athletic program is good,” Aube said. “It was a great place, just maybe not the place for me at the time.”
Playing in the Northeast-10 could rekindle some old friendly rivalries from Aube’s high school and club basketball days.
“There are a lot of girls in the NE-10 that I’ve known really well and I’m looking forward to competing against them again,” Aube said.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
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