After the completion of the 2019-20 women’s basketball season, senior guard Lula Roig was excited to return home to Barcelona, Spain and visit family during spring break 2020 after grinding out a long and grueling season with the team.

But once she got home, everything  changed.

“When I finally went home for spring break, I had to stay there because the school shut down,” Roig said.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Roig was stuck in Spain, uncertain about a potential return to campus and worried about her teammates and coaches. Roig said some of the initial requirements put in place to safeguard the country’s  citizens were strict. 

“We were not even allowed to walk around,” Roig said. “The only thing we could do was one person per family could go buy groceries and that was it.”

In spite of this, Roig still found ways to keep her fitness up and work on her game.

“I had a [stationary] bike at home, so I would do some bike workouts and running on the stairs,” Roig said. “And I also have a basket, so I would practice with my brother and my dad.”

After six months in her hometown, Roig was finally able to return to campus and  train with her teammates again at the very end of August.

Now looking forward to her senior season on Hawk Hill, coaches and teammates alike are excited to have the team’s only international student-athlete back in spite of this pandemic-filled season.

Expectations are high for Roig this year. According to junior forward Elizabeth “Lovin’” Marsicano, she is a leader on the squad and always offers high intensity, whether in practice or during games.

“[Roig’s] a really good leader, she really stepped up last year because we were such a young team,” Marsicano said. “Now she’s  doing a really good job, even with everything going on.”

But most importantly, Marsicano highlighted Roig’s love for the game of basketball.

“She’s a hard worker and she loves the game of basketball,” Marsicano said. “She’s just so passionate about it.”

According to Assistant Coach Melissa Dunne, Roig is very knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sport, and is always offering up advice to teammates on how to run specific plays or handle certain situations.

“As a senior you’re looked up to and that’s definitely the case as this will be [Roig’s] fourth year with the program,” Dunne said. “She understands things at a different level so it’s definitely part of her role as a senior to lead by example.”

Off the court, Dunne sees Roig as very down to earth, someone that all the players on the team come to with problems or issues in basketball or life.

“She’s a great person and she has a great personality,” Dunne said. “A lot of her teammates are familiar with Lula [Roig]. They have conversations with her and share laughs with her as well.”

For her teammates, Roig offers stability that is often rare within the sports world these days, and ultimately the team couldn’t be happier that she is able to be on Hawk Hill for the upcoming season.

“I can always go to her whenever I need help with a play or on defensive switches and screens, really anything,” Marsicano said. “Even off the court I can talk to her, she’s one of my best friends and she cares about her teammates.”