WALTHAM, Mass. - The visiting New York University women's
basketball team, ranked No. 13 in the nation by d3hoops.com, held
host and No. 7 ranked Brandeis to a season-low in points and
shooting percentage today as the Violets earned a 61-49 University
Athletic Association victory. With the win, NYU improves to 12-1,
2-1 in the UAA, while Brandeis falls to 11-2, 1-2 UAA.
The first half was tight, featuring two ties and eight lead
changes. Brandeis took a 14-10 lead with 11 minutes gone on a long
3-pointer from the top of the arc by senior Lauren
Orlando (Peabody, Mass./Peabody). Violet senior Jessica
McEntee (Flushing, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) answered from beyond the
arc, sparking a 9-1 run that gave NYU a 19-15 lead with 4:35 left
in the first.
Brandeis responded with the game's next six points, as rookie
Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable)
converted a traditional three-point play, followed by a
Carmela Breslin (McKees Rocks, Pa./Oakland
Catholic) trifecta that gave Brandeis a 21-19 lead. The Violets
answered Brandeis's deep ball with two of their own from junior Jen
Hum-Traverso (San Rafael, Calif./Convent of the Sacred Heart),
sandwiched around a Brandeis free throw, that gave NYU a 25-22 lead
they would never relinquish. McEntee and Hum-Traverso had seven
points each to lead the visitors to a 27-22 first-half lead, while
Orlando had eight points in the first.
The Judges got within three on a back-door Orlando lay-up to
open the second half. The NYU lead got as large as eight in the
early going of the second half, but Brandeis stayed close, cutting
back within three, 39-36, on a Breslin 3-pointer with 11:43
remaining. The Violets countered with an 11-2 run over the next
4:32 by forcing six Judge turnovers and converting a pair of
3-pointers by senior Sarah McDevitt (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names
Acad.) and sophomore Emily Foshag (Los Angeles, Calif./Santa
Monica). A Foshag steal and lay-up at the 7:21 mark put NYU ahead
by a 50-38 mark.
Brandeis held NYU to just one field goal the rest of the way,
eventually cutting the lead to 52-48 on an Orlando lay-up with 3:38
left. The Violets scored seven of their last nine points from the
line to hold off the Judges, who hit just one free throw the rest
of the way.
Brandeis, which was held more than 20 points below their season
scoring average, had just one player in double figures, as Orlando
finished with a team-high 15 points. He hit 6-of-10 from the floor
and 3-of-4 from deep. Senior forward Cassidy
Dadaos (Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg) added nine points
and a team-high seven rebounds. Cincotta led the Judges with four
assists, while junior guard Jessica Chapin
(Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) had three steals, but was held
well below her team-leading 14.8 point-per-game average with just
two points. The Judges, who lead the UAA in shooting at 46 percent,
shot just 19-of-65 from the field (29.2 percent) for the game.
NYU was paced by McEntee, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds for
her 10th double-double of the season. She also had
game-highs with seven assists and four steals. Foshag finished with
15 points on a perfect shooting day, going 5-for-5 from the floor,
including her only 3-point attempt, and 4-of-4 from the line.
Hum-Traverso finished with 10 points, while senior center Megan Fox
(Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) matched McEntee for game-high honors
with 12 rebounds. The Violets forced 21 Brandeis turnovers and
turned them into 21 points and also enjoyed a 40-34 rebounding
advantage.
Brandeis is next in action with their first UAA road game at
Case Western Reserve University next Friday evening at 5:00 p.m.,
while NYU hosts Hunter College on Monday afternoon at 6:00 p.m.
BOX
SCORE
