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.