McEntee Powers #16 Women's Basketball Past CSI

All-American Has 30 Points, 22 Rebounds as Violets Overcome 12-Point Deficit

Jessica McEntee reached the 30-point plateau for the second straight game.

All-American Jessica McEntee scored 21 of her 30 points in the second half, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 4:26 remaining, as the #16-ranked New York University women's basketball team overcome a 12-point, first-half deficit en route to a 65-57 victory over the College of Staten Island as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Lehman College APEX in the Bronx, NY.

McEntee also grabbed a career-high tying 22 rebounds for the Violets (7-0), giving her the first 30-point, 20-rebound of her distinguished career. She scored six of her points during a 12-0 run in the final five minutes that enabled NYU to claim control.

Overall, McEntee went 8-for-18 from the floor and 12-for-18 at the foul line, as NYU went 20-for-36 (55.6%) from the stripe as opposed to 2-for-3 (66.7%) by the College of Staten Island (7-2).

"It never hurts having the preseason player of the year," NYU interim head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "She's never going to give up and she's going to come through in some way. She hit a couple of threes today. And keeping the team together is a big part of it. She's a big voice in our huddles."

The Dolphins proved worthy adversaries from the outset, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first 3:16, one they eventually stretched to 21-9 before going into the locker room ahead 35-28 at the break. NYU labored through the opening stanza, shooting just 28.1% (9-for-32) from the field and 43.8% (7-for-16) at the charity stripe. The Violets went the last 8:11 of the half without a field goal after Sarah McDevitt drilled a three-pointer.

It was the first time this season the Violets trailed going into halftime, not to mention the first time they found themselves trailing by double digits.

"It was a good experience for our group to go through because we're going to go through that in the UAA," Trompeo said.

McEntee helped the Violets flip the script in the second half, as they trailed 45-35 with 15:55 remaining. They held the Dolphins withou a field goal for 9:43 (10:30-0:47) while getting steady, yet sizable contributions from Jen Hum-Traverso (11 points, 3 3-pointers), Emily Foshag (7 points, 5 rebounds), Gena Brown (6 points), and Megan Fox (4 points, 9 rebounds).

NYU owned a 51-39 edge in rebounding, but shot just 32.8% (19-for-58) from the field.

Nicole Estrada led the Dolphins with 17 points, while Allie Shanahan (15 points) and Kristen Panariello (12 points, 7 assists) also reached double digits. CSI shot 37.5% (24-for-64).

NYU returns to action Tuesday, Dec. 9, when it hosts non-conference adversary Drew University in its final contest of the 2008 calendar year. Tip-off time is 7 p.m.