#10/13 Women's Hoops Toppled by #1/2 Rochester, 65-55

Jessica McEntee finished one assist short of her first-ever triple-double.

In a battle of top-10 teams and University Athletic Association (UAA) women's basketball rivals, the University of Rochester used a late first-half surge to seize control and hand New York University its first loss of the season, 65-55, Sunday afternoon at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center.

Rochester (11-0, 3-0 UAA) entered the game ranked #1 by D3Hoops.com and #2 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll, while the Violets (11-0, 1-1 UAA), who suffered their first loss, were ranked #10 in the USA Today ESPN Poll and #13 by D3Hoops.com.

All-American Jessica McEntee recorded her ninth double-double of the season, and nearly made it a triple double-double after finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high nine assists for the VIolets. Megan Fox added a career-best 11 points.

Ariel Evans led the Yellowjackets with 14 points and helped them outscore the NYU bench 37-17. Melissa Alwardt led the Yellowjackets with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Julie Marriott (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Jessica Waddell (11 points, 8 rebounds) also reached double digits.

After taking a 37-29 lead into halftime, Rochester never allowed the Violets to get any closer than six points the rest of the way. NYU got within 47-40 after a pair of McEntee free throws with 12:00 remaining, but an 8-0 outburst created an insurmountable 55-40 cushion for the Yellowjackets with 9:04 remaining.

The first half provided tense and exciting play, featuring seven lead changes and four ties. NYU went ahead 24-23 with 5:07 to go before halftime thanks to an Emily Foshag (8 points, 7 rebounds) score, but the Yellowjackets used a 14-5 surge to end the half. Waddell scored seven straight points, then Rochester scored a rare and unconventional five-point play at 2:34: Alwardt canned a three-pointer as the Violets were whistled for a foul on the floor, leading Porter to the line to sink a pair of free throws and give her team a 35-28 cushion.

Waddell led all players with nine first-half points, as Rochester scored 18 points off 13 Violet turnovers and outpointed the NYU bench, 21-8. Foshag scored all of her points in the first 20 minutes, while McEntee contributed five points, seven rebounds and six assists during the opening stanza.

Rochester owned a 48-45 rebounding edge and shot 38.8% (26-for-67) from the field, but just 23.8% (5-for-21) from three-point range. The Yellowjackets hit 61.5% (8-for-13) of their free-throw attempts.

Overall, NYU shot just 35.0% (21-for-60) from the field, including just 18.8% (3-for-16) beyond the arc, and converted just 41.7% (10-for-24) of its free throws.

NYU is off until Saturday, Jan. 17, when it travels to UAA rival Brandeis University (#5 D3Hoops.com, #7 USA Today ESPN) at 3 p.m.