Box Score
Jessica McEntee became the third New York University women's basketball player to reach 1,000 rebounds in her career, highlighting the nationally ranked Violets' 67-59 victory over Hunter College in non-conference action Monday night at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center.
Ranked #11 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll and #12 in the D3Hoops.com Poll, the Violets (13-1) concluded their non-conference schedule a perfect 11-0 while improving to 39-27-1 all time against the Hawks (4-9).
McEntee finished with eight points and nine boards, reaching the millennium mark when she grabbed a defensive board with 6:58 remaining in the first half. The 5-11 senior captain is one of only three NYU women's basketball players to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in her career, joining Patti McCrudden (1,682 points, 1,168 rebounds, 1984-85/1986-89) and Carrie Kaczmarski (1,251 points, 1,075 rebounds, 1989-93). McEntee ranks third all-time with 1,004 rebounds and fifth with 1,443 points.
"I figured at some point this year i was going to get it, so I didn't really feel the pressure. I just went in like any normal game," McEntee said. "I was close to getting it in high school -- I was over 900 -- so it's nice to be able to get that number in college."
"It's a great accomplishment for her," NYU interim head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "She's the type of player that comes around every 10 or 20 years, maybe longer. She has the ability to make everyone around her better."
Although McEntee just missed out on her 11th double-double in 13 games, NYU received scoring from 12 different players and shot 60.0% (15-for-25) to finish at 36.9% (24-for-65) for the game.
netted a career-best 11 points and snared seven rebounds, while
Emily Foshag added eight points,
Cara Bonito (7 points) and
Erica Franke (6) each produced career highs in points,
Megan Fox contributed six tallies and seven caroms, and
Olivia Tromm dropped in six points.
Megan McKenna finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Hunter, while Shay Branch El-Veilot also scored 16. Andrea Buckham added 14 tallies for the Hawks, who shot 36.5% (23-for-63) from the field.
Jen Hum-Traverso hit a three-pointer and the trio of McEntee,
Megan Fox and
Emily Foshag each added a bucket during a 9-3 run to start the second half, helping NYU take a 35-23 lead. From there, the Violets kept a double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the contest.
Balanced scoring and rebounding, as well as tenacious defense, enabled NYU to shake off a sloppy offensive first half and take a 26-20 halftime lead.
Emily Foshag scored a team-high six points, and both Fox (4 points, 7 rebounds) and McEntee (4 points, 6 boards) were on near double-double paces, but the Violets shot just 22.5% (9-for-40) during the opening 20 minutes and only 1-for-11 (9.1%) from beyond the three-point arc.
NYU held Hunter to just 28.0% (7-for-25) shooting during the first half and forced 15 turnovers prior to intermission, enabling it to own a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers and a 12-4 advantage on second-chance points.
NYU will play only University Athletic Association (UAA) games to cap its regular season, with 11 UAA contests remaining. Next up for the Violets is a 6 p.m. game Friday, Jan. 23, at Emory University.
