#11/12 Women's Basketball Works OT to Overcome Case, 72-67

Jessica McEntee's latest stellar performance moved her into fourth all-time in scoring.

Grace Carmen scored four points in overtime, including the go-ahead bucket with 3:27 left and a pair of free throws to help ice the game with 14.5 ticks remaining, as nationally ranked New York University earned a 72-67 overtime victory over University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Case Western Reserve University in women's basketball action Sunday in Cleveland.

Ranked #11 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll and #12 by D3Hoops.com, NYU (15-1, 4-1 UAA) overcame a 32-25 halftime deficit and a 44-36 second-half hole thanks to the play of two-time reigning UAA Player of the Year Jessica McEntee. She finished with game highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds, including an old-fashioned three-point play with 29.8 seconds remaining to forge a 62-62 tie and force the extra session.

"It was a great experience for our kids to have to grind out a win," NYU interim head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "To fight another five minutes on the road when they were basically down most of the game, that showed a lot about our maturity."

In posting her 11th double-double of the season, McEntee went 13-for-15 from the foul line and ended the game with 1,497 points, moving her past Donna Layne (1,491, 1990-94) for fourth place on the NYU women's career scoring charts. Eighteen of her tallies came in the second half, including a 12-for-14 performance at the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes of regulation.

"I was calling plays that weren't options for specific players," Trompeo said. "I just decided during one of the timeouts that every play was going to go through Jess and let the All-American be an All-American."

Case (8-8, 1-4 UAA) struck first in overtime, but Emily Foshag (14 points) hit a pair of free throws with 3:57 left and Carmen converted a drive 30 seconds later to stake NYU to a 66-65 advantage.

Over the final 14.5 seconds, Carmen hit both of her free-throw attempts and Chelsea Seabron went 2-for-2 from the stripe with 2.1 seconds to produce the final outcome.

All told, the Violets went 26-for-31 (83.9%) from the charity stripe, compared to the Spartans going 9-for-14 (64.3%).

Megan Fox added eight points and nine rebounds for NYU, which shot 38.5% (20-for-52) overall, but 46.2% (6-for-13) from three-point range. The Violets owned a 42-33 rebounding advantage.

Caitlin Henry had 18 points and six steals for the Spartans, while Erin Hollinger (17 points, 3 blocks) and Ashleigh Tondo (16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals) also reached double digits for the Spartans, who posted an NYU opponent season-best 41.7% (25-for-60) shooting.

Prior to their spirited late surge, the Violets were fighting to return to the form that helped them claim a 15-6 lead just 7:11 into the first half. McEntee scored six of NYU's tallies during the opening burst, but the Violets shot just 33.3% (8-for-24) from the field and committed 15 turnovers in heading into halftime down 32-25.

NYU returns to action Friday, Jan. 30, when it hosts UAA rival the University of Chicago at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center. The game is a Tear It Up! event, tips off at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the Violets' men's game against the Maroons at 8 p.m.