#10/13 Women's Basketball Tames the Tartans, 55-42

Carmen, Foshag Tally 12 Points Apiece as Violets Open UAA Play With 55-42 Triumph

Emily Foshag scored eight of her 12 points in the first half.

Grace Carmen and Emily Foshag scored 12 points apiece and helped the nationally ranked New York University women's basketball team survive a defensive slugfest and defeat Carnegie Mellon University, 55-42, in its University Athletic Association opener Friday night at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Ranked #10 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll and #13 by D3Hoops.com, the Violets improved to 11-0 while setting up a scintillating matchup Sunday against the University of Rochester, ranked #1 by D3Hoops.com and #2 in the USA Today ESPN rankings, at the Coles Sports Center. Rochester defeated Brandeis University (#5 D3Hoops.com, #7 USA Today ESPN), 66-62, on Friday night in Rochester.

Jen Hum-Traverso tallied 10 points, while Foshag added seven rebounds and three steals, and Carmen snared six boards for NYU, which kept its fifth opponent this season below the 50-point threshhold.

"I'm a little disappointed in how we played," NYU interim head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "We weren't very sharp on either side of the ball. Especially after such a great win over SUNY Brockport (77-51 on Jan. 4)."

Colleen Light led Carnegie Mellon (3-8, 0-2 UAA) with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Jacki Cortese added 10 tallies and seven boards.

During a mostly disjointed first half for both teams, Carmen scored eight of her points as NYU seized a 20-11 lead after a pair of Hum-Traverso free throws 6:27 before the break. Carnegie Mellon reeled off 10 of the next 13 points to pull within 23-21, and could have potentially forged a tie heading into the locker room, but the Tartans' 18th and final turnover of the opening 20 minutes led to a Foshag trey just before the halftime horn. And with that, the Violets took a 26-21 halftime lead.

"She's just a baller. She wants to be in the gym all the time," Trompeo said of Foshag. "All of her points today were hustle plays."

Both NYU (10-for-30, 33.3%) and Carnegie Mellon (7-for-26, 26.9%) struggled from the floor during the early going, but the Violets outscored the Tartans 12-4 in points off turnovers while getting eight tallies apiece from Carmen and Foshag.

Cortese kept Carnegie Mellon close with six points and six rebounds off the pine during the opening half.

Eventually, though NYU asserted its will, finding its rhythm shortly after taking the floor for the final 20 minutes. In addition to forcing turnovers on the Tartans' first three possesions, Carmen scored off a pair of dribble drives to spark a 10-2 surge while starting on a 10-2 spurt to claim a 36-23 lead with 15:48 left. Carmen scored off a pair of dribble-drives, while Foshag, Hum-Traverso and Jessica McEntee (6 points, 7 rebounds) each contributed two points.

Carnegie Mellon never got within single digits the rest of the way, ultimately committing 31 turnovers while shooting just 27.6% (16-for-58) from the floor.

Conversely, NYU turned the ball over 24 times while shooting just 35.1% (20-for-57).