Women's Hoops Scorned at Skidmore, 65-51

Jen Hum-Traverso hit two of her three treys in the second half.

In a game marked by big runs and tenacious defense, a late 12-0 surge helped Skidmore College pull away from New York University for a 65-51 victory Thursday night at the Skidmore College Sports & Recreation Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.

After Jen Hum-Traverso (9 points) stuck her third three-pointer of the evening and gave the Violets (4-2) a 45-44 advantage with 5:28 remaining, the Thoroughbreds (5-0) reeled off 12 straight tallies, taking the lead for good when Amber Kinsey (13 points) canned a trey with 5:19 remaining to stake the home team to a 47-45 lead.

Kinsey's trifecta capped a streak of four straight possessions where the teams traded three-pointers. Emily Foshag (8 points) began it with a three-ball that gave the Violets a 42-41 lead with 6:16 remaining. Skidmore's Dana Leonard, who scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, connected from downtown to make it 44-42 with 5:54 left before Hum-Traverso's trey gave the visitors their last lead.

NYU took a 37-35 lead with 11:54 remaining after Chelsea Blake (5 points, career-best 8 rebounds, 4 assists) swished a three-ball, giving the road squad some momentum midway through a stretch where it held Skidmore for exactly six minutes. However, the Violets did not make a change in the scoring column until a Foshag bucket with 7:26 to go.

All of this came after an opening half that saw Skidmore jump out to an 11-0 lead while keeping NYU scoreless for the first 5:50, only to watch the Violets spin off 12 straight tallies to claim its only first-half lead. The Thoroughbreds then notched seven straight points, holding on to take a 26-21 lead into halftime after forcing 16 NYU turnovers and forcing the visitors to shoot 28.0% (7-for-25).

Grace Carmen also scored a team-high nine points for NYU, which committed 28 turnovers and shot 30.8% (18-for-59), including just 25.8% from long range (8-for-31). The Violets did own a 44-38 rebounding advantage as Blake and Chrissy Kilmurray each snared eight boards.

Sharlyn Harper finished with 17 points for Skidmore, which shot 45.5% (10-for-22) in the second half to complete the contest hitting at a 37.5% clip (21-for-56).

NYU returns to action Monday, Dec. 7, when it travels to intracity rival Hunter College for a 5 p.m. tilt.