#16/19 Women's Basketball Tames Carnegie Mellon, 62-54

Carmen, Foshag, McEntee Contribute to Comeback Victory for Violets

Grace Carmen's 16 points were the second highest total of her career.

The inside play of Jessica McEntee and Grace Carmen, the outside shooting of Emily Foshag and stout second-half defense enabled naiontally ranked New York University to eventually pull away for a 62-54 over Carnegie Mellon University in a University Athletic Association (UAA) women's basketball game Sunday at Skibo Gymnasium in Pittsburgh.

McEntee posted her 13th double-double with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Carmen added 16 tallies and six rebounds for the Violets (18-4, 7-4 UAA), ranked #16 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll and #19 by D3Hoops.com. NYU owned a 46-37 rebounding advantage, but grabbed 14 offensive boards and outscored the Tartans (5-17, 0-11 UAA) by a 16-4 margin on second-chance points.

Foshag (6-for-8 FG, 3-for-5 3FG) scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half, including two key three-pointers, as NYU overcame a nine-point first-half deficit by holding the Tartans scoreless for a stretch of 7:40 and without a field goal for 8:41.

"The emphasis this weekend was to go inside and get more scores inside the paint," NYU interim head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "The combination of wanting to push the ball more on offense and getting the ball inside opened the transition and three-point opportunities."

Carnegie Mellon shot 35.5% (22-for-62) overall and 21.1% (4-for-19) from three-point range, but just 25.9% (7-for-27) from the field and 16.7% (2-for-12) from outside the arc in the second half.

The Tartans controlled much of the first half, highlighted by a 12-0 spurt featuring two three-pointers from Ali Aunkst (10 points, 8 rebounds), to seize a 20-11 lead 8:40 before intermission. NYU rallied to pull within 32-30 at the break, though, thanks to strong inside play from McEntee and Carmen, who combined for 21 points in the first 20 minutes.

From there, the Violets pieced together a 12-2 run, including nine straight points in one sequence, to take a 39-34 lead with 17:26 left. Carnegie Mellon pulled within 42-41, but McEntee and Carmen sandwiched baskets around a three-pointer and a short jumper by Foshag to secure a 51-41 cushion with 7:15 remaining.

Carnegie Mellon eventually closed within 57-54 after a Stacie Aleski (20 tallies, 6 boards) trey with 1:13 left, but a Carmen basket, two charity-stripe conversions by Chelsea Blake and another free throw from Jen Hum-Traverso closed out the scoring.

NYU shot 38.7% (24-for-62) from the floor, 27.8% (5-for-18) on its three-point attempts and 69.2% (9-for-13) from the foul line. The Violets did have 18 assists on their 24 baskets as the trio of Carmen, Foshag and Hum-Traverso each doled out three helpers.

NYU will play its final three regular-season games at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center, beginning Friday, Feb. 20, with a 6 p.m. tilt against Case Western Reserve University. The NYU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host an event to promote awareness and raise money for breast cancer research through the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone initiative.