#14/16 Women's Basketball Thwarted by #16/17 Washington in St. Louis

Jessica McEntee led NYU with 17 points, 13 of them in the first half.

In a rematch of University Athletic Association (UAA) and nationally ranked rivals, the New York University women's basketball team dropped a 68-47 decision to Washington University at the WU Field House in St. Louis.

It was the second time in five days the Violets (16-3, 5-3 UAA), ranked #14 in the USA Today ESPN Division III Coaches' Poll and #16 by D3Hoops.com, bowed to the Bears (15-4, 7-1 UAA), #16 in the USA Today ESPN poll and #17 in the D3Hoops.com Top 25. On Sunday in Manhattan, Washington hung a 63-53 defeat on NYU.

Two-time reigning UAA Player of the Year Jessica McEntee led all players with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting for NYU, and also added eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. Chelsea Blake and Grace Carmen contributed seven tallies apiece.

Jaimie McFarlin finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, including 10 tallies in the second half.

After Washington opened with the first five points, the Violets eventually pieced together a 9-0 run to seize a 17-12 lead after McEntee converted a coast-to-coast lay-up 10:57 before the break. However, the Bears overcame a 20-16 deficit thanks to an opportunisitic defense and eight points from Kelsey Robb (10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals), reeling off 15 of the next 16 points to take a 31-21 lead 1:48 before going into the locker room. They also forced NYU into six turnovers on seven possessions.

McEntee tallied NYU's final five points of the first half, but the visitors headed into halftime trailing 31-26 despite 13 points from from its senior captain during the first period.

An old-fashioned, three-point play by Carmen pulled NYU within 31-29 to start the second 20 minutes, but the Bears used strong inside play and timely three-point shooting to pull away. McFarlin scored eight straight, converting baskets on four straight trips down the floor, to spark an 8-0 spurt that made it 39-29 with 16:20 remaining.

After NYU inched within 41-33, Halsey Ward, Kathryn Berger and Hannah Cusworth canned treys to highlight a decisive 11-2 outburst that made it 52-35 with 10:38 remaining.

For the game, the Violets were held to 32.3% (20-for-62) shooting, including a 17.6% (3-for-17) conversion rate from long distance, while going 4-for-10 (40.0%) at the charity stripe. They also committed 16 turnovers that Washington turned into 21 points.

Washington owned a 48-39 advantage on the boards and shot 40.6% (28-for-69) from the field, including 37.5% (6-for-16) from deep, and hit six of their seven (85.7%) charity-stripe tries.

NYU returns to action Sunday, Feb. 8, when it completes its Midwestern UAA swing in the Windy City against the University of Chicago at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.