Box Score
A pair of Maggie Ely free throws with 51.7 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the New York University women's basketball team to a 65-61 win over York College (NY) on Monday, November 15, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center. The victory was NYU's 12th straight in its season opener.
Ely's free throws came after a huge three-pointer by Tana Bertino and a Violet defensive stop. With NYU trailing 61-58 and 1:37 to play, Bertino took a feed from Chelsea Blake in the right corner and drained a triple to tie the score. York's top returning player, Kadisha Wickhman, missed a jumper on the ensuing Cardinal possession, and Kelly Loughney came down with the rebound – one of her game-best 18 boards on the night – to give the Violets a chance to take the lead.
They did just that on Ely's makes from the charity stripe, and after another stop, Blake went to the line with 25.3 ticks on the clock. She hit the first free throw and missed the second, but Loughney came down with a huge offensive board – tearing the ball away from a Cardinal – to ensure that York would not have a chance to tie in the closing stages, as Blake again went to the line and put the game out of reach.
“I thought the group that gutted it out the last 10 minutes of the game showed a lot,” said head coach Stefano Trompeo. “Even when they made mistakes, they didn't let it get to them, and they refused to lose.”
The exciting ending came after a back-and-forth second half in which neither team led by more than four points in the final 11:15. But it took a major comeback effort from the Violets to get it that close after digging early holes of 11-0 and 14-2 in the opening minutes of the game.
With York leading 19-10 midway through the first half, NYU went on a 9-0 run on the strength of three treys – a pair from Blake and another from Bertino – to knot the score. An Erica Franke three gave the Violets their first lead of the game at 22-20, but it was short-lived. Makenzie Hirz's jumper just before the buzzer brought NYU to within one heading into the break at 30-29.
York eventually built a seven-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Violets climbed back little by little, eventually tying the score at 43-all on a pair of Cara Bonito free throws after the junior drove to the hoop and was fouled hard.
The squads would be tied five more times the rest of the way, with the last coming on Bertino's huge three at the 1:37 mark. After that the Violets clamped down on defense and took care of business at the free-throw line before Blake made one last steal to seal the victory.
“I thought we were much more poised in the second half to pull out the win,” noted Trompeo. “At the end of the day it's about winning, and we can't dwell on our mistakes. We just have to learn from them and get better.”
Blake led NYU with 16 points, including shooting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and added a game-best five assists. Bertino drained three triples en route to a 15-point effort. In all, the Violets attempted 30 three-pointers, tying the NYU record for threes attempted in a game at the Coles Sports Center (St. Joseph's College-Long Island holds the arena mark with 39).
Loughney added seven points to go with her 18-rebound effort, while Shelby Coon pulled down 12 boards and had a game-best three blocks.
The Violets return to action when they host the NYU Tip-Off Tournament this Friday and Saturday. They open the tournament against SUNY Plattsburgh at 6:00 pm on Friday night.
