NYU 87 Oswego 57

The New York University women's basketball team continued its hot start to the season with another victory on Friday afternoon, January 3, defeating Oswego State University 87-57 in the opening round of the NYU Holiday Classic contest at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

NYU (9-0) controlled the game throughout, taking a 23-point lead into the lockerroom at halftime. The Violets capitalized on mistakes early, outscoring the Lakers (4-4) 24-7 in points off turnovers in the first half.

The trend continued in the second half as NYU finished with a 45-10 advantage in that statistic at the completiton of the contest. In addition, NYU set the tone on the boards all game long, outrebounding Oswego State 52-31.

The Violets' 9-0 start to the season is their best since advancing to the Sweet 16 of the Division III NCAA Tournament in 2008-09 after starting 11-0.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Sophomore guard Riley Wurtz led the way for the Violets, scoring a game-high 15 points, while grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and notching four steals.

- Freshman guard Amy Harioka had her best game as a collegian, scoring a career-high 13 points while shooting 3-of-7 from three-point range.

- Sophomore co-captain forward Megan Dawe scored 12 points with seven rebounds, while fellow sopohmore co-captain guard Maya Wasowicz chipped in with 10 points.

- Junior co-captain point guard Melissa Peng, and forwards senior Alexis Doherty and freshman Lindsey Oldshue each notched eight points. Peng added seven assists, while Doherty and Oldshue each pulled down seven boards.

- Freshman guard Kaitlyn Read finished with seven points in addition to six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

"We're continuing to develop better and better team chemistry," said Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "We're sharing the ball. We're a very unselfish team. We've been giving up good shots to get great shots. We also ran great in transition today."

NYU will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, January 4, to face Cabrini College in its second game of the Holiday Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.