The New York University women's basketball team defeated Hunter College 78-41 on Sunday, December 4, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.

NYU, ranked #25 in the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll, improved to 8-0 on the season with the victory while the Hawks overall record dropped to 4-3.

The Violets broke open the game with a 10-2 run to close out the first quarter with a nine-point lead. The squad then scored the first 11 points in the second quarter to take a 30-10 lead and eventually led 45-17 at halftime. 

"Our defense really set the tone for our offense early on," said NYU Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "We are a better team offensively when our defense is aggressive and playing well."

NYU outscored Hunter 23-8 in the third quarter en route to the 37-point victory.

Kaitlyn Read and Lauren Brown each scored 15 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Violets. The duo was joined in double figures by Amy Harioka (10 points), Kayla Patterson (10 points) and Mikaela Pyatt (10 points).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

- Patterson and Pyatt each pulled down eight rebounds to lead NYU.

- Annie Barrett recorded seven steals and five assists to go along with three points.

- NYU forced 30 turnovers, including 21 in the opening half.

- Twelve different Violets saw at least nine minutes of action.

"I like where we are at as a team right now," concluded Hall-Gregory. "I think we are playing like a good team, but we have the potential to be a great team so we need to keep working."

NYU takes a long break before returning to action on Friday, December 30, when the Violets travel to Lancaster, PA, to take on Franklin & Marshall College. Tip-off is slated for 2:30pm.