The New York University women's basketball team let a halftime lead slip away, falling to the University of Rochester 51-48 in University Athletic Association (UAA) action on Friday, January 25, in Rochester, NY.

NYU (10-6, 2-4 UAA) led 27-19 at halftime, but the host Yellowjackets (8-9, 2-4 UAA) battled back to tie the game at 36-36 after the third quarter and went on to win by the three-point margin.

The Violets scored the first six points of the game and didn't trail until Rochester went ahead 32-31 late in the third quarter. The teams exchanged the lead six times over final 11 minutes, until a jumper from Julianna Okoniewski gave the hosts a 48-46 advantage with 53 seconds to play.

NYU had a good look to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining, but couldn't convert and Rochester sank its free throws down the stretch to go ahead 51-48 with 2.6 seconds to play.

Annie Barrett's desperation heave at the buzzer went long and the Yelowjackets clinched their second-straight UAA win and 18th-consecutive over the Violets in Rochester.

NYU was held without a three-pointer for the first time all season, missing all seven of its attempts.

Both teams hit the offensive boards hard as Rochester grabbed 21 and the Violets pulled down 17. The Yellowjackets converted those opportunities, however, out-scoring NYU 20-8 in second chance points.

Janean Cuffee scored a game-high 16 points to pace the Violets, while Olivia Linebarger pulled down a game-best 16 rebounds. Okoniewski and Lena Ethington both scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to finish with double-doubles for the hosts.

The Violets return to the court on Sunday, when they travel to Atlanta, GA, to take on Emory University in another UAA contest. Tip-off against the Eagles is slated for 2pm.