The New York University women's basketball team defeated the University of Rochester 64-54 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) game on Sunday, January 19, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.
The Violets (12-2, 2-1) are currently ranked #22 in the nation by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
The Yellowjackets fell to 6-8 overall and 0-3 in UAA play.
In a slow-scoring start to the game, the teams were stuck at 2-2 until Rochester's Hannah Lindemuth hit a three-pointer with 5:16 left on the clock. NYU scored the next five points and went on to lead 11-9 after the first quarter.
Things picked up for the Violets in the second quarter as they nearly doubled their scoring outing, putting up 20 points and heading into the intermission with a 31-21 lead. NYU had led by only one point, 20-19, before ending the half on an 11-2 run to create the double-digit lead.
Both teams had trouble finding the bottom of the net over the first 20 minutes, with NYU shooting just 34.1% (14-41) from the field and Rochester connecting on only 24.2% (8-of-33) of its shots.
The Violets took a game-high 13-point lead, 34-21, on
Annie Barrett's (Cambridge, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols) three-pointer to begin the third quarter.
The Yellowjackets responded with a 17-5 streak and pulled within one point, 39-38.
But, NYU held onto the lead as another Barrett three-ball slowed Rochester's momentum. She soon followed with a layup and another shot-clock-beating three-pointer to keep NYU ahead. Overall, Barrett scored 11 points in the third quarter as the Violets left the court with a 49-42 lead heading into the fourth.
"I've never seen that type of spurt from her, but we've been looking for her to be aggressive," said Head Coach
Meg Barber. "She did an unbelievable job of stepping up. It was fun to see her look for her offense a little bit."
The final quarter also began with a scoring drought, as it took until another three-pointer by Lindemuth at the 6:51 mark for either team to score.
Brooklyn Shelton (Botetourt, VA/Lord Botetourt) finally produced NYU's first points of the quarter, hitting a layup with 4:46 remaining. The Violets' lead went back up to nine, 58-49, on
Janean Cuffee (New York, NY/The Lawrenceville School)'s second consecutive bucket with 2:16 left in the game.
After Lindemuth hit a layup, Cuffee connected on a three-pointer and three free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
"Janean's a gamer," Barber explained. "So, when the game's on the line she loves to have the ball in her hands. She did a phenomenal job today."
Cuffee finished with a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds. Barrett added a career-high 15 points to go with a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds.
Meghan McLaughlin (Mount Laurel, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds as NYU won the battle of the boards, 58-39.
Lindemuth led Rochester with 19 points.
"Roochester is a very, very tough-minded team and did a great job scouting us," Barber added. "But, ultimately we had the will to win."
The Violets go on the road next weekend for their annual Midwest swing. They will play at the University of Chicago on Friday, January 24, at 6pm (central), and at Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday the 26th at 2:00pm (central time).
