The New York University women's basketball team saw its 2019-20 season finally come to an end with an 86-67 loss to host Bowdoin College in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Saturday, March 7, in Brunswick, ME.

"It's hard when it ends, but this group was special," said Head Coach Meg Barber. "Everyone in our locker room believed we could win. But Bowdoin was a very strong opponent. They are a team that can go all the way."

The Violets (21-6) led early, but could not contain the Polar Bears' (27-2) second-quarter onslaught.

NYU led by five points on two occasions and were ahead 21-20 after the first quarter, sparked by Janean Cuffee's (New York, NY/The Lawrenceville School) 11 points. She connected on 4-of-6 from the field over the opening 10 minutes and made all three of her three-pointers. Cuffee's eight straight points in one stretch gave NYU a five-point lead, 11-6.

But, the second quarter was not kind to the visitors as Bowdoin opened up with 19 straight points.
 
NYU did not score until Brooklyn Shelton (Botetourt, VA/Lord Botetourt) hit a three-pointer with 2:42 left in the half.

The Polar Bears led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter, 47-26, before the Violets pulled to within 49-29 at halftime. 

Shelton's layup with 7:16 left in the third quarter brought NYU within 16, 51-35, but the Violets could not get any closer. The Polar Bears went up by as many as 25 points, 65-40, before settling for a 68-46 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Violets never got closer than 19 points in the final quarter, as the Polar Bears' lead grew to as many as 27 points.

Cuffee finished with a team-high 24 points. She now has 1,075 in her three-year career, 14th on NYU's all-time scoring list.. 

"We knew Bowdoin was a tough opponent, so we had to come out fired up," Cuffee said. "We had them back on their heels in the first quarter, but they played really well after that."

Annie Barrett (Cambridge, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols), in the final apperance of her NYU career, totaled a game-high seven assists. She now has the program's all-time record with 435.  

"These were the best four years of my life," Barrett revealed. 

Katie Foos (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) finished with 12 points and Shelton had nine. Jenny Walker (Sausalito, CA/Redwood) led NYU with six rebounds.

Bowdoin had two 20-points scorers: Maddie Hasson (27) and Samantha Roy (23).    

"We know what it takes to win a championship. NYU has done it before," Barber said. "We have set the bar and we want to continue to play in this type of environment, the NCAA Tournament."