This one was over after the National Anthem.

The Violets scored the first 11 points of the game, and were never threatened.

Using a stifling defense and efficient offense, the New York University women's basketball team captured its second consecutive NCAA Division III National Championship, capping off a second consecutive 31-0 season with a 77-49 win over Smith Collge on Saturday, March 22, in Salem, VA.

NYU is only the third NCAA Division III women's team to post consecutive undefeated seasons and the fourth to win consecutive titles. The Violets' 62-game winning streak is the eighth-longest in NCAA women's basketball history at any level.

"The winning streak wasn't important to me. Winning the Championship is what the goal was," said Head Coach Meg Barber. "The way this team went to work everyday. They take the game seriously and they take pride in how they represent the NYU uniform everyday."  

The Violets pressured the Pioneers into seven first-quarter turnovers and shot 11-of-18 to quickly take hold of the contest with a 26-8 lead after the first 10 minutes.  

"It was part of our game-plan to be aggressive at the start," said Belle Pellecchia. "Defense is the name of the game, and if we can get going on defense then we can get going on offense. That what I tried to bring today in the first quarter." 

The lead grew to 26 points, 36-10, on Zahra Alexander's free throw with 4:40 left in the second quarter.

The Pioneers, who fell to the Violets 51-41 in last year's final, ended the quarter on a 12-5 run and pulled within 41-22 at halftime.

Smith whittled their deficit down to 16 at 45-29, but an ensuing 10-1 NYU run ended the threat. 

NYU went up by 29 points, 61-32, following consecutive buckets from Brooke Batchelor, and was ahead 63-36 after the third quarter. 

The lead ballooned to 35 points in the final quarter as the Violets eased to another title.

Five Violets scored in double-figures, with three of them playing in the final games of their collegiate careers. Senior  Pellecchia led the way with 18 points while adding six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Fifth-year grad student Natalie Bruns ended her career with a near-triple-double of 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while adding four blocks to raise her NYU career record to 324.

"Recently, I've just been trying to take what is given to me, whatever I can read on the floor," Bruns said. "And that's because I have such great teammates by my side. I can't get an assist unless they make the shot, and sometimes they make incredible plays, making me look good even when I make a bad pass."     

Grad student Jamie Behar finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the end of her one-and-done season at NYU. 

Batchelor scored 13 points while just missing a double-double with nine rebounds, while Caroline Peper scored 10 to go with four assists and four steals.  

The Violets shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field and held the Pioneers to just 32.1 percent (18-of-56).

"We have an incredible group of seniors who are moving on, so our team will look very different as the streak continues next year," Barber added. "This program is forever changed because of this class. It is historic. It's GOAT-level. Belle, Natalie, Chloe Teter, and Mary Kate Fahey are the reason that we are in this position and I couldn't be a prouder coach."