From NYU Athletics

The New York University women's basketball team, ranked #8 in the nation by the USA Today and #9 by D3hoops.com, defeated the University of Chicago 71-55 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) game at the Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, IL, on Friday night, January 22.

The Violets (14-1, 3-1) and Maroons (9-6, 1-3) were locked in a tight battle early, with Chicago taking a 23-22 lead after the first quarter.

However, NYU locked down on defense in the second quarter, allowing the Maroons only seven points en route to taking a 46-30 lead at halftime. The Violets' offense wasn't slouching either, shooting 50% from the field (13-26) over the first 20 minutes.

"Our press was effective and controlled the tempo," said Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "We did a good job in limiting them to one shot."

Chicago was able to cut its deficit to 10 points midway through the third quarter, but that was as close as they would get. NYU took a game-high 19-point lead, 67-48, on Riley Wurtz's three-pointer with 6:24 left in the game and finished with the 16-point victory.

Kaitlyn Read led all scorers with 20 points, including 12-of-13 from the foul line. Maya Wasowicz and Megan Dawe each scored 12 points, while Wurtz finished with 10.   

The Violets forced 28 turnovers in the game while holding the Maroons to 38.6% shooting (22-57) from the field.  

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Read finished with a game-high 12 rebounds for another double-double.

- Dawe was 4-of-4 from the foul line as NYU shot 87% (20-23) from the charity stripe. 

- Mikaela Pyatt, made her first career start for the Violets. She replaced the injured Lindsey Oldshue in the starting lineup. 

- Britta Nordstrom and Madison Dunbar led Chicago with 10 points each. 

"Playing at Chicago, it's always a tough atmosphere they way they play. It's a very up-tempo style," Hall-Gregory explained. "We challenged them defensively, stayed composed and weathered their run. I thought we were very resilient."