From NYU Athletics
The New York University women's basketball team withstood a late rally and defeated Emory University 67-61 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, at the Sportsplex in Manhattan.
It was the second straight win for the Violets (12-8, 2-7) UAA, while the Eagles fell to 13-7 overall and 4-5 in the UAA.
NYU led by a game-high 17 points, 58-41, on Lauren Brown's layup with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter.
The Violets still led 59-43 heading in to the fourth quarter, but the Eagles pulled with two, 63-61, on Shellie Kaniut's two free throws with 51 seconds left.
On NYU's next possession, Brown hit a short jumper as the shot clock expired to halt the comeback.
"In practice we usually don't take shots like that, so it was kind of tough for me," Brown said. "But, it was a shot my team needed and we didn't have any other options with the shot clock about to expire."
Amy Harioka's two free throws with seven seconds remaining provided the final margin.
NYU was down by as many as eight points twice in the first quarter before closing to within 23-20 after the first 10 minutes.
The Violets scored the first five points of the second quarter and never trailed again, increasing their lead to 42-33 at halftime.
"We're learning how to win those close games," said Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "Emory is a team that comes back. They do that to a lot of teams. It's in their DNA. Fortunately, we did what we needed to do in those last two minutes."
NOTABLES:
- Harioka finished with a team-high 23 points.
- Shaye McGoey scored 17 for the Violets.
- Brown finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- Kaniut led all scorers with 27 points.
"Overall, we did a real good job defensively," Hall-Gregory added. "We guarded well and we were ready to close out on shooters. And, offensively, we shared the ball really well and took high-percentage shots."